Oct 18, 2016, Mt. Rainier, Paradise

Found out the gate was closed Monday night so the initial 5:30 departure from Bellevue pushed back closer to 7. Arrived at the gate just before it opened at 9. Snow line around 4300ft. Skinned from the car with about 6" of concrete coverage and moderate vis. Continued up to Pan Point in hopes of some some lighter density snow. What we found was high density, wind scoured and wind loaded slopes. Slabs were small and unreactive . Once at Pan Point winds and nearly no visibility forced us to pick our way back to the car.

Grabbed some food, regained some visibility and decided to give Edith Creek Basin a try. Coverage was much more consistent over there with very little wind effected snow, other than on ridges. It was around 2pm by this point with breaks of sun, so any hopes for low density new snow was dashed. But the turns were still good, very spring like and kicked off two roller balls around 2 ft in diameter. Wanted another lap but concluded that the roller balls were a sign to head home.

Overall a great day for October. Coverage was great thanks to the density. No major rock dings, and if you were actually  being careful, no rocks at all. Saw a total of 4 other skiers and a handful of tourists, all equally as stoked about the early season snow.