Mt. Rainier is shrinking … literally

Originally posted on MyNorthwest.com

Mt. Rainier is shorter than we all thought … 10 feet shorter.

New GPS measurements measure the new peak, a rocky patch along the Southwest rim, at 14,399.6 feet.

Rainier’s old ice cap peak, known as Columbia Crest, which stood 14,410 feet tall, has melted.

Eric Gilbertson, a mountaineer and engineering professor at Seattle University, hiked to Mt. Rainier’s summit in September to measure the peak at the height of the melting season. The U.S. Geological Survey last took official measurements at about the same time in 1998.

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A grant from the American Alpine Club funded the expedition. Gilbertson told GearJunkie he used survey-grade GPS equipment to find the new highest point about 500 feet from Columbia Crest, which has melted some 22 feet since 1998.

The new measurement calls into question almost every snow-covered summit and glacier globally. According to a study published in Science in 2023, the world’s glaciers are shrinking and disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century at current climate trends. According to researchers, the result could pose a significant threat to water resources.

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A mountaineer at heart, Gilberston has summited some of the world’s most challenging peaks, including K2 in the Himalayas, without the use of supplemental oxygen. However, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate is also hooked on surveying more peaks. As park officials pour through the new Mt. Rainier data collected by Gilbertson, he told GearJunkie he’s focused on taking accurate measurements of more mountains in Washington and worldwide.

In 1998, surveyors with the USGS measured Mt Rainier using bulky, less accurate equipment. Today, Gilbertson hauls 20 pounds of equipment with him and spends nearly an hour taking a single measurement using satellites. On Rainier, he took multiple measurements in many different spots with an accuracy of within one inch.

“Most of the mountains in the world have not been measured to this level of accuracy,” Gilbertson told GearJunkie. “I think there’s a good chance that the elevations are not quite what we think.”

Luke Duecy is a reporter for KIRO Newsradio.

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