IBEXtrax.com - Cascade Mountains of Washington State Mount Rainier Park

19 Mount Rainier - Fuhrer Finger Attempt

June 1974

We put together a hasty schedule and then Chris, Rudi, Paul and I were off from Juanita. Driving my brother Don's big Lincoln Continental, we arrived in luxury at Paradise two hours later. The weather was clear and nippy. The mountain was ominous with its many shades of gray in the gathering dusk. Just below the parking lot we stopped to photograph a male grouse. The bird was all puffed up and looking for a good time.

At the ranger station we found the door locked. With the phone provided, Chris called the appropriate number. The phone rang and rang. After talking with other climbers in the parking lot, we followed their advice and drove over to the Parks Service Employee Housing. Chris got the ranger and then we went back to the Visitors Center. We made out the IBM cards and were encouraged by the ranger. Usually camping is prohibited in the Paradise area, but he hinted that we could stay if we were away by eight in the morning.

Back at the trailhead, I had second thoughts when I shouldered my seventy pound pack. A few hundred yards up the well trod trail, we pitched the tents in the moon light.

We were up at seven o'clock and a leisurely hot breakfast was prepared. The view of the Tatoosh Range in the morning sun was breathtaking. I started at a slow pace and Rudy strolled along with me. A man with skis on his pack went by us; just before we left the trail and headed west. At the Nisqually Glacier overlook, Rudi and I watched to see that Paul and Chris picked up our trail. The morning sun was bright and sunny.

I plunged down a hard packed gully, and Rudi slipped and performed a snappy self arrest. In the process he scraped up his arm. We stopped on the east lateral moraine of the Nisqually Glacier. I cleaned and anointed Rudi's abrasions. Paul and Chris caught up and then we descended to the Nisqually Glacier. In the shade of a tuft dike, we applied sunburn preventative and then roped up. While helping Rudi with his rope craft, one of my REI ovals got away from me. I watched helplessly as the carabineer skittered down the glacier.

Chris and I had a minor discussion about the use of our hand-made willow wands. I tried to convince him of the importance of there use higher up on the mountain. The conversation ended on an uncomfortable note. On our oblique traverse to the gully we passed near a few visible crevasses, but we passed safely following the prints of a preceding party. However, at the base of the gully we encountered overlapping crevasses. Ironically and to contradict my own advice, I placed wands on the sharp direction changes as we wove through the maze. Chris nodded with an "I-told-you-so" agreement.

The lower portion of the gully was littered with avalanche debris. The footing was depressing. A huge cornice hung menacingly above us. We moved up quickly.

Halfway up the gully, while doing the rest step, we were passed by a party of middle-aged men. I thought it would be great to be in that good of shape when I was that old. Rudi complained that we were going too slowly. I knew he was right, but my heavy load necessitated a stop at the top of the gully for lunch.

Chris melted snow on his Sevea and I melted some snow on my poncho. We noticed a very large party practicing on the Nisqually Glacier. After lunch Chris led up, and we practiced a team arrest. Upon reaching the crest of Wapowety Cleaver, between the Kautz and Wilson Glaciers, we unroped.

The many hours of climbing were beginning to get to me. All I wanted to do was rest, and my will to go higher was weakening. I rested with Paul and Rudi below the symmetrical rock formation we called The Castle. We watched Chris climb up. Then Rudi started out. As I watch him, I dreaded the exertion I would have to put out to get up. After calculating that I was four hours behind my schedule, I left Paul behind. I fell into a zombie-like state. My pace was slow, sometimes dropping to two gasps per step. My goal was to climb above the Castle to the marked camp that I saw in the guide.

Just above the Castle I found a camp site for two tents. Chris was nowhere to be seen. I yelled a few times before Rudi came around the rock. He said he had not seen Chris. I showed Rudi the camp spots, and then started down around the rock. Chris appeared, and I pointed out were our tent would be pitched.

I quickly continued down until I found Paul. When Paul looked up, as I arrived, he looked exhausted. He wouldn't accept my help. At the Castle camp Rudi was erecting his tent. He said Chris went around the Castle for his gear. I climbed out on the Castle, and saw Chris taking down his tent at the bottom of the Castle. I felt guilty about having Chris move his tent. I shook with a cold chill as I noticed the sun was setting.

Back at the camp I got into my bag, boots and all. Down at Rudi's tent, Paul was melting water. Chris arrived, and no words were exchanged. I helped stake the tent. When the tent was up, I filled my poncho with snow and placed it near the door. I told Chris I was cold, and I got into the tent. I put my pack under me and loaded my rucksack before I crawled into my bag. I tried to rest, but I started to panic when I couldn't stop gasping for air. The crisis ended when I stuck my head out of my sleeping bag. Chris came in, and started melting snow. I slept. By the time we finished eating dinner it was ten o'clock.

My schedule was to rise at midnight, and Rudi's voice broke my uncomfortable sleep. I melted snow, and made cocoa and oatmeal. Outside the tent my headlamp was working intermittently. I laid out the ropes, and then strapped on my crampons.

Paul said he felt like shit, and wasn't going up. When Chris got up I told him about Paul. Chris thought that we should all go or none. Paul said he would go if we took it easy. I was easily irritated when asked to help with crampon straps and rope craft.

My feet were numbing when we started out. I led up a snow bridge that I marked with wands. I traversed east at a good pace as we crossed below the huge burgschrund on the Wilson Glacier. After crossing the burgschrund on an avalanche fan, Chris slowed the pace as he led up into the Fuhrer Finger.

We stopped for Paul to relieve himself, and when I sat down my eyelids tried to close. I said I was tired. Chris and Rudi said nothing. We played this weird game were everyone wanted to go back down, but no one wanted to admit defeat. Paul finally said he wouldn't object to going back down. I laid the question on Chris. He shrugged it off with an "I don't care". Rudi was disappointed.

We watched the sunrise before we started down. The crampons soon became a bother, so Paul and I stopped and took them off. Rudi kept his crampons on, and plunged down unroped. Paul stepped off the rock were we took off our crampons. For the first few feet of Paul's glissade he looked under control. His speed started to increase and I watched the rope pay out. Just before the end of the rope, I stepped off the rock. One step was all I got. I was pulled over; landing on my handmade willow wands. I don't know if it was reflex or Instinct, but I spun into the self arrest position. My T-bird bit deep and we stopped. Rudi yelled, "Alright", and I scoped out Paul.

Pieces of my wands were scattered all over the slope. I signaled Paul to continue and I kept tension on the rope until he was moving O.K. again. I picked up some speed and pulled up along side of Paul. We glissaded down together. Just before we reached the glacier, Paul flipped into the self arrest position and I followed his lead. My ice axe gripped first and Paul's axe was fouled by the rope. The dynamic rope absorbed the shock. At the base of the finger we all roped together and then Chris followed the wands back across the Wilson Glacier. I hit the sack as soon as we arrived at Castle camp.

When I awoke at four PM, found that Rudi didn't sleep, but had been climbing on the Castle. Chris did some hard routes. When we were packed, Rudi and Paul headed down first. Chris and I ate our summit strawberries before we slid down to meet Paul and Rudi. The glissading was so much fun that it was easy for me to get caught up in the sliding. Rudi had to remind me to keep away from the crevasses of the Lower Wilson Icefall. We turned left at the Triangle Rock and then glissaded together, down to the bottom of the gully. The snow was crusty in the shade of the setting sun. On the last butt slide near the bottom of the gully I blew out my rain pants.

The wands I had placed at the bottom of the gully were now treacherously close to the expanding crevasses. Roped up on the Nisqually Glacier, we crossed in Echelon formation. On the east side of the glacier, we picked up the trail left from the large party that was practicing the day-before.

By the time we hit the trail that was the highway from Camp Muir, we were well strung out. Rudi disappeared in the distance ahead and I stepped out and did some serious trucking. By the time I reached the car, the sun had set. I met Rudi in the restroom. We shared the Cold Cream he had, to remove the grease paint from our faces. I asked Rudi what he thought about our effort. He expressed some strong ideas on why we were unsuccessful. I went to the Ranger Station and checked out. The ranger asked a few questions and then I gave him a summery of events. We cooked a canned dinner in the trunk of the car before we drove down from Paradise. At the first tavern we found, I bought a six pack of Rainier Beer.

03 064 Mount Rainier; Fuhrer Finger sketch

Fuhrer Finger is a narrow couloir named for Hans Fuhrer, the guide who led the first ascent on July 2, 1920. The route is the shortest to Rainier's summit as it climbs directly from the head of the Wilson Glacier to the upper crevasses of the Nisqually Glacier.

Need time to melt snow!

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