Itinerary:
Day 1 (Sat. 5/26): Fly into Seattle.
Day 3 (Mon. 5/28): Another full 8-hour day. Negotiate the Carbon Glacier and gain the base of Liberty Ridge (8,700'). Up 40° snow/ice to Thumb Rock bivouac camp (10,760').
Day 4 (Tue. 5/29): Summit attempt. Wake up at 3:00AM. Moving by 4:00AM. Take the west (right) face variation from Thumb Rock to gain the ridge above. Ascend 40° to 50° snow/ice slopes to the base of the Black Pyramid (12,400'). Then, traverse left (east) towards Willis Wall on a 55° open slope (crux 1) for about 3-4 pitches. Crux 2 is surmounting the bergshrund at ~ 13,000' (short pitch of 70° ice). Top out on Liberty Cap (14,112'). Traverse towards the true summit, Columbia Crest (14,411'). Descent: via the Emmons/Winthrop Glacier route to Camp Schurman. If time & energy permits, we can descend all the way to our car at White River campground.
Day 5 (Wed. 5/30): Extra day for descent. Eat at Puerto Vallarta mexican restaurant (Eatonville, WA) after climb.
Days 6-7 (Thur. 5/31 - Fri. 6/1): Contingency days in case of getting stuck up there on bad weather (plan on taking fuel for 6 days). Or, if we finish earlier, we can always day hike Mt. Helens (8,365').
Day 8 (Sat. 6/2): Fly back to LAX.