I’m sorry I was unable to post anything yesterday; it was a fun day and a filled day. I’ll add more details later about what mountaineering school was like, but we’re running a little short on time. Right now, Tim and Carl and Lauren and I are making final preparations with our big packs: clothing layers, gear, ice ax, crampons, boots, rain gear, sleeping bags, the list goes on. Basically, our packs are filled to the gills and we’ll be carrying about 50 pounds from Paradise Valley, at around 5,000 feet, up to Camp Muir, which is above 10,000 feet. That climb is supposed to take about 6 hours. We rest at Muir for the afternoon and are supposed to go to “sleep” around 6pm so that we can get some rest for the summit. Sometime around midnight (good song), the guides come in to wake us from whatever amount of sleep we’ve been able to achieve and we leave Muir to head to the summit.
From the RMI blog, here’s what happened to yesterday’s team and their summit attempt:
MT. RAINIER: AVALANCHE CONDITIONS KEEP TEAM FROM SUMMIT
September 3, 2016
Expedition Dispatches
Mount Rainier Elevation: 11,400′
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led Pete Van Deventer and Mike King, is back at Camp Muir after turning on the upper mountain due to route and avalanche conditions. They encountered snow up to waist deep, providing poor footing on exposed slopes. The weather reported from Camp Muir is clear, calm, and cold. The teams will depart for Paradise soon.
So please, Mother Nature, no avalanches, no rain, no bad weather, no sleet, no rain (good song), no white-out conditions. Wish us luck!
Love,
Nick
PS Cool piece from King 5 in Seattle about the Rally on Rainier: http://www.king5.com/mb/news/local/team-climbs-rainier-for-a-cure-this-weekend/313174500
Nick McIlwain 
Following you guys on the GPS tracker, looks like you’re at camp muir… get some rest if you can! Josh
Best of luck, Nick and team.