Climbing Mount Rainier?

Question

I am 17 and I am planning to climb Mount Rainier in August of '08 (I have nearly 8 months to train). I am physically fit and hope to train even more (I am very disciplined and committed to this goal and I am willing to put in the time and effort). I am planning to go with a company that organizes and guides climbing expeditions, so I know I will be in good hands, but I am concerned about whether Rainier is too much for a first time climber. When I spoke to the company I am climbing with, all they said is that I have to train up to the point where I can climb with a 40 pound pack. I understand that Rainier is not a terribly technical climb but I am still wondering if someone could give me some advice. Unfortunately, I am not able to do any hiking or climbing in the mountains during my training because of where I live but I will have a time period of about 2-3 weeks in Washington (prior to the climb). Is that enough time to get the experience I need in the mountains? Please help me!!

Answer 1

Being physically fit is good, but you need to be able to handle 2 more things, 1) the cold, and 2) the high altitude. The cold you should be able to handle if you have adequate mountain gear, but the high altitude is something else. If you've never been exposed to high altitudes before, you could suddenly find yourself with a real bad case of altitude sickness, and your climb may have to be aborted. What to do? First, find out if you're susceptible to it by going up to high altitudes somewhere else, at least 8,000 feet. If you are, then 1) take Diamox (get a prescription from your doctor, and read the directions---check out Diamox on the internet for information on its use for altitude sickness), and 2) inform your climbing party that you might need extra time to acclimatize to the altitude as you go up. Eventually you can get to the top if you have trained guides with you, but you just might have to take a bit longer. The alternative is to acclimatize before you go to Mt Rainer, which you can do by staying a few days at high altitudes elsewhere. There are places where you can drive up to high altitudes. Or you can just arrive at Mt Rainer early and stay at the highest practical altitude until the time of your climb.

You cannot prepare yourself from high altitude sickness by being physically fit---it can strike even very fit people.