Home > Trip Reports > July 4, 2013, MRNP, Russell Glacier

July 4, 2013, MRNP, Russell Glacier

7/4/13
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
4113
7
Posted by iluka on 7/5/13 12:50am
The road to Mowich Lake is open and the Russell Glacier is in great shape.

The trail is snow free until about 5,400 feet as you get into Spray Park (above the top of the switch backs). After putting on skis at around 5,600 feet, we were able to skin continuously across the Flett and onto the Russell Glacier although things appear to be melting fast and a lot of patches may start opening up soon in Spray Park and on the lower Flett.

Both the Russell and Flett are in great shape. Little to no sun cups on the Russell and only minor ones on the lower Flett. The snow is grabby on the lower portion of both.

We topped out at 9,400 feet on the Russell so can't comment on the upper part of the headwall or the Flett Headwall, although the latter looked to be in good shape from our vantage point.

Our one lingering question from the 4th of July trip: would the Founding Fathers have chosen AT or tele? I'm betting that Jefferson would definitely have been a free-heeler.
It seems to me that the Founding Fathers would have been splitboarders, based on the general new, cool and groovy nature of the nation emerging in opposition to the status quo.
Obviously,  later, once they made their decision as young wippersnappers would they discover the inherent problem which plagues both splitboarding and American democracy: the lack of separation of the powers. HA HA Ha

On a different note, are Flett & the Russel active, or can they be solo skiied with any confidence?

I think Jefferson would've been quite taken with the mechanical elegance and efficiency of the early Low Tech binding system.

Patrick Henry?

Freeheeler!


Jake - I'd send my mom up the Flett, no problem. Look for cracks, but the Flett (comes down from Observation Rock) is really more of a remnant.

Haven't skied the Russell myself, but gazed upon it in several Septembers/Octobers. Avoid any steep rollover, and you're apt to be fine. Safety third, and all that.

Edit for photos:
1st: Flett and neighbors. Face at center is the steepest. Note lack of cracks. Phil Fortier has an ice-climbing TR here.
2nd: Russell. There are four TAYers in the picture, but they're each smaller than a pixel.
3rd: I love this photo. Matt Kuharic on the Russell.

pretty sure they would have been dirt-baggers ~ if only on principal..

author=Charlie Hagedorn link=topic=28954.msg121895#msg121895 date=1373339568]
Haven't skied the Russell myself, but gazed upon it in several Septembers/Octobers.

Charlie: love those photos. The black/white plus the season gives them a great mix of rough and smooth textures.
The shadow in the second pix looks kinda like a humpback salmon, and he's about to eat the poor subpixel climbers.  ;)

Split Board? Too slow in transition for those trying to form a new government. I think they knew that to free themselves from the shackles of British tyranny, they needed to free their heels.

While my times on the Russell have only been in the first month after the Mowich Lake TH opened,  I'd say that glacier is safe to ski solo. There are some crevasses on the far eastern aspect as it drops down towards the Carbon but on the aspect that gets skied heading down towards Echo Rock, at most, I've only seen some small cracks and have had no issues.


I've seen small cracks on the Russell, but not large enough to fall completely in, just large enough to grab your ski if you don't cross them at an angle.  Pretty safe solo ski.

I've skied it solo and in groups but I'll pass this on if you do a solo trip.  Safest way up is climbers right - the obvious route going up.  It's skiing down that I noticed a hazard that develops later in the season.  My favorite is to ski the glacier skier's right - best fall line - all the way to the terminus, then hike back up, climber's right, to get to the entrance point from the top of the Flett.  The hazard I'm speaking of is if you ski right down the center run, then ski towards the left to gain access to the top of the Flett coming from this center of the Russell.  I've noticed a series of crevasses that open up late season along this path that are parallel with the route you take to get back to the Flett. Anyway, I'd recommend the (2) choices skiers left - not a good fall line or skiers right - much better, but take it all the way to the bottom.  Good luck.

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july-4-2013-mrnp-russell-glacier
iluka
2013-07-05 07:50:00