Mount Rainier Guided Climbs

Most guided climbs take the Disappointment Cleaver. From Paradise, the route climbs the Muir Snowfield to Camp Muir at about 10,000 ft, crosses the Cowlitz and Ingraham glaciers, and goes up the rocky spine of the Cleaver to the upper Ingraham and Emmons glaciers and the crater rim. Summit day starts around midnight and gains about 4,000 ft.

This is glacier travel on a rope, with crevasses, icefall and serious weather. Operators run a training day on the lower mountain first, covering cramponing, self-arrest and rope travel. The Emmons Glacier, from White River and Camp Schurman, is the main alternative.

The park's main climbing season runs from May to mid-September, and conditions are most reliable from June to August. Early season brings more snow over the crevasses; by late August the Cleaver is dry, and the route grows longer and looser as the glaciers open up.

Anyone climbing on the glaciers or above about 10,000 ft needs a climbing permit and pays the climbing cost recovery fee: $82 per person in 2026, rising each year. Camping between May and mid-September adds a wilderness fee.

Guided summit climbs on Rainier are run by the park's three concessioners: Alpine Ascents International, International Mountain Guides and Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI). A handful of other services hold permits for a single trip a year. Many of the certified guides below work for these companies, and guide the rest of the Cascades in their own right.

For 2027, published prices run from about $2,600 to $3,000 for RMI's four-day climb, $2,900 to $3,400 for IMG's three-and-a-half-day climb and $3,750 for Alpine Ascents' three-day climb, with peak-season dates costing more. All three climb at two clients per guide on summit day. Prices usually include park fees and permits, but not gear rental or travel.