Sunrise Visitor Center Exhibit Panel

Can you spot climbers on Mount Rainier from the spotting scope next to this exhibit panel?

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Sunrise

Amenities

3 listed

Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

Title: Peak Adventure

Main Text
The most challenging endurance climb in the lower 48 states, the 14,410-foot Mount Rainier draws mountain climbers like a magnet. Its deep crevasses and towering ice blocks rival those on Denali and the Himalayas. 

Each year, thousands of people summit Mount rainier. To reach the summit and return before nightfall, many climbers begin their final ascent from high camp around midnight. They make their way through the darkness by the light of headlamps, roped to at least one other team member. About half the people who attempt it turn back due to weather, exhaustion or altitude sickness. 

The Emmons Glacier route is one of the standard climbing approaches. Use the spotting scope to look for climbing parties on their way to the summit. 

Secondary Text
"What a gorgeous day!! After a month of waiting, a window of good weather. It's worth the wait! The stars were incredible, the dawn beautiful, the day tremendous. I see my insignificance and the beauty of nature & life!" - Sheila Dopplehammer, Mount Rainier Summit Register, July 27, 1993. 

Exhibit Panel Description
A single photo of a glacier-covered mountain slope, taken from high on the mountain and looking downhill, fills the exhibit panel. Crevasses break the ice in the center and on the left side of the photo, while a pyramid-shaped rock formation breaks through the glacier and rises to a sharp point on the right side of the photo. Near the lower right edge of the photo stands a climber, a dark silhouette against the white ice. The main text stretches over the top third of the photo on the left side, with the secondary text immediately below it. To the right of the secondary text is a small photo showing a climber walking along the crater rim on the summit of Mount Rainier. A small box in the lower right corner of the panel reads "User Fee Project. Your Fee Dollars at Work. Entrance fees were used to produce this exhibit".

Visit This Exhibit Panel
This exhibit panel is located in a small viewing area on the left (south) side of Sunrise Visitor Center. The Sunrise Road is open to vehicles during the summer only, typically from early July to mid-September.