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We arrived at the trailhead on Sunday afternoon. Evelyn is all smiles. We spent the night in the van for an early morning start. The road was washed out further up so we had an extra mile and a half walk in and out. We woke to the alarm at 3:30 am and ate breakfast. This is the moon not the sun. The trailhead is at 4,150 feet and we climbed to Long's Pass at 6,200 feet. This picture was taken on the way out as the one in the early morning had no sun on it. I placed it here because this is the first close-up view Evelyn had of the mountain. It is daunting. The valley floor is at 4,700 feet and the summit is at 9,415 feet. That is 4,715 feet of local relief. Ulrich's Couloir is to the center and Evelyn chickened out on it so we attempted the Cascadian Couloir to the right of it. Not nearly as steep. This is looking up at the couloir from the base. Evelyn is still all smiles and eager to start the climb. At this point we have climbed up Long's Pass and have gained 2,150 feet and then decended down to 4,700 feet. The flowers are all in full bloom. We enter the couloir proper. And up and up we go. Evelyn doing a small pitch. Normally you don't use an ice ax on rock but we had them so employed them at times. Above the ridge behind us allowing us to see in the distance. That is Mt. Rainier near the center. A telephoto view of Mt. Rainier. This is as high as we went, elevation 7,200, still 2,215 feet short of the 9,415 summit. We ran out of time as our 2 pm turnaround time was on us and we had already gained 4,650 feet counting Long's Pass, and we still had to climb back over it to get out. It is tempting to keep climbing but it meant coming down with flashlights. Evelyn was not up to the task as this was her real first mountaineering adventure. Mt. Stuart is a real mountain and can bite you if you let it. A not so happy Evelyn coming down. She was going really slow and was not mentally prepared. But this was just a shakedown climb and in my last post I said we didn't have a snowballs chance. The next full moon in August will find us back in the same place, except we will take three full days. I walked across the log both in and out but Evelyn couldn't do it on her feet. We got back to the van where we ate dinner and slept for a couple hours before the three hour drive back home. All in all we gained 6,150 feet going over the pass, up Stuart and then back over the pass and out.

Gene, how did Evelyn like it? Do you think she will like it as much as you do?

Beautiful photography also.

daytime dave wrote:Gene, how did Evelyn like it? Do you think she will like it as much as you do?

Beautiful photography also.

At the high point she cursed me a few times asking what made me think she could do it; this was when she still had to hike down, up and out. She was tired and dehydrated. When we did the Katwalk she kept saying "how beautiful" and I kept telling her hiking is different from mountaineering. Mountaineering is not to be enjoyed -it is meant to be endured and survived. You never conquer a mountain but rather your own inabilities.

My only promise to her was that she would come back alive. She came over this morning and was asking about next time so that is a good sign.

Evelyn is one gutsy gal, SH. Hopefully she'll come to enjoy hurting herself as much as you do.

That's beautiful scenery, btw.

Les wrote:Evelyn is one gutsy gal, SH. Hopefully she'll come to enjoy hurting herself as much as you do.

That's beautiful scenery, btw.

Mountaineering is tough on the body. At the top of Long's Pass a gust of wind knocked me to the side as I took a step and I hit my leg on a rock. Hands getting beat up is normal. Evelyn was stung by a bee.

Nice to see pictures of where I was raised Gene thanks for posting these and Im glad you all had a good time. Al

Beautiful views. I love the high country.

Vert cool SirH

Beautiful scenery and pictures. If I took my wife on a grueling adventure like that, I would not have survived - she would have killed me without mercy. I have to give Evelyn two thumbs up!
I spent some time in Ft. Lewis Washington in 1970. Your pictures of Mt.Rainier in background brought back memories. That is a sight one does not forget.