The Bob Mountain Report

Mt Rainier from Paradise Rd, 5/15/08
Photo by © jdm_photo - Jeff McCrory

Bob spent the other day on the Southern flank of Mt. Rainier, near Paradise, learning how to slide down a mountain (and self-arrest with an ice ax). Here's his report:

Freezing level today was around 15,000 feet. At 5,000 feet, at Paradise, it was a scorcher. In the sixties somewhere and I wasn’t properly dressed. Ended up shedding my hat on the way up. Big mistake. Top of my head is tender to the touch, face and neck (liberally applied SPF 30 with zinc oxide) are bright red. Nice raccoon eyes. Gortex is good for sliding, but not for general wear. I’ll be shopping for better pants to wear up.

It felt good, however, to be up on the hill and practicing. I liked the notion of a steady measured pace heading up and down. Goes against my nature (evidenced by the knee episode) of just powering through, but does make the whole process seem more doable. Sliding down the hill was fun and doing the arrests was a great way to cool off, especially since I forgot to zip up the sides of my pants the first time town.

Two weeks and I go back up and see if I can learn how to pull Rob out of a crevasse (or be pulled out myself).

It's worth noting that in Vermont yesterday the freezing level was around 1500 feet (not 15,000 feet), with new snow on the hilltops....


It's also worth noting that this is today's view from Paradise: