RMI Classes

Back in May of 2014 I started to get my first taste of mountaineering.  Jason and I had signed up for 2 days of classes on the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier, with Rainier Mountaineering Inc.  The first day would be basic skills such as self arrest, roped travel, crampon use, etc.  The second day was a crevasse rescue school.

Jason and I drove up early and found a place outside Ashford to camp.  We were lucky with one day of good weather to explore, so we did a lot of hiking along a river, and explored the ash coated river banks.

The next morning it was cold, wet, rainy, and miserable.  But that is the Cascades, for you.  Jason and I packed up our gear and drove into Ashford to meet at the RMI base camp.  After introductions we piled into a van with our gear and drove up the mountain to Paradise.  The next few hours consisted of roped travel, self arrest, and other skills.  I didn't get any pictures as it was wet and didn't really get a chance to.

That evening we managed to get a campfire going with dry wood we had collected.  While other climbers enjoyed a nice warm hut to stay in, we worked on hanging our gear and clothing under a tarp in an attempt to dry it out some.

The weather the next day was cloudy and foggy and damp, but it wasn't bad.  We ended up staying around the RMI base for a while practicing building EARNEST Anchors, and practicing knots, before we actually headed back up to Paradise.

As we practiced building snow picket anchors all day, and practiced mock crevasse rescue, by lowering each other over a snow bank, the weather began to clear and we saw how gorgeous Mt. Rainier was!

We were done by late afternoon so we packed up and went back down to Ashford.  We then each practiced ascending and descending a rope using prussik ropes.  It was cake for me though as I knew how to do it from my caving adventures.  After that quick lesson Jason and I loaded up and drove like mad to get down to the south side of Mt. St. Helens.