1870 Historic First Ascent of Mount Rainier by Stevens and Van Trump
On August 17, 1870, Hazard Stevens and Philemon Beecher Van Trump made the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier, climbing past Gibraltar Rock and surviving an overnight gale in summit steam vents.
Mountain Safety & Conditions Disclaimer: High-altitude climbing, glacial travel, and technical ascents entail severe objective risks including avalanches, serac collapses, rapid weather collapse, and altitude illness. Historical route descriptions and summit claims on Mountanity reflect documented archival sources and must not be used as live operational safety assessments. Local regulations, permits, and physical glacial topography change continuously.
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Official Expedition Narrative & Archival Record
In August 1870, General Hazard Stevens and Philemon Beecher Van Trump departed Olympia on horseback to attempt the first recorded climb of Mount Rainier, known to local tribes as Tahoma. Near the base of the mountain, they employed Sluiskin, a skilled Yakama hunter, to guide them through the dense old-growth forests to the timberline. Camping near Paradise, Sluiskin refused to go higher, warning the climbers that a fierce spirit dwelled on the summit who would destroy anyone venturing into the clouds. Undeterred, Stevens and Van Trump set out before dawn on August 17, armed with iron-pointed alpenstocks and rope. Navigating the crevasses of the Nisqually Glacier, they reached the foot of Gibraltar Rock, an intimidating 300-metre precipice of loose volcanic rock and hanging ice. Inch by inch, they scrambled along a narrow shelf beneath the cliff face, dodging rockfall, before ascending steep ice slopes onto the volcanic dome. At five in the afternoon, after eleven grueling hours, they stepped onto the crater rim of Mount Rainier, discovering an ice-encrusted caldera dotted with boiling fumaroles. Realizing darkness would make descent through Gibraltar Rock suicidal in sub-zero winds, they huddled inside the cavernous steam vents, enduring a harrowing eleven-hour bivouac wrapped in freezing sulfurous mist before descending safely to base camp the following morning.
Documented Team Composition
- Hazard Stevens (Climber, United States)
- Philemon Beecher Van Trump (Climber, United States)
- Sluiskin (Yakama Guide, United States)
Key Statistics & Topographic Figures
- Summit Elevation
- 4,392 metres (14,411 feet)
- Summit Date
- August 17, 1870 (5:00 PM)
- Lead Climbers
- Hazard Stevens & Philemon Beecher Van Trump
- Summit Bivouac
- 11 hours in volcanic steam vents
- Route Established
- Gibraltar Rock Route
Archival Primary Source Quotations
“We were the first of human race to scale that mighty peak and look down from its summit upon the vast domain outspread around it.”
Defined Alpine Terminology & Concepts
- Fumarole Cavity
- A subterranean cavern melted into the base of a glacier or snowpack by rising volcanic steam and geothermal gases.
- Alpenstock
- A stout wooden staff tipped with an iron point, used by nineteenth-century explorers for balance and testing snow bridges.
Frequently Asked Questions: 1870 Historic First Ascent of Mount Rainier by Stevens and Van Trump
What was the 1870 Stevens-Van Trump expedition?
It was the historic first documented ascent of Mount Rainier, completed on August 17, 1870, by Hazard Stevens and Philemon Beecher Van Trump.
What route did they take on Mount Rainier?
They ascended the Nisqually and Paradise glaciers and negotiated the hazardous rocky ledge of Gibraltar Rock to reach the summit rim.
What role did indigenous guide Sluiskin play?
Sluiskin, a Yakama hunter, guided them to timberline near Paradise, but refused to climb higher, warning that an evil spirit dwelt in the summit crater.
How did Stevens and Van Trump survive the night on the summit?
They survived an 11-hour blizzard bivouac inside geothermal steam vents melted into the snow beneath the volcanic crater rim.
What summit feature did Hazard Stevens name?
Stevens named Point Success, the southern crest of the crater rim at 4,315 metres, in celebration of their triumph.
What equipment did they use for the climb?
Alpenstocks with sharp iron spikes, hemp climbing rope, woolen coats, and heavy boots with iron nails.
How did Sluiskin react when the climbers returned alive?
Sluiskin was astonished and greeted them with deep reverence, initially believing he was seeing ghosts returned from the realm of the spirits.
What article chronicled this first ascent of Mount Rainier?
The Ascent of Takhoma, published by Hazard Stevens in The Atlantic Monthly in November 1876, introduced the mountain to national readers.
Ascent Route & Topography
Disappointment Cleaver Route (Mount Rainier)
The Disappointment Cleaver route is the standard and most celebrated climbing route on Mount Rainier, ascending the glaciated south flank of the stratovolcano via the Muir Snowfield, the Cowlitz and Ingraham glaciers, and the rocky buttress of the Cleaver. Graded French F to PD with 2,750 metres of elevation gain from Paradise, it is North America's premier high-altitude mountaineering proving ground, presenting steep crevasse route-finding, serac fall hazards, and rapid maritime storm cycles.
Target Objective Peak
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is an episodic active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of Washington, rising to an elevation of 4,392 metres as the highest peak in Washington and the Cascade Volcanic Arc. Enveloped by twenty-five major named glaciers spanning over thirty-five square miles of perpetual snow and ice, it is the most heavily glaciated peak in the contiguous United States, serving as the proving ground for American high-altitude mountaineering.
Featured Expedition Climbers
Hazard Stevens
Born on June 9, 1842, in Newport, Rhode Island, Hazard Stevens was the son of Isaac Stevens, the first governor of the Washington Territory. Hazard Stevens attended Harvard University before joining the Union Army during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of brigadier general and receiving the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Fort Huger. Moving westward to Olympia, Washington, in 1867, Stevens was entranced by the volcanic monolith of Mount Rainier, then called Tahoma or Takhoma by local indigenous tribes. In August 1870, Stevens joined forces with Philemon Beecher Van Trump and contracted Sluiskin, a skilled Yakama hunter, as guide to the snowline. Sluiskin warned them that an evil spirit dwelt on the summit and pleaded with them not to ascend. Departing their base camp on August 17, Stevens and Van Trump ascended the steep icy slopes of the Nisqually and Paradise glaciers, carefully traversing the sheer, crumbly rock band of Gibraltar Rock with alpenstocks and rope. Reaching the rim of the summit crater at five in the afternoon, Stevens named the southern volcanic point Point Success. Cut off from descent by freezing gale-force winds and nightfall, Stevens and Van Trump dug into the snow adjacent to boiling sulfurous steam vents inside the crater, surviving eleven hours in the subterranean caverns before descending safely. Stevens published a famous account of the ascent, The Ascent of Takhoma, in The Atlantic Monthly in 1876. He passed away in Goldendale, Washington, in October 1918.
Philemon Van Trump
Born on December 18, 1838, in Lancaster, Ohio, Philemon Beecher Van Trump was educated at Kenyon College and New York University before moving westward to the Washington Territory in 1867. Serving as private secretary to territorial governor Marshall F. Moore, Van Trump became captivated by the immense snowy massif of Mount Rainier. In August 1870, Van Trump teamed with General Hazard Stevens to attempt the mountain. Accompanied to timberline by Yakama guide Sluiskin, Stevens and Van Trump ascended the hazardous rotten volcanic cliffs of Gibraltar Rock, reaching the summit rim on August 17, 1870. Trapped at the top by a freezing storm, they survived by taking refuge within geothermal steam vents inside the crater. Van Trump returned to Mount Rainier repeatedly, making additional ascents in 1883 and 1892. In August 1883, Van Trump joined James Longmire and George Bayley to achieve the first documented ascent of Mount Saint Helens. In August 1888, Van Trump guided famed naturalist John Muir, artist Edward Stuhl, and party up Mount Rainier via Gibraltar Rock, creating an alliance that spurred the national campaign to establish Mount Rainier National Park in 1899. Van Trump served as an early park ranger and advocate. He passed away in Centralia, Washington, in December 1916. Van Trump Park, Van Trump Glacier, and Van Trump Creek in Mount Rainier National Park commemorate his foundational legacy.
Associated Historical Chronicles & Stories
Caverns in the Clouds: The 1870 First Ascent of Mount Rainier
On August 17, 1870, Hazard Stevens and Philemon Beecher Van Trump achieved the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier. Scaling the crumbling volcanic precipice of Gibraltar Rock, they reached the summit crater at dusk and survived a freezing night inside boiling geothermal steam vents.
Documented Sources & Archival Citations
- The Ascent of Takhoma (The Atlantic Monthly, 1876)(Hazard Stevens)
Supporting claim: Primary first-hand account of the historic 1870 first ascent of Mount Rainier
Accessed/Documented: 2026 - The Challenge of Rainier(Dee Molenaar / The Mountaineers Books)
Supporting claim: Detailed chronicle of the 1870 Stevens-Van Trump pioneering expedition
Accessed/Documented: 2026