Emmons Glacier to Terminus, Mt Rainier

Original, un-edited trip report: https://engineeredforadventure.com/emmons-glacier-to-terminus-mt-rainier/

Background

Emmons, 'full pull'. If you've ever climbed up the Emmons route on Rainier, you've probably looked down at the lower portions of the Emmons Glacier between Mt. Ruth/Interglacier and Little Tahoma and thought 'wow, that looks fun'. It's the largest contiguous glacier on Rainier and therefore the lower 48. . . neat fact I guess?

Thomas and I had been chatting for a week or two about getting out on Rainier. We'd tossed around a few ideas, but the mountain really is falling apart quickly this spring. We both had been psyched on the idea of Emmons full pull for a while. . . it was time. The group grew in numbers, Erin had a day off and Manny was also psyched. A crew was assembled, time to march!

I'd read Amar's 2011 trip report of doing this exact same trip, albeit in a much fatter snow year. Thomas and I scoured satellite imagery and plotted a course; there'd be some dry moraine bashing at the bottom and some crevasse dodging on the ramp between the Emmons and the DC, but it all looked manageable.

Trip Report

We agreed on a 3AM wakeup and moving by 330AM. Freezing levels were cold, around 9,500', and winds were forecast to be pretty high above 10k', around 30-35 mph. We didn't need an early start but the lower mountain would probably corn up right on time so it seemed prudent to follow the normal rhythms of Rainier.

Flip flop man (Thomas), Manny, Erin and I set off in the dark forest towards Glacier Basin. I swear, that forest is the darkest I can remember in the morning. Within 2 miles or so we hit continuous snow; we had waffled on whether to leave our trail runners at the turn-off for the Emmons Moraine Trail or not, but opted to keep our shoes with us and bring them up-and-over (and thank goodness we did. . . more on that later).

The Emmons route seems to be surprisingly fat compared to just about any other route on the mountain this year; the snow in Glacier Basin is deeper than other, fatter years I've experienced. Skinning up the Interglacier was super chill, no ski pons or booting required. Thomas and I chatted about ski stoke while Manny and Erin chatted. . . it was nice to talk and keep the minds off the endless climb up to Steamboat Prow.

Before long we were atop the prow looking over at the Emmons. We got a great view at the ramp we would try to ski, between the typical Emmons route and the DC. It looked clean, with a few tricky sections of crevasse-dodging but no mandatory 'schrund hucks or such. Our biggest concern: wind. Atop the ridge we already began to experience wind that would haunt us for the rest of the day. . .

We mashed down the moraine to the Emmons from the prow and roped up for the climb up to Schurman/Corridor. As soon as we got above Schurman Flats winds picked up and didn't really die for the remainder of the climb, womp womp.

We never had intentions of summitting; instead, we had drawn a route climbing up the Corridor and instead of traversing across the Alpine Garden, continuing straight up to around 13.4'k and then traversing climber's left over to the ramp system we'd been eyeing. The summit cap appeared to have huge 'schrunds that would make coming top-down into the ramp tricky/impassable.

Climbing up was a battle of keeping warm and stoked; we plodded up, trying our best to not stare directly into the wind for too long. There were a few big schrunds above the Corridor to manage but all well-bridged, especially in the firm snow (thanks to the wind).

The traverse over to the ramp went easily and we found a flat spot to stop right around 13.5'k. It was still quite windy but we grabbed some food and water, stashed the rope, and readied to ski down. The snow was firm but good, edgeable chalk. We anticipated that at some point, below the windline, it would instantly turn to corn. . . or at least we hoped so.

Skiing the ramp was sweet, a nice variation on a more 'familiar' route. You get a more remote feeling than following a bootpack down the Corridor. Just like the Emmons, the position with Little Tahoma in the background is impressive.

Via satellite, Thomas and I had identified that getting off the ramp to the lower Emmons would be the crux. We periodically checked our maps and photos we'd taken earlier in the day, trying to identify the sneak throughs we'd take. Big glaciers can be hard to navigate, the scale is just so disorienting.

We found a sneak-through that went around 10.9k', albeit under a huge serac. We had a choice to make: continue down the ramp and play with 'schrunds that probably went, or take the guaranteed sneak we were looking down beneath a giant serac? We talked through options, timing, etc. We agreed on the serac sneak, with the known passable way through. It wasn't ideal to take on so much objective hazard, but neither was trying to plot a way top-down through some big cracks. Pick your poison.

Thomas led us through, without issue. And just as expected, we transitioned from firm windboard to corn pretty much in an instant. Anywhere the wind hadn't touched was corning up nicely.

Now off the ramp and out of the objective hazard, we took a break, looked up, and studied our route. There was definitely a way off the ramp without sneaking under the serac, but it was hard to pick out from above. A lesson learned for next time!

The lower Emmons was just as lovely as it has always looked from high on the Corridor: low angle corn with amazing position all around you. We ripped GS turns down. . . to the toe! We were psyched on the adventure of skiing to the terminus. Would it involve some BS? Absolutely. But that was kinda the point.

We were able ski to the terminus of the Emmons with only one or two ski-carry-over-rock mounds. Amar's trip report had MUCH more snow than we had. . . haha. In a fatter year it'd be much more sensible to ski skier's left to the moraine trail and make a clean exit. Instead, we had to choose between punching over tall moraine humps or skiing to the river then bush-bashing back to the moraine trail. There was a snow finger that went nearly all the way to the river, so we chose that.

There was some funkiness getting off the glacier down to the river; Thomas opted for the downclimb on blue glacial ice. The first downclimb descent of the north ridge of the terminus of the Emmons Glacier. . . lol, sillyness.

Flip flop man was better prepared than I to cross the braided sections of the headwaters of the White River. Darn. . . flip flops are the move I guess? I relinquished my dry feet to the White River.

Getting back to the trail was the BS adventure we had so hoped for, and more. Thick alder required full linebacker pushing at times. It was a comical way to end the day. Again, in a fatter snow year this can be entirely avoided.

Tired and laughably stoked, we were finally back on the Emmons Moraine trail and hiking out by early afternoon. We looked back at the Emmons, its terminus, and the upper mountain. Emmons, full pull. Worthy of a poke.