Rainer, Leavenworth, and Dragontail

Dragontail with Colchuck Lake below

We headed up to Mt. Rainer around 7 a.m. on Friday. We got up there to find rain and whiteout conditions but geared up to head out. I was the only one who put my rain pants on because everyone else thought it would just be a light mist. Little did we know that it would be a torrential downpour and high winds, the whole way! We made it up to the Nisqually Glacier and decided to bail out on it as the other 3 in the party were soaked to the bone. It was very likely sunny in Leavenworth or Vantage and we could go climbing instead.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed out to Leavenworth to get in some crack climbing. Sunday was going to be a big day - Cheri and I decided we were going to climb Dragontail car to car and Andy decided to join us. We camped out at the trail head and went to bed early in preparation for the butt kicking that would ensue the next day.

Sunday morning we got up at 6 a.m. to eat breakfast and pack our bags for Dragontail. We had to carry our ice axe and crampons for the snow travel bit but other than that our gear was relatively light compared to Rainer. We had to bring extra clothes in dry bags as the forecast called for rain but Cheri and I were determined to bag a peak rain or shine!

We headed out on the trail a few minutes after 7 a.m. and started down the 5 miles of trail between us and Asgard Pass. We made it out there in 2.5 hours, which was pretty quick. Asgard Pass is pretty much a giant pile of choss and boulders that you have to climb for 2,000 feet. It was without a doubt the least enjoyable and most dangerous part of the trip, especially on the way down. We managed to cruise up Asgard in 1 hour and 44 minutes with breaks. Once we hit the snow field/glacier, we cruised up to the notch and started the scramble route. I was so excited we were going to bag the peak, you have no idea! We thought there could be a lot of rain, which would make it dangerous for us to climb on rock and make it even more dangerous to descend Asgard Pass. However, we got lucky - it was our time, Dragontail allowed us to reach the summit despite the forecast and looming dark clouds!

Total time was 11 hours and 24 minutes car to car with 11,000 feet of vertical gain and loss throughout the day. I'm spent and my feet hurt but it was well worth the pain!

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