At the summit, we stood at the highest point of the crater rim and looked across the 1,000 foot diameter of the crater. We sheltered below the crater rim from the 70mph winds for a while before beginning our descent. Upon return to Camp Schurman, we packed up our gear and continued to our cars at the White River Campground and a drive back home to Seattle.

One of the big challenges for people climbing Rainier is the altitude; most climbers are living at sea level in the Seattle area and the transition to 14,410 feet (approximately 10,000 feet of that on foot) is difficult for all but the most physically fit. To make this point to our sea level friends, we would drink one of our water bottles dry, close it tightly and show it around when we got home. Since the amount of air per unit volume at the summit is less than 60% of that at sea level, the poor bottles were literally crushed. Need I say that we used flexible plastic bottles for this demonstration? Some people who carried cheap metal canteens and failed to vent them on the way down were sad to find them crushed when they unpacked at home.