Someone had this crazy idea to climb Mt. Rainier on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks from the top. It might have worked, except it ended up being cloudy on the west side of the state!
We started out that morning and headed up the well worn, normally crowded, DC route. By the time we got above Camp Muir, all the climbers for that day had already come down. We had the entire upper mountain to ourselves! The Ingraham Glacier, Ingraham Flats and Disappointment Cleaver.
David on the nose of DC. Cadaver Gap and Mt. Adams in the distance.
David holding the hand line on the big traverse over to Gibraltar Rock.
David in the crater on the top of Mt. Rainier.
Doug in the crater.
The shadow of Rainier hitting some low clouds at sunset. It was really strange and pleasant to climb that route and not see any climbers above high camp. We did see a few distant fireworks in the Yakima area on our way down. It didn't turn out the way we had hoped, but it was still a great day to try something new on our favorite mountain!
