March 13, 2005, Grand Park Headwall, Mount Rainier
3/13/05
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2586
3
New gear, and what better place to put it through its paces than the varied challenges of Grand Park. Matt had new lightweight Garmont Venture 3-pin leather/fabric boots to replace his T2s, which tend to overpower his waxless skis. Russ, but not any Russ that anyone knows, just broke into the waxless world with some new Karhu Dorado skis and Garmont Excursion boots.
My Highway 410 informant had been sending info that access on the 73 road was good, and we were able to drive to the trailhead, with a little icy snow on the very last bit. It was a bright sunny day, but cool and with a fresh north breeze. There was essentially no snow in the forest, with some thin coverage in glades, so we hiked the trail to Lake Eleanor, then on to Grand Parklet. This meadow was largely melted out to brown grass, with thin snow cover only around the perimeter. The trail remained largely snow-free until just before entering the glades leading into Grand Park, maybe 5300 feet, where it was 2-4 feet deep, smooth, very well frozen corn.
We put skis on when we got into the sun in Grand Park itself. We strode west to get into the main openings of Grand Park, with their panoramic views of the northeast and north sides of Mount Rainier, then south toward the tip of the park. Very nice striding conditions - smooth, fast, and just softening frozen corn. Here's a movie:
After a light lunch in the sun, we decided to head to the mellower Afternoon Slope, starting with a great fast glide down into the big Grand Park meadows. Here's a movie:
All of the excitement, not to mention the exertion, left us a little drained, so we headed out for the ski back across Grand Park. The snow was still very nice and fast for striding. We were able to ski down to the end of the glades where the trail descends from the north tip of Grand Park, then it was just a pleasant hike back to the car.
My Highway 410 informant had been sending info that access on the 73 road was good, and we were able to drive to the trailhead, with a little icy snow on the very last bit. It was a bright sunny day, but cool and with a fresh north breeze. There was essentially no snow in the forest, with some thin coverage in glades, so we hiked the trail to Lake Eleanor, then on to Grand Parklet. This meadow was largely melted out to brown grass, with thin snow cover only around the perimeter. The trail remained largely snow-free until just before entering the glades leading into Grand Park, maybe 5300 feet, where it was 2-4 feet deep, smooth, very well frozen corn.
We put skis on when we got into the sun in Grand Park itself. We strode west to get into the main openings of Grand Park, with their panoramic views of the northeast and north sides of Mount Rainier, then south toward the tip of the park. Very nice striding conditions - smooth, fast, and just softening frozen corn. Here's a movie:
After a light lunch in the sun, we decided to head to the mellower Afternoon Slope, starting with a great fast glide down into the big Grand Park meadows. Here's a movie:
All of the excitement, not to mention the exertion, left us a little drained, so we headed out for the ski back across Grand Park. The snow was still very nice and fast for striding. We were able to ski down to the end of the glades where the trail descends from the north tip of Grand Park, then it was just a pleasant hike back to the car.
What a fabulous trip. Sun was warm, the snow was cool, and the coversations innane. Due to the difficulty in turning our nordic cambered skis we made frequent use of a German technique known as a "sitz" turn. It is an effective turn but given its radical dynamics it tends to damage the slope. We found that ones "butt" would tend to make a "hole" in the snow. On one unfortunate occasion Russ fell into his own "butt" "hole" and then immediately did another sitz turn.
Matt
Matt
Until that posser learns how to ski, he better not be using my name ;)
The last two posts make me want to get some outabounds and ressurect my old Merrill leather boots...
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