Bob and Ira Spring - Ice Climbing on Mount Rainier

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This 16mm film is in color, with sound, with a running time around 12-1/2 minutes. It was made around 1955.

The film begins with distant views of Mount Rainier and closer views of its glaciers. A group of climbers loads their packs at Paradise as a ranger inspects their gear. They set out and soon pause at the Paradise ice caves. There are fine scenes of climbers exploring the caves by torchlight. They continue to Camp Muir and set up tents in the wind. The afternoon is spent practicing with crampons, jumping crevasses on belay, and exploring the Cowlitz Glacier. There are fine scenes of climbers walking through jumbled crevasses and chopping steps up icy pinnacles. The next morning, after climbing through the night, they reach the summit and prepare to camp in the crater. The climbers sign the summit register and melt snow over steam vents before preparing supper. The film ends with sunset at the summit. There is a fine scene of a climber at last light admiring the shadow of Mount Rainier extending to the eastern horizon.

(Digital transfer of this film was made possible by a grant from The Mountaineers Foundation. Film notes and video clip by Lowell Skoog.)