Little Tahoma is a 11,138 ft summit on the east flank of Mt. Rainier. The route requires crossing the Frying Pan and Whitman glaciers. From the trailhead it is about 7400 ft of elevation gain and often done as
an overnight trip. We wanted some exercise so we decided to do it in a day.
We set a moderate pace and made good time up to the Frying Pan glacier. The snow was still hard enough that we only sank a few inches. There were some small crevasses starting to open up. One in
our party had climbed it two weeks before and said that nothing had opened up yet at that point. It's very interesting how quickly things change in the summer months!
We crossed Whitman Crest and started up the Whitman glacier. As we traverse around the band of rocks, we come to a steep leeward slope that has received significant snow loading and rain from this week's
storms. There is 3-4 feet of wet unstable snow on top of a crust. At about 10,400 ft we decide the best option is to turn around now to avoid setting off an avalanche on our way down from the summit.
When we get back to Whitman Crest we take a rest and I update my APRS comment to "no summit today" as a courtesy to my chasers. From this point at about 9000 ft, my D72 could not find any clear airtime to send a beacon. Cool.
No summit, but at least we got about 7000 ft of good conditioning. I'll be back in late August to try again for a first activation.
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_h/sets/72157634442783435/
