Mt. Rainier - Emmons Glacier
On June 27 2003, Nathan, Joan, Tao and I set out to climb Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Glacier. Joan, Tao and I started from White River campground Friday afternoon, after we got the last three climbing permits from the rangers. We hiked into glacier basin in 2 hours. The next morning Nathan joined us. At 10am, we headed towards Camp Shurman. It was a clear day. Camp Shurman was full of climbers by the time we reached there. We rested until about 12:30 am. It was a clear and warm night. At about 1:30 am, We roped up and started climbing up the Emmons Glacier. Joan was leading the rope. It was crowded that night. The whole route was lit up by people's headlamp. After 5 and half hour of climbing and a magnificent sunrise, we reached 13,500 ft, 700 feet from the crater rim. At that time, half of the sky was covered with ominous-looking black clouds. The barometer was dropping fast. All parties around us started to turn around. We remained at where we were and contemplated about the situation for 15 minutes. Finally we decided to go down as others did. Few people reached the summit that morning.
The above picture was taken when sun was setting over Camp Shurman, 9500 ft.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Glimpse of Summit from Glacier Basin | Glacier Basin | View at Steamboat Prow | Emmons Glacier |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| View of Summit from Camp Shurman | Climbers on the Glacier | "White" | Close-up of Emmons Glacier |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Camp Shurman Hut | Climbers Digging Camp Site | A Big Crevasse Besides Camp Shurman | Little Tahoma |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Climbers and the Summit | Take A Break to Watch the Sunrise, ~13200 ft | Sunrise Over Steamboat Prow | Lines of Climbers on the Route |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Crevasse | A Big Whole | Cliffs on Little Tahoma | Sunrise |