august second, patch-o-dise area

shouldn't the williwakas glacier be in that photo too on the righthand side?  did we lose that one this summer too?

Kam, best of luck with the move and new job in Virginia.  

If you'd like to leave some of your spatula skis here in Seattle I know I could find a good home for them :)

I didn't see it in any of the photos, but is that final flat snow patch before Cowlitz Rocks gone?  The one that was near the base of the upper glacier?  I remember seeing tons of ice worms there.  I wonder if they're all gone now  ???

i think i'm wrong...the williwakas (to the southeast of Cowlitz Rock) is probably hidden in that photo...

sad to think the lower glacier used to look like this.

http://glaciercaves.com/assets/images/Paradise_Ice_Caves_1930.jpg

sssshhhhh - that's somebody's secret stash!  ;)

All I can say is that I've been quiet not to tell, all of these years.

Wow, those photos of the area formerly known as the lower Paradise Glacier are amazing. I have taken my kids there for some skiing thrills at this time of year for the last two summers. I figured that it wouldn't look too good at this point, but I never would have guessed that there would be no snow at all. Very disappointing. I guess it will take another mini-ice age to restore the area to its former glory. Thanks for the report and photos.

I visited the Paradise Ice Caves when I was a kid, but the memory is very faint. It must have been in the 1960s. Trying to reconstruct my memory, I looked at Ruth Kirk's "Sunrise to Paradise." On p. 25, she writes:

In the 1950s the main tunnel of the Paradise Ice Cave extended nearly half a mile, formed by warm air entering along the glacier's meltstream. In 1971 the Park Service closed the cave as unsafe. By 1991 its ceiling had collapsed.

Now, less than 20 years later, the lower glacier is completely gone. TOPO shows the lower glacier extending almost 3/4 mile. As we were standing on McClure Rock last Sunday, I described the Paradise Ice Caves to my 8-year-old son. He thought they sounded pretty cool. I wonder what he'll have to scour his memory to describe to his kids.  ???

That's alot of yo-yo'ing for 1000 feet!   ;D

Nice TR, Kam.
Skillfully done.

Skillfully done.

My thoughts precisely.

A little googling found this report of a 1981 trip to the ice caves:

http://www.kuresman.com/Favorite_Trips/Paradise_Ice_Caves/Paradise_Ice_Caves.html

The following picture shows the extent of the (stagnant) glacier at that time:

http://www.kuresman.com/Favorite_Trips/Paradise_Ice_Caves/Glacier_Alone.html

Compare with Greg's picture:

http://www.randosaigai.com/paradiseglacier05_04.jpg

This blows my weekend plans.  Is it just me, or is markharf the only one that seems to be finding the goods with any kind of regularity these days?
-s


p.s. Toe - get used to it.

Is it just me, or is markharf the only one that seems to be finding the goods with any kind of regularity these days?

Nah.  I'm just the only one crowing about it.

Pictures of Kam and Mr. Mountaingoat here

That goat has been  hanging around there for several years.  A couple of years ago when Ron and I were wandering around in there with our skis  ;) we saw Mr. and Ms. Mountaingoat with their two kids pearched high above on the cliffs of the glacier moraine.  Amazing how they hop right over to the next perch without even a bobble.

Nice photos, glad you were still able to find some patches.

Sad the Ice Caves are no longer around, they were really something to see.

Nah.  I'm just the only one crowing about it.

I don't want you to be lonely Mark.  I found some really good standing glissading on the Snow Creek glacial remnant next to Dragontail Peak above Aasgard Pass on Tuesday.  Fun, fun, fun.

I'll miss you too Kam!  We gotta get together to make the Hardcores.  That's what I need to put the polish on the NW ski mountaineering scene, man.  Oh wait, I'm retired.  But if I decided to make a comeback like MJ...

2 years ago november, Cass, Sarah, and myself found a small remnant of the once large ice caves while skiing around the lower paradise in November. The cave was only 4 feet high and was sporting large icicles at the mouth - we had ducked in to get out of the wind.

Of course there are other icy places in which the elusive yeti may still be found!

http://www.catdaddy.com/people/kevin/images/04_11_Watson/yeti_cave_ralph.jpg

Kam - we will miss you.  Thanks for the GREAT help with the Glacier Skiing/Snowboarding and Crevasse Rescue course.  We will also miss your excellent movies, photos, trip reports and weird skis.

Good luck in Virginia.  I heard there were snow patches between the Baskins and Robbins and ice houses.

I look on here and see the ice caves mentioned. At the same time I'm going through old kids pictures to eventually scan and put on my website. This was a favorite place of our families and we skied and hiked out there countless times as kids. Here are some links and a photo to pictures I was able to find in the pile:



http://www.cascadecrusades.org/WhereItAllBegan/halfman.JPG

http://www.cascadecrusades.org/WhereItAllBegan/lookingout.JPG

http://www.cascadecrusades.org/WhereItAllBegan/lookingout2.JPG

http://www.cascadecrusades.org/WhereItAllBegan/ohyeah.JPG

edit to add: Oops sorry about the two pictures Charles. I'll send you a donation :) and I thought you'd all like to see the cave. It was a lot of work to find these!!!  

What's the first picture of?  The one that says "That's us!".  It looks like a half eaten taco photoshopped into an ice cave in which sits a large white worm.  ???

Well, I meant to enlarge that cutout portion of the photo more so you could see us better, but you should still be able to pick us out (we're standing there). Put your contacts back in  ;D and use your imagination. This is an old, scratched photo.  ;)

Cool pictures, Jason. I too remember the ice caves from Boy Scouts when I was 11 or 12, I think - it's too bad my kids never got to see them.

everyone's pictures from the now nonexistant paradise ice caves look like they're from a different world.  wow.  i wish i could say that i'd been to the caves myself, but i too am one of the ones who will have to rely on others' recounts and photos of the area. amazing--thanks for sharing everyone.

professor toe--i know you'll do well in VA, and i look forward to hearing about all the adventures you create for yourself out there. i'm sure there will be many...;D

wow!  thanks everyone for sharing photos of the caves.  i had no idea they were that big!  it makes me sad they don't exist anymore...

You're moving to Richmond, VA permanently ???

What's the deal?

well, i'm here.  arrived yesterday at 5pm.  stepped out of the airport and the heat blast nearly killed me.  95+ degrees.  and the humidity was stiff as can be.  home sweet home.  Doug, you asked if it was permanent.  well, there are only a few things in my life that are permanent and this isn't one of them.  it's just something i have to do for a little bit.  overall, i'm excited about the job at VCU even if it means letting my skis collect some dust....  but not to worry, i'll try to keep everyone entertained from time-to-time with TRs and photos from the east side....

... We gotta get together to make the Hardcores.  That's what I need to put the polish on the NW ski mountaineering scene, man.  Oh wait, I'm retired.  But if I decided to make a comeback like MJ...

Sky, the new VA ski factory will be up and ready soon.  you have the graphics for the HARDCORES all figured out right?  can you remind me again what they look like?  oh, and how much reverse sidecut did you want for those skis...

anyway, here are more photos..

3. no more glacier
4. Greg  
5. well, no need for this thing anymore..
6. "maaa "
7. Greg
8. Greg runs for more
9. Greg drops a ski, but that doesn't stop his 'turns-all-year' attitude
10. hey, what are you looking at!?

Y'all know it won't be long before insiders are insisting on the words "Made in Virginia" on their skis . . .

Good Luck Kam, "Never stop coloring outside the lines" ;D.  Hope to see you out here for a few turns in the future.  Will miss you at the Glacier Travel class this next year.

Virginia is for lovers.

Kam, we will miss reading about all of your Cascade adventures with skis as well as viewing your great photography, but I suspect that you will find a way to continue with similarly adventurous ski trips on the east coast. Just think, you can (or may have to) do "patches-all-year" trips even in the depths of winter!

Jason, don't worry about the extra photos posted in this thread. I instituted that rule about one photo/thread because I didn't want threads to become packed with numerous irrelevant photos as often seems to occur on web forums. I suspect that everyone has seen this kind of thing, where people post dozens of photos in a thread, many displayed without permission or against the copyright policy of the photographer. I think that people on this forum have demonstrated that this is unlikely to be a widespread problem, so I'm thinking about revising the guidelines. After I get the site moved to the new web host I will figure out how to word this revision.

First off, great photos Kam, as usual. Best of luck in Virginia!

Jason, those are great photos. I need to scan some old photos myself.

Charles, perhaps you should just keep the 'rules' as they are, but just mention that the rule is enforced more in the spirit rather than the letter of the law. I like the TAY policy, and linking to photos rather than posting them has become a distinctive TAY flavor.  :)

Sky, the new VA ski factory will be up and ready soon.  you have the graphics for the HARDCORES all figured out right?  can you remind me again what they look like?  oh, and how much reverse sidecut did you want for those skis...

Kam,

I think that would violate the TAY photo policy, if not the generally couth and amiable atmosphere here.  Suffice it to say that they'll be totally HARDCORE.  I could refer you to some magazines and stuff.