in 2021, the pacific northwest endured an uncommonly warm and dry spring, combined with extreme summer heat. climbing guides were forced to do something they'd never done before - they shut down the climbing season to summit mt ranier/tahoma/tacoma via the disappointment cleaver several weeks early. The disappointment cleaver route is the most popular route to summit the mountain, and is used by 3/4 of those who summit this behemoth. The route was closed due to rockfall and snowmelt making the path unsafe.

this is an image of the mountain during that summer, with the glaciers lacking in snow, ice and overall mass.