Rainier’s Old Summit Melted Away. The Mountain Has a New High Point.

ENUMCLAW, WA—The mountain visible from nearly every corner of Enumclaw on a clear day is a little shorter than it used to be, and it has a new high point.making it, by the team’s measurements, Washington’s new rooftop.

A team of climbers and surveyors—Eric Gilbertson (@twinstothetops), Ross Wallette (@rossjamesphoto), and Alden Ryno (@alden_g_ryno)—made an off-season ascent of Mount Rainier to survey the summit when late-summer ice exposure gives the most accurate measurements. According to @rossjamesphoto, their results show Columbia Crest, long recognized as Rainier’s apex, has melted down 21.8 feet since the last formal survey in 2010, landing it at 14,389.2 feet. The southwest crater rim now stands 10 feet higher at 14,399.6 feet, making it, by the team’s measurements, Washington’s new rooftop.dominate the southeastern horizon

The team’s goal was a second consistent measurement of the SW rim and a check of older survey markers for accuracy. Both figures carry a margin of error of just 0.1 feet—tighter than most people’s tape measures.

For anyone who’s watched Rainier dominate the southeastern horizon from downtown Enumclaw, it’s a small but quietly significant shift: the summit you’ve been looking at isn’t quite the summit anymore.

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