August 24, 2008, - Paradise
8/24/08
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2976
1
KingWilliam and I slaked our thirst for turns on this cloudy but pleasant Sunday. After he graciously waited for my late arrival, we headed to the mountain and made good time up from Fourth Crossing. The inexorable approach of dark clouds selected our turnaround time, and we enjoyed the surprisingly corny snow as far as it would take us.
Muir snowfield looks bad and dirty, but the lightly dirty snow we skied wasn't bad at all, so perhaps there's still something to be had up there. Things also looked a little better connected than I'd expected (but not much). The Paradise glacier's tongue appears to be melting out, but we still found our way down. If you decide to infer and repeat our line, beware surprisingly unstable talus. Folks looking for a quick August hit might find sufficient and possibly fun turns on the SE side of Pan Point.
Kudos to Will for an introspective huck of a crack and a nicely patched double-mini huck of a small cliffband, both of which pansy-man here downclimbed.
Edit: Here's a little youTube of
Muir snowfield looks bad and dirty, but the lightly dirty snow we skied wasn't bad at all, so perhaps there's still something to be had up there. Things also looked a little better connected than I'd expected (but not much). The Paradise glacier's tongue appears to be melting out, but we still found our way down. If you decide to infer and repeat our line, beware surprisingly unstable talus. Folks looking for a quick August hit might find sufficient and possibly fun turns on the SE side of Pan Point.
Kudos to Will for an introspective huck of a crack and a nicely patched double-mini huck of a small cliffband, both of which pansy-man here downclimbed.
Edit: Here's a little youTube of