FKT: Elise Levesque - Mt Rainier (WA) - 2023-07-07

When I climbed Mt Rainier for the first time when I was 14, I remember getting out of the car at Paradise and thinking, "Hmm, we're already pretty high up here, this feels like cheating..." (Haha.) So in some ways, I've been dreaming about doing this for 13 years now. This sea to summit route came on my radar in 2020 thanks to Jason Hardrath, when he set the self-supported FKT and posted about it on his Instagram. I'm not a professional athlete by any means, but I love a good physical/mental push, I love spending time outdoors, and I love any excuse to eat sour gummy rings for breakfast. I would have done this without submitting it for an FKT, but I became inspired to do so when I saw that a time for women did not yet exist. I never thought I'd be able to say "I was the first woman to...." but to my knowledge (please let me know if you know otherwise), I am now the first woman to complete the Rainier Sea to Summit. :) So this is especially for all the ladies out there.

Leading up, I put in some extra miles and hill climbs on my Cannondale Quick 4 hybrid bike, because the biking was what I was most nervous for. It was a long ride (77 miles) and a lot of up (over 6,000 vertical feet) and that was a combo I can't say I've ever done before. I also climbed Mt Baker and Mt Adams and focused mostly on lower body strengthening & endurance training in the months leading up to the effort.

On Thursday, July 6th, my sweet parents (shoutout Janice and Dave!) drove me to the Steilacoom ferry terminal, which conveniently sits at 0 ft above sea level. I put my back tire in the Puget Sound (extra points because it was low tide) and at 12:26pm, with 2.5 L of water on my bike + some basic snacks, I set off for Paradise. I did this as a supported effort, so I met my parents at two points along the ride to refill water/snacks, check in with them, and rest for a moment. We met first at Varsity Pizza in Eatonville, and then again at Whittaker Mountaineering in Ashford. I completed the ride in 7:20:29 with a moving time of 6:28:59. When I got to Paradise, my butt hurt! It was great to sit down (not on a saddle) for a moment and start to prep gear for the climb. 

I completed the climb portion of the sea to summit with my best friend Katie Sutton. She and I completed the Rainier Infinity Loop together for fun in the summer of 2020. We've climbed most of the WA volcanoes + scrambled around the North Cascades together, too. She's an incredible athlete, she overflows with positivity (very important), and I fully trust her decision-making skills. For safety reasons, I had no interest in climbing Rainier solo. The risks and "what ifs" on the upper mountain are more than I cared to take on as a solo climber, plus it was WAY more fun to do with Katie. She met me at Paradise, and at 8:56PM on Thursday July 6th, we headed up the Muir Steps. We didn't sleep at all this night, and after 77 miles of biking I was feeling very proud and impressed with how I felt. We took a 30-40 minute break up at Camp Muir, got out our climbing gear, and carried on. We watched a lenticular cloud form and dissipate over the summit once on our way up, and then another started to form as we crossed onto Ingraham Flats. Lenticular clouds are usually a sign of terrible stormy weather, and seeing that cloud was the one time I thought "we might not be able to do this after all." Katie and I talked about it and decided to keep going but to keep a close eye on it. There were also many other climbers in guided groups pushing toward the summit, too. We made it up Disappointment Cleaver in the dark, and got to watch the sunrise just above the cleaver. A true lenticular never formed while we were up there, but we entered clouds soon after the sun rose and stayed in clouds for duration of our summit push. We summited at 7:37AM on Friday, July 7th. It was a total white-out up there--freezing cold and windy-- but we celebrated, took some photos, and laughed at our "incredible views" before turning back down the mountain. I can't thank Katie enough for being my climbing partner for this!! What a fantastic moment to be able to share with someone. :,)

Overall, I just feel so grateful for this experience. I'm so inspired and impressed by the limits of our bodies and minds, and am thankful for how mine stood up to this incredible challenge. I'm feeling proud!