Home > Trip Reports > june 20-21, 2012, mt. rainier fuhrer finger

june 20-21, 2012, mt. rainier fuhrer finger

6/20/12
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3674
5
Posted by tsuyoshi on 6/22/12 1:14pm
will and i skied the fuhrer finger for a little solstice celebration. rock free snow in the finger led up to involved route finding through the upper nisqually (we chose not to continue strait up which would have been easier but not as scenic). one gaper crossed the whole nisqually with only one snow bridge that was hidden behind a few teetering seracs... pretty soon some vertical ice will be the only way across!

we had to walk a few hundred feet off the summit due to blue ice balls. with skis on, we found a few hundred feet of smoother blue ice then corn corn corn! i couldn't believe we found corn from 14k down to camp! one rock fell while we were about to enter the finger and it veered into the thumb but that was all the rockfall we saw the whole day.

i bet the finger will be in great shape after this wet weather we're getting right now!


About what elevation was the large crevasse that you mention?

author=chrism link=topic=25191.msg106530#msg106530 date=1340702512]
About what elevation was the large crevasse that you mention?


i'd say somewhere around 13k ish... couldn't really see it until we were right under it.

Sweet trip report! Thanks! I am definitely going to have to investigate that route/area for further exploration skiing of Rainier. Any idea on the pitch of the finger (looks pretty damn steep)? Also, any other clutch/crux parts besides the gaping crevasse and serac garden that you mentioned? Thanks!

author=bcjunkie link=topic=25191.msg106550#msg106550 date=1340742558]
Sweet trip report! Thanks! I am definitely going to have to investigate that route/area for further exploration skiing of Rainier. Any idea on the pitch of the finger (looks pretty damn steep)? Also, any other clutch/crux parts besides the gaping crevasse and serac garden that you mentioned? Thanks!


the steepest past of the finger, if you stay skiers far right, maxed out at about 45 degrees... it looks steeper than it really is. skiing skiers left in the finger it never gets above 40. nothing else was cruxy about the route, and very strait forward if you continue up the ridge above the finger.

Reply to this TR

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june-20-21-2012-mt-rainier-fuhrer-finger
tsuyoshi
2012-06-22 20:14:10