February 8, 2005, MRNP Muir Snowfield

My wife, Stephanie, and I skinned up to Camp Muir today.

The gate was open by 9, they must not have had much work todo after Monday's clear weather.  It was a beautiful day to not be at work, with about 8 cars in the parking lot at Paradise.  There was pretty much little to no wind all day.
It was nice to see the powder that had fallen over the weekend.  The most notable thing about the weather is that it was downright hot climbing up to Muir, a real cooker.  Shorts?

The snow from the weekend has started to settle and thicken from the warmth.  The snow ridges up high that are typically there weren't very strong, you could ski through them without hardly noticing them which was pretty cool.
I shot some cool video with my little camera and will try and post a collage later this week.  Nice shin deep mushy powder that was predictable enough for me to ski and film at the same time, definitely different from the real February conditions on Sunday.

Of note, skinning up past Del Glacier Vista and Pan Pt. there are alot of rocks sticking through or barely buried even in spots that look like deep powder.  While the snow was great up on the snowfield and in the more perennial spots, the rocks were a nightmare when we skied down to the chutes towards Glacier Vista/Golden Gate and the boot track.  Stephanie's new skis were inaugurated with trial by fire.  Luckily, both of our skis' plentiful scrapes look superficial.

I think the much smarter descent would be to head down towards Mazama Ridge and drop into the Edith Crk basin from the east.  I haven't done that before from the Muir Snowfield, but I'm sure you guys have lots of tips on how to best do that?

If this latest snow would just solidify and get buried by a foot or two, then everything would be golden.
It may be the crappiest snow year in Four score and 7 years, but I'm doing my best to have a hell of alot of fun.  Today was pretty darn nice, but not sure what we'll do in May.
Sorry to ramble on,
-Gus