Gibraltar Ledges. February Beta.

Looking for an ascent of Rainier the first week of February via Gibraltar.

Have never been on the mountain before.

Any thoughts on the route?

Gib ledges is all about snow conditions. I have done the route in good conditions and it was not to bad. Was nice to have a whippet in addition to ice axe when I went across the ledge system.

Look in cascade climbers mt rainier section, there are tons of old trip reports. Pay attention to that forum and the rainier climbing Rangers blog for most recent info.

FYI, we are currently experiencing a very low snow tear in the PNW, if things don't turn around the ledge system and glaciers could be very dicey.

Thanks for the tips. I wouldn't have guessed at the low snow considering what the NWS Forecasts have been saying.

I have not personally been up there this winter to evaluate the snow pack. However someone posted this TR over on Cascade Climbers from a couple weeks ago. Looks very good and straight forward this season with good coverage. I have seen some years where the ledges are mostly rock with little/no snow on them. So I would say you should be good to go in February as far as snow coverage goes. cascadeclimbers.com/forum/u…