Ashford-based guide runs up Mount Rainier and back, shattering speed record
The Fastest Known Time for a there-and-back of Washington’s tallest peak is now under four hours.
On May 9, Rainier Mountaineering Incorporated ( RMI ) guide Simon Kearns woke up in company housing in Ashford well before dawn. For breakfast, he had a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee. He’d slept a total of 30 minutes, but that was normal for him before big mountain feats.
He drove up to the Paradise parking lot in Mount Rainier National Park, put on his mountain running gear – including Arcteryx shoes and Black Diamond microspikes – and cued up a French reggae playlist he’d recently been listening to. At exactly 5 a. m.
, Kearns looked up at Mount Rainier and then took off for the 14,410-foot summit. Three hours and fifty-three minutes later, he was back with a record. Fastest Known Time There’s a long history of what the outdoor world calls “car to car” records, or FKTs (Fastest Known Times).
A “car to car” record is when you start a timer at your car and then run away to climb famous natural features, like El Capitan in Yosemite or entire mountain ranges like the Evolution Traverse on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas, and do not stop your timer until you get back to your car. The FKT for Mount Rainier was previously held by Alex King, with a time of 4:14 set on June 21, 2021. Kearns beat King’s record by more than 30 minutes.
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