That seems to be the questions of the week, day, hour and minute. "When will you get to the summit?" Trust me, we want to get there as much as all of you out there. And, most of the answer is up to the weather.

Here's what I do know: We are in the process of clearing the ice out of the remaining culverts. Still a lot of ice to deal with. And speaking of ice, we are chipping away at "a whole mess of it" around the 7 mile mark. Even though it's getting warm, almost hot, here at the base, winter is still hanging on up high.

So, when will we open to the summit? Possibly on May 19. I stress "possibly." It's primarily based on the amount of rain (and possibly snow?!?!?!?) that falls next week. If the weather is fairly dry, we'll have a good shot at it. And of course, we'll keep you posted.

- Ryan

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Re: 5/10/07
by Larry Garland on May 11th 2007, 9:52 am

Wow! the road is really shaping up. I did a training run Thursday evening and was surprised to make it to the six-mile mark. (Surprised as much by the road's conditions as my own.) There are still torrents of water cascading down from the melting (and plentiful)snow above. Although temperatures at the base were 80 degrees, just above three-mile in the woods is like walking through a refridgerator. Still some gully washers up at the cragway, but the surface is firm and very runnable. A very pleasant evening at 5300 feet.

Re: 5/10/07
by Crow on May 11th 2007, 11:29 am

An out-of-stater wondering... Is it possible to park and walk the last stretch on the road? That may sound like a foolish question, but out here in Washington State, visitors to Mount Rainier have other options for getting up to Paradise or Sunrise when the roads are closed.

Re: 5/10/07
by Amy on May 11th 2007, 12:02 pm

The policy for the road when it is not open to the summit, is that no car may be left unattended at the terminus, which is currently treeline. Therefore walking up the remainder of the road isn't really an option. We have heavy equipment working on the road above treeline, so you wouldn't want to walk through that anyway.

Re: 5/10/07
by Erich on May 12th 2007, 4:19 pm

Can I run the auto road? I'm going to be there in early august with some other nut cases and we wanted to run the mountain. Is the auto road a possible route?

Re: 5/10/07
by Howie on May 12th 2007, 8:52 pm

Running up the Auto Road is almost always a possibility and allowed most of the time except when we have special events in progress. One thing you need to realize, if you're not familiar with the Auto Road, is that there are no shoulders - none, no room on the edge between you and the abyss in some cases. So most people who want to challenge themselves by running up do it very early in the morning or late in the day when the auto traffic is lighter; the air you breath is better, it tends to be cooler, and you're not constantly dodging cars. But do it, it's a great run! Howie

Re: 5/10/07
by Erich on May 13th 2007, 10:53 pm

Thanks for the dope Howie. If I want to check in advance or make any special arrangements, is there someone Ishould contact?

Re: 5/10/07
by Ryan on May 15th 2007, 6:55 pm

Erich, No worries on the special arrangements. Just be safe. - Ryan