May 13, 2005, MNRP - Inter Glacier
5/13/05
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3680
6
Met up with Charles by 6am at the Safeway in Enumclaw. The plan was to beat the forcasted storm on this Friday the 13th. As luck would have it the predicted weather easied off a bit. That was apparent as we drove on 410 under nothing but blue skies and sun. Pulled into the White River campground with about a half dozen cars. Temperatures were hot! That was a no brainer after driving thru Buckley and the temp gauge reading in the 50's at quarter till 6.
By 8am we were on trail at 4,250ft making the 3 mile hump into Glacier Basin. There's not too many views of the surrounding terrain from this trail. Just trees and the sounds of raging water. Encountered snow about 1.5 miles in and the first cloud. Snow was continuous on trail but not over the many bridges. One could skin it but it would require many carries down 4ft snow banks, cross bridge, climb 4ft snow bank, and repeat over and over. By 5,500ft skinning was the most efficient mode of transportation but since we were making such good time Charles and I kept going on the boot track. Shortly after we arrived at Glacier Basin. The views were nothing short of amazing. The basin is full of avalanche debris. The majority of possible lines dropping into the valley had avi paths. (ie: Dog Leg chute off Ruth) Some even running up a short distance across the valley floor. Also lots of crazy formations from avis past.
While trading our shoes for boots I noticed that I had forgotten to lace them before leaving. Dooh! I ended up using my pack tether for one boot and connected the laces from my shoes for the other. So after ditching our shoes we started skinning up the basin and rounding Mt Ruth for my first view of the Inter Glacier. For the most part it's crevasse free with only a few hints here and there. Avi's had also carved a path down both side of the glacier.
Snow thus far was soft suncupped with a hint of dirt mixed in. As the elevation and slope pitch gained snow became smoother. Wasn't corned to perfection but in transition. Depth also varied along the slope. Some places were an inch or two on top a hard unbreakable crust. Other sections we could break thru the thin crust layer. Still going to be a good ride down.
At 8,500ft a break was in order. Views of Glacier peak, Stuart range, etc could be seen in the distance. The south sides of all the Burroughs were melted out. Hope they open Sunrise before it's too late but after this weekends rain... ???. Soon after skinning again high clouds started coming in from the southeast side of the mountain. Didn't take long for mother nature to display the wonderful shades of gray. However they were high clouds so Charles and I kept skinning. At 9,000ft it started snowing lightly. Clouds were dropping upon the weathers arrival. I stopped just after another 100ft but Charles kept going. He stopped couple hundred feet above me below a roll. Snow was really coming down now. Above the roll was whiteout.
After getting our gear strapped on it was time for the harvest. The couple inches of wet fresh carved like butta. Down below those variable sections made for some interesting turns and straightlines. Instead of snowballs rolling down hill and gaining snow they did the opposite until they disappeared. Charles cut one that a had 10ft rooster tail behind it. No signs of instability were found on our run out. We were able to pick our way down a major gully to 5,500ft. The hike out was enjoyable since there was a cloud cover. It also started raining lightly as we arrived back to the car. What a day! My altimeter read we gained over 5,000 vertical feet and rode a couple hun under 4,000ft. Not too shaby considering what I did on Saturday and Sunday.
By 8am we were on trail at 4,250ft making the 3 mile hump into Glacier Basin. There's not too many views of the surrounding terrain from this trail. Just trees and the sounds of raging water. Encountered snow about 1.5 miles in and the first cloud. Snow was continuous on trail but not over the many bridges. One could skin it but it would require many carries down 4ft snow banks, cross bridge, climb 4ft snow bank, and repeat over and over. By 5,500ft skinning was the most efficient mode of transportation but since we were making such good time Charles and I kept going on the boot track. Shortly after we arrived at Glacier Basin. The views were nothing short of amazing. The basin is full of avalanche debris. The majority of possible lines dropping into the valley had avi paths. (ie: Dog Leg chute off Ruth) Some even running up a short distance across the valley floor. Also lots of crazy formations from avis past.
While trading our shoes for boots I noticed that I had forgotten to lace them before leaving. Dooh! I ended up using my pack tether for one boot and connected the laces from my shoes for the other. So after ditching our shoes we started skinning up the basin and rounding Mt Ruth for my first view of the Inter Glacier. For the most part it's crevasse free with only a few hints here and there. Avi's had also carved a path down both side of the glacier.
Snow thus far was soft suncupped with a hint of dirt mixed in. As the elevation and slope pitch gained snow became smoother. Wasn't corned to perfection but in transition. Depth also varied along the slope. Some places were an inch or two on top a hard unbreakable crust. Other sections we could break thru the thin crust layer. Still going to be a good ride down.
At 8,500ft a break was in order. Views of Glacier peak, Stuart range, etc could be seen in the distance. The south sides of all the Burroughs were melted out. Hope they open Sunrise before it's too late but after this weekends rain... ???. Soon after skinning again high clouds started coming in from the southeast side of the mountain. Didn't take long for mother nature to display the wonderful shades of gray. However they were high clouds so Charles and I kept skinning. At 9,000ft it started snowing lightly. Clouds were dropping upon the weathers arrival. I stopped just after another 100ft but Charles kept going. He stopped couple hundred feet above me below a roll. Snow was really coming down now. Above the roll was whiteout.
After getting our gear strapped on it was time for the harvest. The couple inches of wet fresh carved like butta. Down below those variable sections made for some interesting turns and straightlines. Instead of snowballs rolling down hill and gaining snow they did the opposite until they disappeared. Charles cut one that a had 10ft rooster tail behind it. No signs of instability were found on our run out. We were able to pick our way down a major gully to 5,500ft. The hike out was enjoyable since there was a cloud cover. It also started raining lightly as we arrived back to the car. What a day! My altimeter read we gained over 5,000 vertical feet and rode a couple hun under 4,000ft. Not too shaby considering what I did on Saturday and Sunday.
Great job guys! Sorry to miss out on the fun-glad you made it happen!
Joe
Joe
Hey Sno slut - we skied Dogleg Couloir on Saturday - melted butta for sure.
So "Crazy Formations from avis past" - what was your take on the blowdown at the foot of the dogleg chute? When do you think that occurred?
So "Crazy Formations from avis past" - what was your take on the blowdown at the foot of the dogleg chute? When do you think that occurred?
Hey MW88888888 Dogleg looked tempting but negotiating the waterfall looked sketch that day. All debris'd out plus it being Friday the 13th I didn't want to push my luck. Was there a huge runnel left over, starting from the falls, from a giant glisading down? That was sure a big pile up when Charles and I skinned past. The avi cycle proly occured within the week. Looked really recent. Good job on bagging that gnar line!
Thanks for the nice writeup, Eric. I have to say that every time I do a trip with a good snowboarder, like Eric, I am reminded what a great tool the snowboard is for descending (though ascending is another question, and touring is probably out of the question). Eric graciously omitted from his report the part about my struggles in the breakable-crust-over-deep-mush section of Inter Glacier. I kept telling myself "ski it like powder", which started working when the crust weakened enough, but not after several wipeouts with snow impacted in every possible location. Eric, on the other hand, just cruised right down that section like it was fun (which it probably was, for him).
The avalanche debris in Glacier Basin was the most I'd ever seen there. It looked like the whole south side (north-facing slopes) of Glacier Basin had slid. The entire valley bottom was covered in debris, which had also started up the other side and wiped out trees fairly close to the camp area. Here's a photo of the slopes that slid, including the "dog leg" route:
The avalanche debris in Glacier Basin was the most I'd ever seen there. It looked like the whole south side (north-facing slopes) of Glacier Basin had slid. The entire valley bottom was covered in debris, which had also started up the other side and wiped out trees fairly close to the camp area. Here's a photo of the slopes that slid, including the "dog leg" route:
Great photo, Charles.
Touring w/ snowboard- my brother always tells me that he doesn't care if walking 90% of time w/ shoes means that he can get a better descent than with skis.
I see his point, but I dissagree and choose to ski when the majority of terrain is "rolling". His argument for snowboarding a "touring" route is moot in my opinion as well => he can't ski! His argument therefore starts to sound like a rationalization.
Re: slides - yes, all looked recent, but the big pile at the bottom of the dogleg looked older. Or maybe it was the dreaded "wind blast?"
In any case, when we skied the dogleg we climbed in am with clouds and snow held. On descent we had to wait for top 4" to slough off before we could ski anything steep. And the traverse....ahhhh, shoooot, I'm gonna Post my TR that I sent my buds....hold on
Me, I'll still pick the tool for the run...and yes, lately the board has been the choice du jour.
Touring w/ snowboard- my brother always tells me that he doesn't care if walking 90% of time w/ shoes means that he can get a better descent than with skis.
I see his point, but I dissagree and choose to ski when the majority of terrain is "rolling". His argument for snowboarding a "touring" route is moot in my opinion as well => he can't ski! His argument therefore starts to sound like a rationalization.
Re: slides - yes, all looked recent, but the big pile at the bottom of the dogleg looked older. Or maybe it was the dreaded "wind blast?"
In any case, when we skied the dogleg we climbed in am with clouds and snow held. On descent we had to wait for top 4" to slough off before we could ski anything steep. And the traverse....ahhhh, shoooot, I'm gonna Post my TR that I sent my buds....hold on
Me, I'll still pick the tool for the run...and yes, lately the board has been the choice du jour.
The debate over which method to the madness (ski or snowboard) to use and why is always interesting. I often tour with boarders. Sometimes I have to wait a few for them to finish ascent, but when we head down it's a blast for all. Did the split boarder in the photos have sun glasses? Unless he applied sun screen to his eye balls, he might have burned.
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