One last climb: Washington hiker becomes oldest woman to summit Mount Rainier

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Sunset lights Mount Rainier in Washington state's Cascade Range. (Dreamstime/TNS)

SEATTLE — As Rose Vanderhoof trudged up Mount Rainier, the sun started coming up.

Lightning and dark clouds dissipated in the distance. More than 12,000 feet above sea level, she'd layered up with a puffy down jacket to keep out the chill. But despite the tough climb, the view was beautiful, and Vanderhoof prayed to God to give her strength.

She kept moving.

Finally, after 8 a.m. on July 10, Vanderhoof — 4 feet, 11 inches tall and 78 years old — reached the summit. The Ashford, Pierce County, resident, who summited the mountain eight times before, became the oldest woman ever to summit Rainier. But that's not why she climbed: Vanderhoof just wanted to get to the top once more. And making the moment more poignant, her son and granddaughter reached Rainier's peak with her for the first time as she reached it for the last.

"I am hoping to inspire other people that it doesn't — age doesn't matter," Vanderhoof said. "I want people to go out and see God's beautiful creation. It's just another world out there. It's beautiful. I've been doing this for 45 years, and I never get enough of it."

Setting a record hadn't been part of Vanderhoof's initial plan. She'd wanted to make the climb a few years earlier, when she wasn't old enough to break the record her friend Bronka Sundstrom set at age 77. But that plan fell through when friends weren't able to help Vanderhoof carry her 40-pound pack to the overnight stop at Camp Muir, about 10,000 feet up on Mount Rainier.

She made new plans to climb this summer, this time enlisting four companions to bring up the gear. Despite that, Vanderhoof faced another potential cancellation: The two people who were going to lead the climb backed out.

Vanderhoof considered scaling Mount Adams instead — until she talked with Leyton Jump, who she knows from the Mount Tahoma Trails Association Ski Patrol. He'd climbed Rainier 12 times before and stepped up to lead.

With their final plan intact, Vanderhoof began her ascent with Jump, her son Chris Haugen, her granddaughter Aleah Haugen and her friend Mingrey Hildebrandt around 7 a.m. on July 8. They started with a prayer for safety before setting off and arrived at Camp Muir later that day, though Vanderhoof said the group was too excited to get a particularly restful night's sleep.

The second day, she said the group got caught in a hailstorm. Chris Haugen realized he lost his crampon — a glacial traction device climbers attach to their shoes — and scrambled down to retrieve it after climbers below said they saw the missing footwear.

"I was pretty scared, and I'm not saying that lightly. It was kind of terrifying at first, but after a while, you get used to it," he said. "But my mom: For her, it's second nature."

The group of five set up tents near Ingraham Flats, about 11,000 feet up, and rested for about six hours. They started climbing around midnight on July 10 under a pitch black sky. Lightning flashed far off, and Aleah Haugen said she could barely see the outline of the glaciers under her.

Vanderhoof had to get on her knees and pull herself up on the rocks at some points. As they climbed, Chris said he started crying, getting to witness his mother and daughter persevere. And when Aleah tired, she said seeing her grandmother's grit encouraged her to keep going.

"She just kept pushing herself, and she was determined, and so that made the rest of us determined to not give up," Aleah said. "We call her Mosey Rosie, because she's going to get there one way or another."

The group reached the crater just below the summit after hours of climbing that morning. They embraced. They snapped photos. They signed the registry, documenting their achievement.

Then they walked up to the very top of the mountain: Columbia Crest, at about 14,400 feet elevation. Above the clouds, Jump said they could see Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams and Mount Hood.

"Only about 50 percent of people who climb it make it, and the other, I can see why the other 50 percent don't," Vanderhoof said. "We felt very thankful and blessed that we were able to do this. ... It's just a journey I'll never forget."

Once the others in the group got ready to go, eager to start the long climb down, Vanderhoof asked for a moment longer. The rest of the group shut up and stopped, Hildebrandt said.

"She says, 'I just, just give me a minute. Just give me a few minutes. I won't be back here again,' " Hildebrandt recalled. "She has this deep love and relationship with this mountain. She's been up here eight times. Well, this is No. 9. And she just wanted to stay a few more minutes before she has to say goodbye."

The group — with the exception of Jump, who returned Monday night — finished the climb on Tuesday. Their friends met them with cheers and flower leis to drape over their shoulders.

As a devout Christian who cares deeply for family, Vanderhoof felt especially lucky to have completed her final climb with three generations of her family, Chris said.

She'd shared her love of hiking with her family all her life. When Aleah was 5 years old, Vanderhoof took her hiking near Mount Rainier. They snacked on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and visited a "cool rock" that Aleah still remembers. They summited Mount St. Helens together when Aleah was 14 and went backpacking when she was 15.

Aleah said her grandmother's love of nature changed her life, pushing her to work in a mountaineering store and train to climb Mount Rainier.

On their hike up Rainier, Vanderhoof said seeing her son and granddaughter excel was the "true summit" for her. When they stopped at Camp Muir the first night, Vanderhoof watched as Aleah comforted another young woman who was scared of the climb. To her, that moment of kindness represented the spirit of mountain climbing.

"It's all about teamwork. It's all about encouragement," Vanderhoof said. "Just being out there with people who love the things that you love."

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