August 6, 2011, Nisqually Chute
8/6/11
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2500
3
Had to get out for a day with my working friends who can only ski weekends. I was pleasantly surprised to find minimal cupping on the route up to the chute entry. Two guys dropped in as we arrived, we descended around 2pm in two inches of ripe corn. There is still plenty of snow for skiing all the way to the car, tho we did some trail walking on the way up from glacier vista to pebble creek. A big crowd in the chute would smooth it for even better skiing. Please? :)
http://vimeo.com/27390494
http://vimeo.com/27390494
Nice to meet you up there, Silas. Conditions are surprisingly good for August. The entry is wide, runnels in the chute are smaller than usual. Should be nice skiing there for at least another week or two. We went to the far take-out from the nisqually valley and had just a short uphill ski to get out (that sticky snow down low is good for something).
Fun time on the Mountain. Thanks! :).
I helped groom the Chute today ;D
Didn't start down til 6:30 PM. Still a lot of walkers on snowfield but not that many skiers.
That cloud layer enveloping Paradise got pretty thick, only 100 feet viz at times. But busted out of it well before Pan Point.
Snowfield above the Chutes seems to be getting raised tracks / bumps, but so long as the snow is soft the ride is bumpy but still fun.
Drove up via Stevens Canyon. The flowers alongside the road near Bench Lake are amazing right now, some of the thickest clumps of paintbrush and lupine that I have ever seen.
Didn't start down til 6:30 PM. Still a lot of walkers on snowfield but not that many skiers.
That cloud layer enveloping Paradise got pretty thick, only 100 feet viz at times. But busted out of it well before Pan Point.
Snowfield above the Chutes seems to be getting raised tracks / bumps, but so long as the snow is soft the ride is bumpy but still fun.
Drove up via Stevens Canyon. The flowers alongside the road near Bench Lake are amazing right now, some of the thickest clumps of paintbrush and lupine that I have ever seen.
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