February 3, 2005, Nisqually Chutes, MRNP
2/3/05
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2354
2
I don't recall any Muir trip that I didn't see anybody else on the entire slope. I guess other people may have more realistic expectation for the ski condition. Not much different from yesterday as Charles reported. I stoped at 9000' due to gusting wind and icy surface. Skiing down to the chute entrance was not much fun, one might call it a waste. I'd call it a warm up. Anyway, the snow in the chute was nicely warmed up by the sun. There were a few tracks from the weekend, I guess. Nice easy skiing on a soft few inches on firm, but not hard crust. There were a bunch of chicken heads sticking out, but they were all soft enough to squash over. It was over too quickly, no wonder people repeat it many times.
I wanted to test drive my new powder skis (atomic teledaddy) today before heading up North next week. No powder, but they were pretty good on a typical cascade snow, not a quick turner as BobTails. I knew I needed "HeadRush", but these were dirt cheap.
I wanted to test drive my new powder skis (atomic teledaddy) today before heading up North next week. No powder, but they were pretty good on a typical cascade snow, not a quick turner as BobTails. I knew I needed "HeadRush", but these were dirt cheap.
I was thinking of heading up there tomorrow (Saturday). I've never done the Nisqually chute in winter. Any concerns about stability/avalanche risk on Thurs? Thanks.
The snowpack as a whole is solid, thanks for the rain we had. My concern for tomorrow would be the steep frozen surface in the chute. Depending on how much new snow they get, it could be hard bare crust, a nice few inches new on firm, or too much new to slide off. Also, getting up Pan face may be tricky. Everything under the new snow would be frozen solid.
Be carefull, have fun. I might be up on Paradise Gl on Sunday.
Be carefull, have fun. I might be up on Paradise Gl on Sunday.
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