Camp Muir, Muir snowfield, Mt. Rainier, Washington backcountry snowboarding and skiing photos It can be difficult to find good backcountry skiing and snowboarding on the Muir snowfield on the south side of Mt. Rainier: the 4500' vertical between Paradise and Camp Muir means the snow is often good only for part of the distance, and high winter winds often scour some areas and pile up large sastrugi in others. When backcountry skiing and snowboarding conditions are good, however, there are lots of great ski runs to be found, and the scenery is always spectacular. The Muir snowfield typically gets pretty unpleasant toward the end of summer, with huge dirty suncups, cracks, and even crevasses, but early fall snow can bury those defects and provide excellent backcountry skiing conditions. Maps and a compass, or GPS, are always important to carry, because a sunny day can quickly turn into a whiteout, and navigation above treeline in the fog can be difficult and dangerous. Other areas good for skiing and snowboarding are accessible from the Muir snowfield route. The Nisqually Chutes drop from the west edge of the Muir snowfield down to the Nisqually Glacier. The Paradise Glacier lies to the east of the Muir snowfield and provides an alternate way to ski back to Paradise; this is a real glacier, with real crevasses, so appropriate care should be taken. When the weather is bad and clouds are on the Muir snowfield, good skiing can be found on slopes around Mazama Ridge and in Edith Creek Basin. There can be real avalanche hazard even below treeline, however, and each winter seems to bring some avalanche incidents. The photo gallery below contains photos of telemark and randonnee skiing (randonee) and snowboarding from trips up the Muir snowfield to Camp Muir. < Paradise Area Photos Snow Images Main Spray Park-Flett Glacier Photos > Click any of the photos to view the large version Near Glacier Vista, with Mt. Rainier Booting up Panorama Point Muir snowfield overview, with Anvil Rock Telemark skiing below Camp Muir Skiing small sastrugi below Camp Muir Randonee skiing on the upper Muir snowfield Skiing January corn, with Gibraltar Rock Telemark skiing, Muir snowfield October snowboarding, lower Muir snowfield October telemark skiing, lower Muir snowfield Nice corn snow Snowboarding the lower Muir snowfield Telemark skiing above Pebble Creek Snowboarding old snow, with Anvil Rock Steep slope near Panorama Point November corn near Panorama Point Tatoosh Range view Nisqually Glacier with late October dusting Follow this link for more galleries from Mt. Rainier backcountry skiing trips. Follow this link for more galleries from year-round backcountry skiing trips. Follow this link for Mt. Rainier panoramas. Photos ©2008 Turns All Year LLC, www.turns-all-year.com   Please read the full copyright details. To contact turns-all-year.com, use this link.