Itinerary
Mt. Rainier – Kautz Route Itinerary
Please keep in mind that this is a standard, yet loose, itinerary. It is subject to change depending on conditions, weather, group dynamics, pace, and summit strategies.
Program Details
Our Mount Rainier Kautz climb is an excellent challenge that prepares students who already have a solid understanding of mountaineering basics to approach larger-scale mountains or expeditions. It gives climbers additional exposure in technical glaciated terrain and gives them the opportunity to further apply their skills on bigger objectives.
Itinerary
Day 0
Rendezvous at 4pm
Plan to meet your fellow climbers and instructor(s) at a designated location TBD at 4:00pm, the evening before your trip starts. Your guide(s) will take the time to go over equipment, review the itinerary, pass out group gear, and ensure everyone is adequately prepared. Tonight will be spent at the hotel.
Day 1
Drive to Mt. Rainier, Hike to Basecamp
Today we will leave the hotel at 7am and drive to Ashford, WA, just outside of Mount Rainier National Park (Roughly an hour and a half). There is a small gear shop in Ashford for last-minute purchases. We will drive the remaining half hour to forty-five minutes to the Paradise parking lot, situated at 5400 feet within Mount Rainier National Park, where we will unload and begin the hike into our first camp. We will cross the lower Nisqually Glacier and work our way up onto the arm beneath the Kautz Glacier. The team will then establish a camp somewhere between 7200 and 7700 feet. Once we set up camp we will brush up on alpine skills, reviewing alpine knows, self-arresting, glacier travel, LNT principles, and additional topics based on time.
Day 2
Ascend to Camp Two
We wake early, pack up camp, and cross the Nisqually Glacier in the morning. We then ascend the western edge of the Wilson Glacier and camp beneath Camp Hazard at 10,700 feet, in position for our summit bid the next day via the Kautz Glacier.
Day 3
Summit Bid
We will make an Alpine start this morning in order to go for our Summit bid. The climb begins with a rappel down onto the Kautz Glacier. From there, we will ascend a short and steep icy headwall. After the headwall, the climbing eases to the summit at 14,411 feet. Once we have reached our final destination, we will turn around and hike back down to our previous camp below Camp Hazard.
Day 4
Hike Out
On the final day of the trip, we will wake up early once more, pack up, and hike out. The descent back to Paradise takes approximately 6 hours. Once we are down we will go out for a late lunch and drop everyone off at the hotel. Our estimated return time is roughly between 3-5pm, but this can vary depending on the pacing of the day. We recommend flying out the following day instead of the evening of your return to avoid missing your flight.