Mud Duck and Tabone "Ski" the Disappointment Cleaver Route on Mt. Rainier

In late May of 2024 Greg Huey (Mud Duck) and Tadz Kostrubala (Tabone) successfully summitted and “skied” the Disappointment Cleaver (DC) Route on Rainier. Join us for this presentation as they discuss the DC route, which is the standard ascent for Rainier and the not-so-standard ski descent attempt. The DC route is the most popular route to the summit of Washington State's highest mountain, which peaks out at 14,411 feet. The route climbs 9,000 feet on snowfields and glaciers. They will share our adventures, trials and tribulations, the DC route history, and considerations for anyone who might attempt the route.

Greg "Mud Duck" Huey was born and raised in Oklahoma and educated in New Mexico where he stumbled upon his uncanny ability and desire to suffer in the mountains. He has summitted Denali twice and Mt. Rainer five times now. When not recovering from a hip replacement he enjoys traveling the world for his job, playing rugby and making no sense during campfire sessions that last late into the night.

Tadz "Tabone" Kostrubala fell in love with the mountains while partially growing up in Mammoth, California. After migrating throughout several western states he landed up 20 years ago in New Mexico and has been enchanted ever since. Generally washed up, he likes to reflect back on his time as an Outward Bound instructor, desert climbing rat, and other exploits. When not bossing people around as an engineering manager at LANL he can be found on the ski hill at 6 AM most Tuesdays and Thursdays hiking or skinning.

We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting, on the regular fourth Tuesday of the month. The social hour, with cookies, begins at 6:45 PM and the program at 7:00 PM. The presentation will be streamed at Los Alamos Nature Center; the slides will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration is required to Zoom and recommended for in-person – we would love to see your smiling face. Registration is at https://peecla.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/peecla/event.jsp?event=56338&.

Heading towards the summit of Mount Rainier