July 4, 2004, Flett-Russell Glacier, Mt. Rainier
7/4/04
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3131
2
Well , Following "Oldschool droput" and "MD2020, 3 of us Skied up the Flett /Russell with one of us( Jonathan S From Boston) managing to top out at near 10,000 on the top of the Russell Headwall. We saw you alls tracks and can verify your snow condition reports. I'm a thinking "Oldschool has the right idea about spendiing a couple days up there to make the hike worthwhile. Gotta
respectfully disagree with him on it being new solo skier trip as we saw some crevasse openings starting to appear on the Russell . Maybe 6" in width and and running 12' or so.its nice to have a few experienced friends along up there For sure anything under Obseravation Rock is Aok.
My personel observation after about 10 years of skiing up there is that the previous snow year at that level was good but there has been some depletion of the glaciers.
Robie
respectfully disagree with him on it being new solo skier trip as we saw some crevasse openings starting to appear on the Russell . Maybe 6" in width and and running 12' or so.its nice to have a few experienced friends along up there For sure anything under Obseravation Rock is Aok.
My personel observation after about 10 years of skiing up there is that the previous snow year at that level was good but there has been some depletion of the glaciers.
Robie
Nice report, Robie.
So how long will those "torture points" last ya?
Proly 'til next weekend, eh? ;)
So how long will those "torture points" last ya?
Proly 'til next weekend, eh? ;)
First off, many thanks to Robie for being our tour guide on the mountain and gracious host at his home!
And what a great route - sure the trail hike is a painful way to start off and then eventually end the day, but the Flett and Russell are worth it. Snow conditions were excellent, and the Russell offers an interesting variety of expert faces and rolling terrain (which can be combined in an infinite number of possibilities).
Pics are located here:
http://www.jshefftz.photosite.com/2004flettrussell
I agree though with Robie that it is *not* a good solo choice for the new skier:
- crossing over from Flett to Russell could be confusing;
- straying too far on the skier’s right on Russell leads to large crevasses;
- small crevasses are starting to appear on other parts of Russell; and,
- returning to the hiking trailhead in Spray Park could be confusing since the many snow patches and tree islands start to look the same (though here is where a gps makes it easy).
Overall, only drawback was not being able to join all the other TAY folks at the Paradise Glacier...
And what a great route - sure the trail hike is a painful way to start off and then eventually end the day, but the Flett and Russell are worth it. Snow conditions were excellent, and the Russell offers an interesting variety of expert faces and rolling terrain (which can be combined in an infinite number of possibilities).
Pics are located here:
http://www.jshefftz.photosite.com/2004flettrussell
I agree though with Robie that it is *not* a good solo choice for the new skier:
- crossing over from Flett to Russell could be confusing;
- straying too far on the skier’s right on Russell leads to large crevasses;
- small crevasses are starting to appear on other parts of Russell; and,
- returning to the hiking trailhead in Spray Park could be confusing since the many snow patches and tree islands start to look the same (though here is where a gps makes it easy).
Overall, only drawback was not being able to join all the other TAY folks at the Paradise Glacier...
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