Late May through mid-September, the glacier-flanked sides of 14,410-feet-tall (4,392 m) Mount Rainier beckon more than 10,000 climbers annually to spend 2-4 days travelling 10 miles (16 km) with an elevation gain of over 9,000 feet (2,743 m) to reach “The Mountain’s” summit via one of 20 different climbing/skiing routes. Of that number, about half succeed, while poor weather, altitude sickness, misjudging one’s physical condition, and accidents require the other half to return to their starting point down elevation.
Each year, over 10,000 climbers attempt to summit "The Mountain" at Mount Rainier National Park / Rebecca Latson
Featured In The Traveler
Mount Rainier, Not A Place To Take Lightly
Inching along in the darkness, with only her boot crampons tethering her to the icy mountainside – preventing a steep and perhaps lethal slide - Natalie Docktor was hyper-aware that “anything could happen.” Mount Rainier, after all, was the graveyard for plenty of climbers before her. “I knew that was a possibility,” she said.
But the 57-year-old Californian, climbing in the summer of 2020 with her 19-year-old son and a commercially guided group, wasn’t dwelling on the scariness as she clung to her determination to press onward. Like more than 10,000 climbers each year, Docktor felt compelled to reach the 14,410 summit of the Cascades titan that dominates the skyline outside of Seattle. Like about half of those, she would make it to the top, where, she recalled, “It was exhilarating.”
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Climbing Mount Rainier requires a great deal of planning and preparation. Not only is it of utmost importance to be in excellent physical shape, but technical skills such as glacier-rope travel, crevasse rescue, and self-arrest techniques are required to successfully ascend and descend Mount Rainier at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. If you’ve set your mind to accomplishing this adventure, where do you even start?
According to park staff, there are two things required to climb Mount Rainier (aside from physical condition):
1. Each individual must pay the Annual Climbing Fee each year (good for the entire calendar year). You can pay this BEFORE coming to the park online at Pay.gov.
2. All climbing parties must obtain a Climbing Permit in-person at Mount Rainier National Park for their climb (one per party, up to 12 people per party).About the Annual Climbing Fee:
The Annual Climbing Fee at Mount Rainier National Park helps provide for rangers to respond to search and rescue incidents, staff ranger stations and high camps to register climbers and provide up-to-date route conditions, and remove human waste from the mountain and dispose of it properly. Pay the Climbing Fee online through Pay.gov.
Physical climbing passes will NO longer be issued. Climbers need to print their confirmation email or save a copy to their device to show the rangers when registering for a Climbing Permit at a ranger station.
The Annual Climbing Fee changes with the Consumer Price Index every year. The fee is:
- $68 per person for all ages in 2024
Annual Climbing Fee Frequently-Asked-Questions
About the Climbing Permit:
Climbers must obtain a Climbing Permit in person at a ranger station. Climbers cannot obtain a Climbing Permit over the phone or online. A Climbing Permit is required for each party that skis or climbs on a glacier and/or ascends above 10,000 feet (3,048 m) on Mount Rainier. While the Annual Climbing Fee only needs to be purchased once for the entire calendar year, a Climbing Permit is specific to the date range and party to which it is issued.
Reservations will be held until noon of the day your permit begins. After noon, your reservation will be cancelled, unless you email [email protected], or talk to a ranger at: 360-569-6650. If your reservation is held for a late pickup, it will be held until closing time at 5:00pm [Pacific Time].
"Single-push" [climbing to a summit in one push (or attempt) with the intent of not stopping for extended periods of time] climbers and skiers are required to obtain a Climbing Permit.
A climber must be at least 18 years old to climb Mount Rainier. Anyone younger than 18 years of age must have the permission of a parent or legal guardian at the time of registration.About Reservations:
Reservations for Climbing Permits can be made through the Recreation.gov website for Mount Rainier National Park Wilderness and Climbing Permits. Reservations are encouraged but not required, especially for people traveling long distances to get to the park, larger climbing parties, and those trying to climb over a holiday weekend. Only during high-use months (June through September) are reservations for Climbing Permits made available. Reservations must be made at least two days in advance of the trip start.
Only approximately 60 percent of the total Climbing Permits are available for reservation. The remaining permits are only issued at the ranger stations inside the park on a first-come, first-served basis.
October-April climbers can self-register at the Paradise Old Ranger Station. The Annual Climbing Fee is required for each climber before self-registration.About Solo Climbing:
To climb or ski Mount Rainier without a partner requires a Solo Climbing Permit. All soloists must apply for the permit via the Solo Application Form. Note: all climbers, including approved soloists, must still pay the Annual Climbing Fee and obtain a Climbing Permit for each trip.
Guide Services
Climbers crossing a glacier during their ascent of "The Mountain," Mount Rainier National Park / NPS file
For those not intending to solo climb The Mountain, there are guide services available for multi-day summit climbs. As a matter of fact, most climbers wishing to safely ascend then descend Mount Rainier utilize the technical and planning skills to take the stress out of having to do all this themselves.
Some guides offer several trips per year, while other guide services are authorized to perform only one guided trip annually. These services handle permitting, offer climbing instruction, and have the necessary skills and knowledge to plan a safe route for clients.
Park staff list three different guide services offering climbing instructions, multi-day summit climbs, multi-day climbing seminars, and private climbs:
The park also offers resources such as Annual Mountaineering Reports summarizing highlights of the climbing program, including search-and-rescues, statistics, and climbing staff; Climbing Statistics from 1852 to 1897 and from 1950 to the present, including data for the total number of climbers and the number of climbers who successfully reached the summit; avalanche information; a climbing site bulletin; and route briefs, official in-depth descriptions of climbing routes on Mount Rainier produced by climbing rangers for the four most popular routes up Mount Rainier:
Headlights, hiker lights, and the tiny spots of climber lights on "The Mountain," Mount Rainier National Park / Rebecca Latson
