The height of the summit of Mount Rainier, Washington, has been determined by the United States Geological Survey to be 14,408 feet above mean sea level. This elevation now officially displaces the former supposed height of the mountain of 14,363 feet and accords to Mount Rainier the distinction of being the second highest mountain peak in the United States, Mount Whitney, California, being the highest. The correct height of Rainier was determined by a party of topographic engineers of the Survey in connection with the mapping of the Mount Rainier National Park, which was completed last summer. The topographic survey of the park was begun in 1910 by F. E. Matthes, continued in 1911 by Mr. Matthes and George R. Davis, and finished in 1913 by C. H. Birdseye, W. O. Tufts, O. G. Taylor, and S. E. Taylor.
In the mapping of the summit of the mountain a terrific blizzard was encountered; in fact, two ascents of the upper portion of the mountain were necessary. The first ascent of the upper 5,450 feet was begun at 5 o'clock a.m., August 16 [1913], and dawn broke with every indication of developing into a beautiful day. On reaching the summit the men encountered a terrific gale, clouds enveloped the mountain, preventing observations, and by noon snow began to fall. A descent was attempted, but the party became hopelessly lost in a labyrinth of crevasses, the storm developing into a blizzard. To descend further was impossible; to remain was suicide. Consequently a return to the crater was ordered, and the men reached it after a two hours' climb, utterly exhausted and nearly frozen. Here they sought shelter in one of the steam caves, where during the long night they were thoroughly steamed and half frozen in turn. Strenuous measures were employed by the men to keep from falling asleep and freezing to death. As it was, their fingers and ears were badly frozen. Finally, with a rising barometer, they succeeded in descending 9,000 feet to a temporary camp, making the descent in three hours. Here they recuperated and prepared for another ascent, which was accomplished on August 20, the start being made at 1 o'clock in the morning. Good weather was encountered and the mapping of the entire summit was finished by 1 o'clock.
"If anyone thinks that American glaciers are play glaciers, or that the weather which may be encountered at the summit of Mount Rainier in August is uniformly balmy and springlike," said Mr. Birdseye, whose fingers and ears were badly frosted, "let him climb Mount Rainier during one of its summer blizzards. The steam caves in the crater are not the pleasantest places imaginable to spend the night in, but had they not been there, not one of us would be alive today to tell the tale."
Comment by F. E. Matthes
The mountaineers of the Pacific Northwest will no doubt jubilate at the above announcement by the United States Geological Survey of the new figure for the altitude of Mount Rainier. It places that peak close to the top of the list of high mountains in the United States. Mount Rainier's closest rival on the Pacific coast, Mount Shasta, it so happens, has just recently been beheaded by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and now can claim no more than 14,162 feet, that is, 218 feet less than it once boasted. The great volcano of Puget Sound is thus left well in the lead.
A review of the different figures that have been announced in the past for each of the higher peaks of the United States would almost justify one to infer that these summits have a peculiar habit of fluctuating in height from time to time. Both Rainier and Shasta have been notorious for their inconstancy; so much so indeed that it is to be feared that the public will lose faith somewhat in the trustworthiness of altitude determinations in general. There is good reason to believe, however, that the last announcements for these two peaks are not likely to be changed again. About Mount Shasta, perhaps the Coast Survey is the only party able to speak positively; but as regards Mount Rainier, the Geological Survey feels satisfied that the new figure is the best that can be obtained with modern methods and instruments.
The elevation of Mount Whitney (14,501 ft.), it may be remembered, was determined by actual leveling, but such procedure would have been impossible on Mount Rainier, as the most practicable route to its summit leads over many miles of snow and ice, and up a precipitous chute several hundred feet in height. On thawing snow accurate leveling is out of the question, for the instrument can not be set up so firmly that it will not settle slightly between back and fore sights. To execute this pottering kind of work in freezing weather would entail both hardship and great expense. But the obstacle that would have proved entirely insuperable to levels on Mount Rainier and led to the abandoning of that method is the dreaded Gibraltar Rock, well known to many who read this magazine [Sierra Club Bulletin]. To carry levels up its precipitous side is for practical considerations all but impossible.
It was necessary, in the case of Mount Rainier, to resort to long-distance methods of angulation. That is to say, sights were taken to its summit from neighboring peaks, six to eight miles distant, the altitudes of which had been carefully determined, and the positions of which with respect to the mountain's summit had been computed from a scheme of triangulation.
It is not possible to execute vertical-angle measurements of this sort with the precision obtainable by leveling; at the same time by providing a sufficient number of checks and repeating each measurement many times a result can be attained that can be relied on within a foot or two. And closer than that the determination of a snowcapped peak, such as Mount Rainier, need scarcely be; for its actual height is bound to fluctuate by several feet from year to year and even from month to month.
It is gratifying to note how closely the new trigonometric determination of Mount Rainier accords with the barometric one of Prof. Alexander McAdie (14,394 ft.). It is hoped that this agreement between the results of two fundamentally different methods will strengthen public faith in their reliability, and lead to the discarding of other figures (some of them much exaggerated) that have appeared in print from time to time.