Post by Peter Bakwin on Nov 11, 2009 20:42:52 GMT -5
Uli Steidl climbed Mount Rainier in 4h24m30s RT on foot on July 26, 2016.
Willie Benegas held the FKT previously at 4h40m59s RT on September 17, 2008.
Eric Carter has the skier FKT, 3h51m40s, June 3, 2014.
Mount Rainier (14,411 feet) is the highest peak in Washington, and 5th highest in the conterminous USA. There are many great routes on Rainier, and any ascent is a true classic. The most commonly-climbed route is the Disappointment Cleaver from the Paradise parking lot, via Camp Muir and Ingraham Glacier. The route requires glacier travel and around 9,000 feet of altitude gain.
Speed records on Rainier go back decades, usually done by mountain guides on their days off. The guides know the route and conditions intimately, and know when conditions are ripe for a speed attempt. Climbing legends Lou and Jim Whittaker, with John Day, made the first known speed ascent in 1959, making the ascent in 5h20m and round trip in 7h20m. In 1981, Craig Van Hoy lowered that to 5h25m. The first sub-5 hour trip was August 9, 2004, by Chad Kellogg, in 4h59m01s. Kellogg used ski poles and wore track spikes instead of crampons. His report is here. Kellogg's claims have been questioned by some. Dan Howitt has made it something of a crusade to discredit Kellogg, and has raised some compelling points. Howitt continues to claim the "official" record on Rainier, of 5h59m5s, but of course the idea of any record on Rainier being "official" is entirely specious. In any event, since Kellogg's times have been superceded (see below), the debate appears to be moot.
The summer of 2008 saw a flurry of speed record activity on Rainier. Due to epic winter and spring snow, the DC route remained exceptionally direct even as the snow conditions stabilized late in the summer.
On July 9, 29-year-old IMG guide Justin Merle took about 10 minutes off the record, completing the route in 4h49m35s. Merle's trip report is here. He carried ski poles and wore light-weight boots and Kahtoola crampons.
Less than a month later, on August 5, fellow IMG guide Liam O'Sullivan bested Merle's time buy just over 3 minutes, achieving 4h46m29s. O'Sullivan's time to the summit was 3h11m22s. A brief report is here.
AAI guide Michael Horst also made an attempt on August 5, but with 5h15m he was unable to match O'Sullivan. On August 16 former Mount Everest speed record holder and AAI guide Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa attempted the Rainier record, but was hampered by a calf injury. He completed the climb in 5h39m43s.
Finally, on September 17, Mountain Madness guide Willie Benegas made the car-to-car trip in 4h40m59s, as reported here. Benegas took about 3h20m to reach the summit.
Benegas' FKT stood for nearly 8 years and was finally bested by stand-out distance runner Uli Steidl, as reported below. On July 26, 2016, Steidl ran the DC route, knocking over 16 minutes off the FKT, taking it down to 4h24m30s. Steidl's gps track is here.
Faster times have been set on Rainier by skiers. On May 20, 2013, skimo racers Nick Elson and Eric Carter broke Benegas' (then) "runner" record by more than 20 minutes, making the round trip via Disappointment Cleaver in 4h19m12s, as reported by backcountrymagazine.com. The record stood for just 16 days until it was bested by brothers Andy and Jason Dorias who did the same route in 3h57m55s on June 5, 2013, as reported below (including link to a trip report). Carter and Elson came back a year later, on June 3, 2014, and went after the Dorias brothers time, with Carter successfully nabbing a new FKT of 3h51m40s (via DC), as again reported by backcountrymagazine.com, which includes a brief interview with Carter.
"I know there are some much, much fitter guys out there that could do it significantly quicker." - Eric Carter
Willie Benegas held the FKT previously at 4h40m59s RT on September 17, 2008.
Eric Carter has the skier FKT, 3h51m40s, June 3, 2014.
Mount Rainier (14,411 feet) is the highest peak in Washington, and 5th highest in the conterminous USA. There are many great routes on Rainier, and any ascent is a true classic. The most commonly-climbed route is the Disappointment Cleaver from the Paradise parking lot, via Camp Muir and Ingraham Glacier. The route requires glacier travel and around 9,000 feet of altitude gain.
Speed records on Rainier go back decades, usually done by mountain guides on their days off. The guides know the route and conditions intimately, and know when conditions are ripe for a speed attempt. Climbing legends Lou and Jim Whittaker, with John Day, made the first known speed ascent in 1959, making the ascent in 5h20m and round trip in 7h20m. In 1981, Craig Van Hoy lowered that to 5h25m. The first sub-5 hour trip was August 9, 2004, by Chad Kellogg, in 4h59m01s. Kellogg used ski poles and wore track spikes instead of crampons. His report is here. Kellogg's claims have been questioned by some. Dan Howitt has made it something of a crusade to discredit Kellogg, and has raised some compelling points. Howitt continues to claim the "official" record on Rainier, of 5h59m5s, but of course the idea of any record on Rainier being "official" is entirely specious. In any event, since Kellogg's times have been superceded (see below), the debate appears to be moot.
The summer of 2008 saw a flurry of speed record activity on Rainier. Due to epic winter and spring snow, the DC route remained exceptionally direct even as the snow conditions stabilized late in the summer.
On July 9, 29-year-old IMG guide Justin Merle took about 10 minutes off the record, completing the route in 4h49m35s. Merle's trip report is here. He carried ski poles and wore light-weight boots and Kahtoola crampons.
Less than a month later, on August 5, fellow IMG guide Liam O'Sullivan bested Merle's time buy just over 3 minutes, achieving 4h46m29s. O'Sullivan's time to the summit was 3h11m22s. A brief report is here.
AAI guide Michael Horst also made an attempt on August 5, but with 5h15m he was unable to match O'Sullivan. On August 16 former Mount Everest speed record holder and AAI guide Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa attempted the Rainier record, but was hampered by a calf injury. He completed the climb in 5h39m43s.
Finally, on September 17, Mountain Madness guide Willie Benegas made the car-to-car trip in 4h40m59s, as reported here. Benegas took about 3h20m to reach the summit.
Benegas' FKT stood for nearly 8 years and was finally bested by stand-out distance runner Uli Steidl, as reported below. On July 26, 2016, Steidl ran the DC route, knocking over 16 minutes off the FKT, taking it down to 4h24m30s. Steidl's gps track is here.
Faster times have been set on Rainier by skiers. On May 20, 2013, skimo racers Nick Elson and Eric Carter broke Benegas' (then) "runner" record by more than 20 minutes, making the round trip via Disappointment Cleaver in 4h19m12s, as reported by backcountrymagazine.com. The record stood for just 16 days until it was bested by brothers Andy and Jason Dorias who did the same route in 3h57m55s on June 5, 2013, as reported below (including link to a trip report). Carter and Elson came back a year later, on June 3, 2014, and went after the Dorias brothers time, with Carter successfully nabbing a new FKT of 3h51m40s (via DC), as again reported by backcountrymagazine.com, which includes a brief interview with Carter.
"I know there are some much, much fitter guys out there that could do it significantly quicker." - Eric Carter
