Last Friday morning we made a last-minute decision to climb Little Tahoma. By Friday evening we were headed to Ranger Creek Airstrip, hoping to score a Little T backcountry permit for Saturday night.
We took our time getting there, stopping near Tacoma Mall to charge the car and browse Half Price Books. We rolled into the airstrip around 10 PM and were first in line at the ranger station by 6:30 AM.
Apparently inflation has reached the mountains. It’s now $82 every time you go above 10,000 feet, and there’s a $150 fee to scatter ashes. The guy behind us in line mentioned he was carrying his dad’s ashes. None of us thought it was appropriate to ask whether he’d paid the permit fee.
Ranger Creek stayed above 50°F all night, making for a comfortable bivy.
We left Fryingpan Creek Trailhead at 8:30 AM and reached Summerland around noon. Summerland was absolutely overrun with marmots. After a nap at an overlook, we wandered off trail through the meadows on our way to Meany Crest. We should probably do better with the Leave No Trace part of mountaineering.
We reached Meany Crest around 2:30 PM and decided to continue to the bluff above it. That turned out to be an excellent choice. We found a protected campsite tucked against a massive boulder and rock wall with room for both tents. Dinner was done and we were in sleeping bags by 4:30 PM. The sunset was spectacular, with Rainier casting a huge triangular shadow across the southeastern horizon.
Alarms went off at 2:00 AM and we were moving by 2:30. We reached the top of the Fryingpan Glacier around 6:00 AM.
Johannes and I pushed up the steep snowfield below the summit block hoping to establish a route before Megan arrived. As Megan approached the bergschrund, she lost her footing and tumbled roughly 400 feet down the slope. The snow was firm, and she sustained injuries to her face, wrist, and ankle. It was remarkable that she wasn’t hurt more seriously. She was able to slow herself with her ice axe; without that self-arrest, the outcome could have been much worse.
There are plenty of things I could have done differently and many lessons to take away from the experience. We were fortunate to walk away with relatively minor injuries given the terrain and conditions.
With Johannes helping manage the descent, we made it safely back to the trailhead and reached the car around 4:00 PM.
Little Tahoma remains unclimbed for now. The mountain will still be there.
We took our time getting there, stopping near Tacoma Mall to charge the car and browse Half Price Books. We rolled into the airstrip around 10 PM and were first in line at the ranger station by 6:30 AM.
Apparently inflation has reached the mountains. It’s now $82 every time you go above 10,000 feet, and there’s a $150 fee to scatter ashes. The guy behind us in line mentioned he was carrying his dad’s ashes. None of us thought it was appropriate to ask whether he’d paid the permit fee.
Ranger Creek stayed above 50°F all night, making for a comfortable bivy.
We left Fryingpan Creek Trailhead at 8:30 AM and reached Summerland around noon. Summerland was absolutely overrun with marmots. After a nap at an overlook, we wandered off trail through the meadows on our way to Meany Crest. We should probably do better with the Leave No Trace part of mountaineering.
We reached Meany Crest around 2:30 PM and decided to continue to the bluff above it. That turned out to be an excellent choice. We found a protected campsite tucked against a massive boulder and rock wall with room for both tents. Dinner was done and we were in sleeping bags by 4:30 PM. The sunset was spectacular, with Rainier casting a huge triangular shadow across the southeastern horizon.
Alarms went off at 2:00 AM and we were moving by 2:30. We reached the top of the Fryingpan Glacier around 6:00 AM.
Johannes and I pushed up the steep snowfield below the summit block hoping to establish a route before Megan arrived. As Megan approached the bergschrund, she lost her footing and tumbled roughly 400 feet down the slope. The snow was firm, and she sustained injuries to her face, wrist, and ankle. It was remarkable that she wasn’t hurt more seriously. She was able to slow herself with her ice axe; without that self-arrest, the outcome could have been much worse.
There are plenty of things I could have done differently and many lessons to take away from the experience. We were fortunate to walk away with relatively minor injuries given the terrain and conditions.
With Johannes helping manage the descent, we made it safely back to the trailhead and reached the car around 4:00 PM.
Little Tahoma remains unclimbed for now. The mountain will still be there.
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