George Dunn Nabs 500th Summit of Rainier

Major congratulations going out to climber and guide George Dunn, who claimed his 500th successful summit of Mt. Rainier last Saturday, topping out at ten minutes after six in the morning. He was accompanied by his wife Nancy and his son Jeremy on this milestone trek. It was Jeremy's first time to the summit.

Located in the state of Washington, the 14,411 foot tall Rainier is one of the most coveted climbing in the U.S. Dunn has been leading others to the summit since 1975, and it is estimated that he has led over 10,000 people to the top. According to the Daily Dirt Blog over at BackPacker.com, 500 trips up Rainier is the equivalent of 9000 hiking miles and 4.5 million vertical feet.

As you can probably imagine, George holds the record for most summits on the mountain, with his friend and partner, Phil Ershler holding down second place with a mere 440 summits. The two men, along with mountaineer Eric Simonson, serve as co-directors for International Mountain Guides, one of the top guide services in the world.

Well done George. That is a lot of climbing!