Mt Rainier - September 2020

Hi guys,

I am planning unguided climb to Mt Rainier in September 2020. Don't have a set date yet, but for me will work any time in September.
I live in Cincinnati, OH, therefore planning to start booking something soon.

Text me if you would like to join.

Thanks
Vanya Perstnov 

Do understand that by September the hill is pretty much toasted ... the cracks are often impassible.

Yeah that is pretty late season, but I wonder if anything will be feasible before August with covid. 

Allen Sanderson wrote: Do understand that by September the hill is pretty much toasted ... the cracks are often impassible.

I am totally agree with you. few months ago I was planning to do it around June/July, but currently with this virus I am not sure when it will be possible, therefore I pushed it to September.

There is is no need to be booking anything right now, especially for leisure travel. Anything travel related is a mess. Stay flexible. But if you gotta plan that far out, you are better off doing a late trip somewhere else to climb. 

Current circumstances not withstanding, late summer can be ideal or not. In mid Aug 89 the DC route was in perfect shape. On a perfect weather day, we did it in leather tele boots with crampons. Didn't even rope up. Skiing from Muir down however was painful. Walking the payment was even more so. I've also done Frostbite Ridge on Glacier in August. Not that many slots on that route, and the advantage of late summer is that everything is there for you to judge. No snow bridges to deal with. Glacier is a remote beautiful peak. The approach to high camp can be done in a moderately long day. Something to keep in mind as an alternative to Rainier.

Peter Cole wrote: Current circumstances not withstanding, late summer can be ideal or not. In mid Aug 89 the DC route was in perfect shape. On a perfect weather day, we did it in leather tele boots with crampons. Didn't even rope up. Skiing from Muir down however was painful. Walking the payment was even more so. I've also done Frostbite Ridge on Glacier in August. Not that many slots on that route, and the advantage of late summer is that everything is there for you to judge. No snow bridges to deal with. Glacier is a remote beautiful peak. The approach to high camp can be done in a moderately long day. Something to keep in mind as an alternative to Rainier.

Thanks for advise, Glacier can be as alternative. are there any other suggestions which can be relatively similar to the Rainier?  I have done many climbs in Europe, but not in US.

Keep in mind that if the park stays gated until September, there will likely be zero route maintenance on the standard routes up the peak. This may be an impactful factor in the late season.

The road to Paradise opened today! Travel above 10,500 feet (high camps) is scheduled to open June 19th. Climbing Rainier will be different this year... follow the NPS managed climbing ​Blog​​​ for updates