Noel and I opted for the same itinerary that Peter, Greg, and I had used previously. We left after work on Thursday, spent the night in the Paradise parking lot, then woke up early Friday morning, the 4th, to begin our climb. We hadn't reserved climbing permits, so at 7 am, we were the first ones in line, hoping for permits for two nights at Camp Muir. We were a little nervous we wouldn't get the permits we wanted because of the holiday weekend, but there turned out to be plenty left (though I'm sure they got taken quickly Friday morning).
We took a parting photo, then set off for Muir around 7.30 am. With great weather and firm snow, the climbing was relatively easy. Unfortunately, I'd been nursing a cold all week that seemed to reach it's peak on Friday. I had a pretty violent cough and carrying a 50 lb pack left me feeling more tired and sore than usual. Several times, especially near the end of the approach to camp, I had to force myself (and Noel) to stop so I could rest, hydrate, and eat.
Despite my poor shape, we made relatively good time to Camp Muir, arriving shortly after noon (for the stats people: 4,600 ft ascent over 4.3 miles in 4 hours and 45 minutes). By the time we reached camp, my cough was pretty bad and I was exhausted. A couple other climbers even inquired as to when I developed my couch, trying to ascertain whether I'd developed Acute Mountain Sickness, or perhaps High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. One lady (clearly a mother) gave me a couple throat lozenges that she just happened to keep with her.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to sleep in the public Muir Hut, waking only to eat dinner and make sure I stayed hydrated. Despite the noise from other climbers arriving, cooking, and sorting gear, I managed to get some rest and by the time my alarm went off at 1.30 am, I felt better than I had all week. Noel and I made breakfast, oatmeal, bagels, and tea, then got dressed, finished sorting our gear and headed out of the hut to rope up and begin our trek across the first crevassed glacier.
We took a bit longer getting ready than anticipated and didn't start moving away from camp until 3 am, well behind the masses and guided groups that we were intentionally trying to avoid. I led our two man rope team, which benefited me so I could set the pace and not over work myself, still shaking my cold. We moved steadily, passing a couple of other late departing rope teams as we made our way from Cathedral Gap to the Disappointment Cleaver.
Though the previous day had been perfectly clear and pretty calm, a high layer of clouds had moved in and the forecast called for 60 mph "gale force" winds on the summit. The route was well marked and in excellent condition though and we reached the spine of the Cleaver just before sunrise, my favorite time on the mountain.
These are not photoshopped...
Noel in the alpenglow.
Shortly after sunrise, I had to stop for an emergency poo-with-a-view. Noel had to stop traffic in both directions along the route while I did my business in a miniature bergschrund. It's not my favorite thing to do on a mountain, but I certainly felt and climbed better afterwards.
When we reached the top of the Cleaver, around 12,300 ft, we saw the first signs of the fury that lay ahead of us. Climbers on their way down, both that had summited and that had turned around early, were covered in rime ice, in some places up to an inch thick.
Less than an hour later, we entered the mayhem. Starting at 13,000 feet, the summit of the mountain was engulfed in a lenticular cloud. We were on the leeward side of the mountain, but still fighting through 40 mph winds. Despite the wind, it wasn't particularly cold. I still had an extra jacket and warmer gloves in my pack that I never wore.
Traversing up the Emmons Glacier seemed very slow. By then, after 7 am, Noel and I were both feeling the effects of the altitude and the climbing. We stopped only a couple of times to seek shelter from the wind, eat a few snacks, and hydrate.
The last leg of the traverse, which a ranger had warned us about, was nearly half-a-mile long to end run a bergschrund that had formed just below the crater. We spent 40 minutes climbing due west, taking the brunt of the 40+ mph wind and snow directly in the face. We couldn't see more than 30 or 40 feet ahead, so the traverse seemed to go on forever. Even the rope that stretched between us had a thick layer of ice on it.
When we finally made it to the last turn, we knew we were close to the summit. But the walk across the crater seemed three times as long as my previous, fair weather trip. When we reached the west rim of the crater and entered the full 60+ mph wind, it became difficult to walk. I was nearly blown over a couple of times.
We couldn't tell by the views, but we did eventually reach the summit at 14,411 ft. After 7 hours of climbing, we'd gained another 4,600 feet over 4.3 miles.
We stayed on the summit just long enough to take this video.
(Noel is the one whose hand nearly froze off)
When we climbed back down into the crater and got a little shelter from the wind, we recuperated for a few minutes before beginning our descent. We didn't have much time to spare, though, as it was already 10 am and we needed to get back down through the dangerous areas before things warmed up too much and rock and ice started falling.
We were both quite relieved when we'd made it back below 13,000 feet and out of the clouds and high winds. We could finally enjoy the views of the mountain under essentially clear blue skies.
Here's a view across the Ingraham Glacier toward Cathedral Rocks (left) and Cadaver Gap (center) with Mt. Adams in the background.
Noel taking in the view.
Noel belaying me as I step over a crevasse that will soon required a ladder.
We made it back to Camp Muir just after 1 pm. Though our original plans were to spend Saturday night in the Muir hut and descend Sunday morning, neither of us were enthused with our new, less-than-courteous hut mates, so we decided to pack up and leave Saturday afternoon while the snow was still soft and the plunge stepping would be easy.
With the thought of a juicy hamburger on our minds, we covered the 4 miles and 4,500 feet back to the Paradise parking lot in an hour-and-a-half. Part way down the Muir Snowfield, we got a great view of what we'd battled through to reach the summit.
Despite the poor summit conditions, we had a great climb. Over the two days, we'd covered 16 miles and gained and lost 9,600 ft of elevation.
