June 6-8, 2014, tourists in Paradise and Little T
6/6/14
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
4420
3
Justin, Samy, and I packed huge bags and spent the weekend at Rainier. We met Silas in the parking lot, asking "Are you going skiing?" since it was around 7 pm. Camped in the Stevens Ridge area Friday, skied a bit of the Paradise glacier Saturday and moved camp up to Cowlitz rocks.
Sunday: We left camp around 4 am, gained the Whitman via the climber's right gulley, and cruised towards Little T. We had an awesome view of 2 mountaineers who glissaded the uppermost part of the face around 8:30 am and then went exploring on the Whitman. They were early enough to beat the herds of slower climbers who we watched trudging up the mountain and also got the corn window which is frigging early... bravo, dudes. We chilled for a long while letting the climbers figure out their rappels, etc. before starting upwards. We belayed the exposed notch to and from the summit block and got to the summit around 3 pm. The ski out went well, following our uptrack. The crux was negotiating a narrow section with a stream on one side. Some small wet-loose action but it was hard to trigger and easy to manage. We skinned back up to camp through massive, old avalanche debris that stepped down to older layers (January?), and it was nice to be in the shade at that point. Packed up camp and got back to the car in time to close out the Highlander with burgers.
What a great weekend to be out with friends! Luxury camping, practicing lots of travel techniques, and perfect weather. Oh, and my ankle felt good.
Sunday: We left camp around 4 am, gained the Whitman via the climber's right gulley, and cruised towards Little T. We had an awesome view of 2 mountaineers who glissaded the uppermost part of the face around 8:30 am and then went exploring on the Whitman. They were early enough to beat the herds of slower climbers who we watched trudging up the mountain and also got the corn window which is frigging early... bravo, dudes. We chilled for a long while letting the climbers figure out their rappels, etc. before starting upwards. We belayed the exposed notch to and from the summit block and got to the summit around 3 pm. The ski out went well, following our uptrack. The crux was negotiating a narrow section with a stream on one side. Some small wet-loose action but it was hard to trigger and easy to manage. We skinned back up to camp through massive, old avalanche debris that stepped down to older layers (January?), and it was nice to be in the shade at that point. Packed up camp and got back to the car in time to close out the Highlander with burgers.
What a great weekend to be out with friends! Luxury camping, practicing lots of travel techniques, and perfect weather. Oh, and my ankle felt good.
Not light
Summit happiness
Shredding the slush
Summit happiness
Shredding the slush
Yay ski mowtentouring!
Those were a lot of big 'baller G turns' for your second ski post-op 8)
Paradise Glacier warmup
Skinning up Little Tahoma at 9am--the slopes were probably good to go by 8am as it was hot and the sun was on them by ~6am. We hung out above until ~4pm, by which point all of those on foot had vacated (and thoroughly tested the slopes below...)
Little Tahoma Beach (aka Whitman Glacier?)
Thanks to Amar for writing up this tour so well that we were enticed to give it a look. It was a good choice for us given the avoidance of the heavily crevassed Cowlitz and Ingraham Glaciers, and that it yields an uninterrupted ski from Little Tahoma down to 6k'. Our access up to the Whitman Glacier from the moraine was via a partially hidden creek gully on the rightward side of the cirque, which also served as a water source. Narrowish as of now, but should hold good skiable snow for a couple weeks; not sure how long it lasts after that.
Those were a lot of big 'baller G turns' for your second ski post-op 8)
Paradise Glacier warmup
Skinning up Little Tahoma at 9am--the slopes were probably good to go by 8am as it was hot and the sun was on them by ~6am. We hung out above until ~4pm, by which point all of those on foot had vacated (and thoroughly tested the slopes below...)
Little Tahoma Beach (aka Whitman Glacier?)
Thanks to Amar for writing up this tour so well that we were enticed to give it a look. It was a good choice for us given the avoidance of the heavily crevassed Cowlitz and Ingraham Glaciers, and that it yields an uninterrupted ski from Little Tahoma down to 6k'. Our access up to the Whitman Glacier from the moraine was via a partially hidden creek gully on the rightward side of the cirque, which also served as a water source. Narrowish as of now, but should hold good skiable snow for a couple weeks; not sure how long it lasts after that.
Nice job you guys! I was super bummed to miss this one -- life doesn't get much better than a comfy camping mission on a mild Rainier evening.
Stoked for your ankle and your spandex, Kam!
Stoked for your ankle and your spandex, Kam!
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