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Mt. Rainier Trip Report
Shonee Langford

Fellow climbers,

Last weekend, five of us attempted Mt. Rainier via the D.C. Route. On our way down the mountain, I had a medical emergency at roughly 11,600 feet (midway down the Disappointment Cleaver). Fortunately we all made it off the mountain safely, thanks in no small part to a strong and competent team.


Trip report with photo link attached.


Respectfully,


Shonee Langford

Bryon Snapp
Glad you made it off the mountain under your own steam and didn’t need a helicopter or the ambulance once back to the pavement.  We carried an extra sleeping bag and bivi sack on Rainer as a group, but not a stove.  That was probably a mistake if things were bad enough to actually need the sleeping bag and bivi. 

So, did you turn around at 12,500…or was it higher than that when the team pulled the plug and started back down. Sounds like you really didn’t have any viable options and it was smart to not push your luck trying to establish a new route through the collapse. 

By the way, the Chemeketan’s rarely climb Little Tahoma…but is has been one on my more memorable Chemeketan climbs. It is nearly the same height as Hood. It really has a majestic, lofty summit that has a breathtaking view of the DC, all of Rainer towering above and a cool vantage point over to the Emmons and the super cool, but narely Liberty Ridge looming behind the Emmons glacier. 

Great write up…and appreciate the honest evaluation. Hope your doing better very soon. 

Snapp



Mad Marmot

Second Bryon's sentiment and glad you're feeling better. Good to see that the climb team came together to help get you through. Given the nature of the onset of the symptoms and the hospital seemingly ruling out any kidney stone related issues, had you experienced any similar problems previously? A pinched nerve/sciatica related condition might be a "usual suspect" if you'd had any prior history of same, but it would really depend on the nature and location of the pain. It certainly sounded debilitating enough!

Being able to evaluate your experience candidly encourages everyone to be honest with themselves in terms of knowing when to say "enough". It should also spur the effort to raise the level of WFA preparedness within the club, though your particular experience doesn't lend itself to any easy or obvious diagnosis. It also somewhat reassuring to learn that the level of care on the part of the NP staff and/or climbing rangers was good.

Bill

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