Mt. Rainier

When I first came upon Mt. Rainier, its snow covered shape seemed familiar. It was splendidly rugged and compelling. I studied the mountain from many angles and realized it reminded me of Mt. Everest.

A day later, I ran into two park rangers and we began to chat. I asked if they knew if there were climbers who trained on Mt. Rainier for a summit of Mt. Everest.

They seemed surprised by my question and both of them affirmed 'yes' at the same time. They explained that Mt. Rainier is the same technical-wise as Mt. Everest and that it makes a splendid training mountain for the greater Mt. Everest. Plus, just as Everest is, it is unpredictable weather-wise.

Crevasses

They then gave me more detailed information and added that the woman who has scaled Everest the most lives in the area and is a trainer on Mt. Rainier for those wishing to attempt Everest.

Note the block-like formation caused by layers of snow

Evidence of an avalanche

I smiled at the rangers and told them I was not surprised by what they said as I had done much reading about the historical summits of Mt. Everest and thought Mt. Rainier looked like Everest hence the reason for my inquiry.

Mt. Rainier is a massive, active stratovolcano and stands at 14,411 feet. It is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

 Mt. Everest stands at 29,029 feet.