SEATTLE — According to new measurements, Mount Rainier could have a new summit.
“I went up there on August 28 the first time and I measured Columbia Crest and the southwest rim and I found that Columbia Crest has melted about 22 feet since the last ground survey in 1998 and it’s actually shorter than the southwest rim now," Eric Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson is a professor at Seattle University and summited the mountain twice in the last two months. He took measurements of the mountain using a differential GPS unit.
"It uses GPS signals. It uses base stations around the state, the Washington state reference network to track the data. So, it gets the number down to the nearest inch," Gilbertson said. "On the southwest rim I measured I measured 14,399.6, so about 14,400. So, that’s now the highest point I’ve measured on the mountain and that’s rock.”
Gilbertson submitted his results to Mount Rainier National Park and is waiting for an official ruling.
Jonathon Spitzer who is the Operations Manager at Alpine Ascents International said he isn't shocked by these new measurements.
“Having climbed the mountain quite a bit and just seeing that ice cap on the top of the Columbia Crest slowly decreasing over the last couple of years, I’m not really surprised," he said.
The traditional summit of the mountain is Columbia Crest but that could change.
"We’ll be working with the national park to determine if that’s going to be moved and if the climber registration box along with the marker will be moved," Spitzer said.
He said we're witnessing the effects of climate change first hand.
“In 2024 we had six weeks in a row of freezing temperatures over 16,000 feet and when you have these prolonged hot dry days, the glacier really gets melted down," he said.
Spitzer said over the last few years, they've had to cut climbing season short. Normally the season runs from May 1 to Oct. 1.
“We’re no longer really offering or selling trips through mid-September, which used to, historically, be a great month of climbing in the PNW," he said. “We’re just having to take a different approach to climbing and that might be waiting to make sure the route is safe, sending up guides ahead of time to manage it and could be pausing and not climbing or developing a different climbing route.”