Last week’s record-breaking heat had a dramatic effect on the condition of the disease Emmons / Winstrop Glacier Route.The ice level has been moving around 17-18,500 feet since Friday! Most states in Washington and Oregon set new ALL TIME high temperature records by a wide margin over the weekend! It is very unusual for ice levels to be so high (most of us have never seen it) in a full summer, let alone June, a month usually marked by irregular and sometimes winter weather in the mountains. What makes it more unusual is that the freezing level does not decrease overnight. Therefore, the daily melting process is almost non-existent for almost a week.
Which brings us to the current situation: everything has changed a lot in the last week and is changing hour by hour. The Rangers came together on Saturday, June 26, with many independent mountaineering and skiing parties. At that time, since the beginning of the ascent season, there had been little change in the general route – this route passed directly through the “corridor” and reached the edge of the crater through Bergservand. With the temperature rising and keeping the nights warm, the seasonal snow cover was melting rapidly. Many cracks and even icy ice are now visible along the corridor. Words from recent efforts indicate that the bergschrund is currently impassable. No one took part in the 6.30, and all the led teams and most of the independent parties did not even leave Camp Schurman because of the risk of falling. A group of skiers climbed the peak on the morning of 6/30/30 and returned at approximately 12,500 minutes due to the sinking of a cracked bridge.
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| Climber Climber Climbs the Emmons on Saturday, June 26, 2021. |
Unfortunately, meteorological forecasts show that it will be hot on Rainier Mountain until next weekend and early next week, and climbing conditions will not improve significantly. Freezing levels will remain above peak levels in the foreseeable future. This, along with the need to find a new route to the top of the glacier, means that the possibility of “success” (ie, reaching the summit of Rainier Mountain) remains unclear until colder weather returns to Rainer Mountain National Park. However, there seem to be several convenient options for redirecting the new one upwards. It is only a matter of time before climbers find their way and “go” again. This is the nature of climbing Mount Rainier in summer.
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| The yellow line indicates the approximate trajectory that has existed for most of the season, but is now likely to be unmanageable. Green lines indicate approximate possible changes.
In addition to changing the course of the summit, the approach to Camp Schurman has changed significantly over the past week. The International Glacier will soon have cracks, and the short section of the Emmons Glacier just before arriving at Camp Sherman changes every day due to the widening of the side gaps from Peru. We can not emphasize it enough: just because there is a “sequence” of boot trails on the snow does not mean that this trail is safe. Carefully evaluate the gaps at all times – the boot package will be affected by the gaps during the season. You don’t want to be the one hitting the gap on the boot because you didn’t notice! It is wise to rope for this part of the refrigerator.
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