The Challenge of Rainier: A Record of the Explorations and Ascents, Triumphs and Tragedies, on the Northwest's Greatest Mountain (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The entrance stations at the four corners of Mount Rainier National Park are easily reached on asphalt-surfaced highways..." (more)
Key Phrases: summit icecap, guide concession, cleaver route, Camp Muir, Liberty Cap, Tahoma Glacier (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; 3 Reprint edition (June 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916890708
• ISBN-13: 978-0916890704
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #435,932 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #7 in	Books > Travel > United States > States > Washington > Mount Rainier
  #57 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Washington

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Essential for Rainier Climbers!, July 17, 1999

By	Timothy G. Gerlitz "Tim Gerlitz" (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Molenaar makes a detailed records analysis of the many accidents that have occurred on this massive mountain. For example, the guy who slid a thousand feet in his down booties trying to catch a lid that fell off of his cooking pot. Weird! Also, he details the tragedies with thoughtful suggestions. Our team studied this book before our climb so we would be aware of climbing errors that others have made. I think this is pretty much considered a Rainier classic by now...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mt. Rainier History and Arm Chair Travel, November 19, 2005

By	Kevin M. Harwood "http://www.ThreeBearsLodge.net" (Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great read about Mt. Rainier. I loved the book so much I bought a copy for my cabin up there. Several guests have commented on how much they enjoy it. It's an easy book to read while vacationing at the mountain as you can read individual stories at a time. Very well written, a real page turner!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A superb account of Rainier's historic climbs & disasters., May 12, 1999

By	Robert B. Ellis ([e-mail]) (Poulsbo, Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

This is an unforgettable history of Mt. Rainier, its pioneering and more recent explorers of trails to the summit, its geology and natural environment, and its inevitable human disasters. Molenaar's many explanatory sketches of climbing routes and his inclusion of numerous historic photos of famed climbers, guides, and ascents help immensely to illustrate the absorbing text. As one who is intimately familiar both as a guide, an artist, a scientist, and a world-famous mountaineer, he is uniquely fitted to write this story--one which anyone contemplating an ascent of "the mountain" could hardly do without--and he has succeeded beyond measure.