Starting up the Muir Snowfield. Self-snapshot. I had compass bearings but decided to follow one of the rangers. As the photo shows, I was very well-oriented.

Camp Muir at ~10,000 feet. I had to stay the night here and find climbing partners because the NPS would not let me get a solo permit without written permission from the superintendant. My climbing partners changed their minds the next morning (2:00 am), so I went by myself. The NPS had to issue a $125 citation because technically I broke the law. In retrospect, I would have waited a couple more days and looked for new climbing partners, but I still think people exaggerate the risk of the DC route. (Other routes on Rainier are a completely different ballgame.)

The far cabins were for RMI and NPS. The close cabin on the right was for the general public. There were about 15 of us sleeping in there, and it smelled like somebody shit their pants. I can only imagine what it would be like on a weekend...

Most of the women brought their own tents and camped out on the Cowlitz Glacier. Smart.

Disappointment Cleaver and Gilbraltar Rock. This was taken on the way down. On the way up my camera batteries were too cold. Since I was climbing solo, I wanted to get back down to the DC before the mid-morning sun started melting the glaciers and weakening the snowbridges. At the DC I hung out for awhile and enjoyed the view. Cell phone actually worked. Then I waited for a roped team of four to go ahead of me on the Ingraham and Cowlitz Glaciers. If they could cross the snowbridges, then I could probably cross...

Emmons glacier. Mid-season the route followed this long traverse to avoid the large crevasses on the normal DC route. At sunrise, I missed an amazing photo. Had to take this after my batteries warmed up on the way back down.

Crevasses on the Emmons Glacier:

Self-snapshot at Columbia Crest. This is the official tippy-top, the highest point on the crater rim. 14,411 feet!

Also climbed Shasta on the way back. I did not bring my camera because I wanted to travel light and do it as an aerobic workout. I regret leaving the camera in the car because there was an amazing field of penitentes at 14,000 feet just below the summit, and looking up at the pyramid peak with the clouds passing over and the reddish rocks...it looked like an alien landscape from a sci-fi movie. Someday I'll get that photo...