Mount Rainier Gibraltar Ledges Route Section




Click on the above photo to see a close-up of the route.



The route starts in Paradise at the upper parking lot (5,420 feet). Take the Skyline Trail 1.5 miles to Panorama Point (6,900 feet). Follow the trail to Pebble Creek (7,200 feet), where the Muir Snowfield begins. Ascend North-Northwest to Camp Muir (10,080 feet). Setup "base camp" and stay the first night at Camp Muir.
The climb from Paradise to Muir normally takes between 4 to 8 hours and a 4,500 foot gain is made.


From Camp Muir, ascend the Cowlitz Cleaver or the left side of the Cowlitz Glacier (if you climb the glacier, be aware of crevasses and bergschrunds) to the high camp "Beehive" (10,800 feet) and setup camp for the second night. This stop will help climbers to acclimitize.
The climb from Camp Muir to the Beehive should only take an hour and a 750 foot gain is made.


The summit attempt starts at 1AM. From the beehive, climb to the base of Gibraltar Rock (11,600 feet). Once you reach the base of Gibraltar (Camp Misery), find the obvious ledge that leads out to the left (West) side of Gibraltar. Traverse and ascend the ledges to the top of Gibraltar Rock (12,600 feet). From the top of Gibraltar Rock (Camp Comfort), ascend the upper Nisqually and Inggraham Glaciers to the Crater Rim (14,150 feet). Watch for unstable snow bridges. From the rim, it's a 20 minute walk to Columbia Crest (14,411 feet).
The climb from High Camp (the Beehive) to the summit takes between 5 to 8 hours and a 3,600 foot gain is made.


The descent to High Camp (the Beehive) takes between 2½ to 3½ hours. From High Camp, the descent to Base Camp (Muir) should take less than 1 hour. The descent from Base Camp to Paradise takes between 2 to 5 hours.

The complete climb from Paradise to Columbia Crest is approximately 9,000 feet.


Click here to return to the Mt. Rainier main page.
Click here to see the topo maps for Mt. Rainier.
Click here to see some related photos.
Click here to see some related links.
Click here to see the team information.
Click here to see the equipment necessary to climb Rainier.