November 5, 2004, Mt. Rainier, Nisqually Chutes

Drove down Meridian (161) in some death fog which soon gave way to sunshine by Eatonville.  Weather looked promising but it was chilly.  I arrived at Longmire at 8:30 and the gate was already open.

FYI...they are still doing construction about a mile or two past the gate and by the Ricksecker Pt. turn off, just after Nisqually bridge.

Pulled into the lot by 9 and proceeded to wait for Chris.  There were about half dozen skiers and lone splitboarder getting ready while I waited eagerly.  Chris arrived and we were skinning by 10.  Must have been really cold the night before.  There was an inch or more of really dry snow on top a hard base.  I held some in my palm and was able to blow it all onto Chris.  Sun shining and a gentle breeze made the ascent comfortable.  Felt like spring.  We ended up taking the traditional summer route up Pan Pt.  Was icy in some places.  I ended booting a short section and used my crampons for the split for the rest.  From Pan Pt to Pebble Creek was the usual.  Nice wind blown to ice and everything in between.  Once above PC snow conditions turned for the better but thin clouds started rolling in.  Skies were still blue for the most part but the sun started playing hiding-go-seek.  We had originally planned for Muir but people skiing down from there said the snow conditions didn't get any better and it was not worth it.  So we had eyed the Nisqually chute which looked like it was ready for harvest.  Question was would it be ice or all fluted up from the wind or both.  Near the ridge the wind was from the southwest about 20mph or so with some pretty strong gusts.  There were also icy patches scattered about but once we started the traverse into the entrance it changed to a couple inches of a cross between corn and granular on a bomber smooth base.  We could only get small cookies to roll as we cranked turns.  Since it's still early in the season the chute is not completely filled in so it was steeper than normal with a bit more exposure.  The chute usually peters out about a quarter of the way down but not this time.  We actually had to stop in a couple of places cause we couldn't see what was below us.  That led us to cross the drainage, which is debris free for the time being, about half way down to carve a mellower slope on the other side.  Towards the bottom the naturally cut halfpipe slash drainage got a bit boney but we were able to cross without hitting anything.  Once across we started our traverse back with only one more obstacle, the water flow from Pebble Creek.  Chris took a high traverse and crossed not too far below the falls.  I took a lower line and found a narrow snow bridge across.  Just about every chute leading down into the basin looked wind effected with the exception of Nisqually chute A and B.  Snow also started to develop a crust in some places.  We traversed and booted our way back up to the saddle near Glacier Vista trail.  Chris and I decided to take a different route, a route less riddled of boot and ski tracks, down to our cars.  We ended up dropping into Edith Creek via a way I had never been.  I thought it would be a sure boot for me but was able to ride most of the way except for the creek crossing and a 10ft up hill section after the bridge.  Snow down here started forming a trap crust.  A bit tricky in places but not bad.  A little more slope angle would have helped but the boot trail made do.  We ended up back at our cars by 3 and were outta there.  Another great day in Paradise! ;D