June 4, 2004, Muir up to 10,800ft on Beehive

I set off for Camp Muir at around 2pm, definitely a late start. A good boot pack makes it for easy going all the way up to camp. I decided to hike up another 800 feet or so of vertical on the Beehive which is directly visible from camp Muir. Time restraints kept me from going to the 11500 foot level. It was around 6pm when I started skiing and winds began to pick up and this had started to form a crust layer on top the corn snow higher up. The snow is buttery smooth and good turns can be had on the Beehive (Upper Cowlitz Glacier). Once I got on to the Muir Snowfield it was good for the first 500 vertical and then it turns to mush even in the late day when it began to cool off. I was dissapointed in my speed. It was tooooooo slow!!! I recomend an early start if you plan to ski the Muir Snowfield. Other than the mushiness it's as smooth as I've seen it. No sun cups at all. One not on the Beehive: Watch for hidden crevasses. More and more are popping up.
Donnelly