Feb 2, 2012, Camp Muir

Departed a rather empty Paradise parking lot just after 10. We made good progress, up to Pan Point and onto the snowfield in brilliant sunshine. We were in t-shirts for the most of the morning, although that quickly changed as the wind picked up the closer we got to Muir.



Lenticular clouds kept the upper mountain shrouded, but visibility was fine below 11,000 ft. We reached Camp Muir around 2 pm. The only other people up there were a couple looking to climb/ski in the next few days. With this weather, I would say they've got a pretty good chance.



Conditions looked promising on the way up, but failed to live up to their potential. 10000' down to 9000' was sastrugi and wind packed powder, but actually skied pretty well. 9000' down to about 8000' - sun-softened new snow, with a light crust from re-freezing due to increased winds in the afternoon. 8000'-7000' semi-sloppy, not-quite-mashed-potatoes kinda snow. Sticky. 7000' - and down was pure glop and mush. Not that much fun. But the clouds that were hidding the summit gave way by the time we got back to the car.



Conditions would have been fantastic all the way down if only we could have been up there 4 hours earlier! Still a beautiful day to be up there.

Brett