Carbon Glacier Camp (8,600 Feet) to Thumb Rock Camp (10,760 Feet) via Upper Carbon Glacier, Gully O' Death on east side of Liberty Ridge
Sunrise from Carbon Glacier Camp
The next morning we wake to slightly less severe winds, and a beautiful sunrise above the clouds, so we pack, and head up the glacier for the remaining 200-300 feet of hiking to the base of Liberty Ridge.
Carbon Glacier Camp
After a quick, uneventful slog up to the top of the Carbon, we start traversing along the western (right) side of the ridge to reach the base of the large snow gully that will eventually take us to Thumb Rock, 2000 feet above us.
Liberty Ridge at Sunrise, Right Side Approach Gulley
Along the way, we end up dodging some rockfall off of the ridge to our right, and traveling over some very disconcerting serac avalanche debris that has fallen from the ice cliffs along the top of Liberty Wall, 4000 feet above us to the left.
Final Approach to Base of Ridge
This semi-consolidated chunky ice, while relatively solid, gives the impression of walking on eggshells. Since we’re traveling around some serious crevasses, it takes us a while to navigate to the base of the ridge, where we're greeted with yet another frighteningly large bergschrund (crevasse or series of crevasses at the top of a valley glacier where a flowing mass of ice separates from a stationary mass of snow, ice, or rock), which we have to cross via a tiny, exposed, snow/ice bridge that takes us up onto the steep snow slopes of the giant gully. I start the climb up into the snow gully, with a slope averaging around 50-55 degrees, and am immediately greeted by the first of many rockfalls when a dinner-plate size chunk of rock comes whizzing by my head at high velocity. After a quick “ROCK!” scream from me, Dan, who has just crossed the uncomfortably tiny bridge over the bergschrund, looks up and has only a second to dodge this missile sailing directly towards his face. With a single, nerve-shreddingly well placed and timed rock, Mt. Rainier has officially welcomed us onto Liberty Ridge.
At this point, it is around 10:00 am, and we were told by the climbing rangers when we registered and bought our permits that we needed to be out of this gully by around 11:00 am, because the rockfall increases significantly after the sun has had a few hours to warm the slope and the rocks that had been frozen in place by the cold of the night get looser and looser as the day progresses. As we climb up the steep snow slopes, with more and more exposure and an enormous crevasse waiting for us at the bottom in the case of a mistake, we discover that even at this relatively early hour, we are basically in a shooting gallery, with rocks coming down at us every minute or two for the entire time we are in this gully. Since the majority of these rocks are falling from loose cliff bands near the top of the ridge, 1,500+ feet above us, they are usually traveling extremely fast by the time they reach us, so our eyes are pointed up for the majority of our time in this gully. Despite our collective vigilance, Dan is whacked in the leg by a good-sized chunk; thankfully the shell of his plastic boot takes most of the impact, and no harm is done. I get nailed on the top of my right hand by a fist sized rock that actually splits in half when it hits my hand and the top of the mountaineering axe that I am holding at the time, thankfully doing no damage to my hand but causing a lot of swearing.
Hooman Near Top of Gully O' Death
After half an hour of frenzied, high stakes dodgeball, and 1250+ feet of climbing, Dan and I take shelter under a solid-looking cliff, and grab a short break while we wait for Hooman to catch up to us after our adrenaline-induced, extremely inefficient sprint up the gully. (side note - It's during this break that Dan utters the phrase that sticks in my head for the rest of the climb, and accurately describes our experience on the mountain - "Dude - we're on Liberty Ridge - on the knife edge between life, death and bliss". Credit is due to Dan for the title of the blog - well said) Hooman, in his usual deliberate and unstoppable style, catches up to us, not even breathing hard, and we continue on up the gully. By this point, we are mostly out of the danger zone, so Dan and I slow down, but due to lingering exhaustion from our earlier effort spent getting up the gully as fast as possible, still have a hard time keeping up with Hooman.
Dan Approaching Thumb Rock
We finally reach the top of the ridge, where we find a beautiful, empty campsite waiting for us at Thumb Rock, with really, really, ridiculously good looking views of the Liberty Wall on one side, the horrifying bulk of the Willis Wall on the other side, and the Carbon Glacier, Seattle, Tacoma, and the Puget Sound area several thousand feet below us. The wind is still blowing, but previous occupants of this campsite have left us a decent rock wall, so we have a refuge for relaxing, cooking, and sleeping.
We decide that it would be a good decision to take a significant rest at this warm, comfortable campsite, and continue on up the route in the dark later that evening. After an hour, we are joined by a team of 2 from Utah that had been following below us for most of the morning. After food, conversation, and melting snow for water, Dan, Hooman and I all head to sleeping bags, and get some rest before getting up at 10:00 pm to continue up the ridge.
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