June 15, 2012, Silver Basin (Crystal)
6/15/12
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
1748
0
I like it hard and dirty in the morning, were my words of encouragement to Ross as we worked our way up the firm and filthy surface of Quicksilver, or at least the upper half of it. The lower half is dry, but the easy road walk was actually a pleasant way to start and end the day. Worth the trouble to use sneakers or hiking boots.
We reached the prominent island of trees in the west end of the basin around noon and took a short run on pretty good overripe corn. The surface is uneven and the base is not especially firm, but suncups are not much of a problem yet.
We booted up the west end of the bowl where there were no cornices and enjoyed a leisurely late lunch with a great view of Mt. Rainier, etc.
The eastern aspect made for a sloppy descent from the ridge around 3:00, but there was minimal sluffing and no other signs of instability. There are still many cornices above the basin.
Quicksilver was real fun. Its not the first time that the dirtiest part was the best.
We reached the prominent island of trees in the west end of the basin around noon and took a short run on pretty good overripe corn. The surface is uneven and the base is not especially firm, but suncups are not much of a problem yet.
We booted up the west end of the bowl where there were no cornices and enjoyed a leisurely late lunch with a great view of Mt. Rainier, etc.
The eastern aspect made for a sloppy descent from the ridge around 3:00, but there was minimal sluffing and no other signs of instability. There are still many cornices above the basin.
Quicksilver was real fun. Its not the first time that the dirtiest part was the best.
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