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December 29, 2014, Paradise

12/29/14
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
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Posted by DenisSeattle on 12/29/14 1:54pm
Bluebird day in the low 20F's with light winds today at Paradise. The 10-11" of new snow that fell over the weekend is well preserved and equitably redistributed by Sunday's shifting winds. The new powder sits atop a stout base. Coverage is decent, has a ways to go to reach normal. I heard a rumor that a slab released above Edith Creek Basin, no confirmation nor further info. Due to volunteer tasks our skiing was limited to moderate angle in sheltered old growth stands 4500'-5500' in the afternoon, and very stable. We didn't do a profile and we did not see surface hoar. [Edits: elevations added; no video coming; also note the Paradise Snotel is back after a week offline]



I was told the road from Longmire to Paradise would not open that day so I turned around and went home  :'(

author=CascadeYeti link=topic=33189.msg138117#msg138117 date=1420259629]
I was told the road from Longmire to Paradise would not open that day so I turned around and went home  :'(


Follow the mount rainier national park Twitter feed. They update it almost daily in the early hours of the morning to notify visitors on expected time the gate will (or will not) be opening.

I think Yeti may be referring to this Twitter posting from 12-29?
https://twitter.com/MountRainierNPS/status/549582168654372864

I just assumed the OP was part of the SAR...

Correct vogtski, and thanks for noting that. Traffic was restricted to those searching for a missing snowshoer. I posted about the snow conditions we saw, because the NRCS/NWAC weather station had been down for a week and TAY is the next best place to get information on what's happening with the snowpack.

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december-29-2014-paradise
DenisSeattle
2014-12-29 21:54:33