December 16, 2016, MRNP, Paradise Glacier

Had the opportunity to take a day off work and decided to head down to Rainier today. With the good start to the snowpack so far this season, I thought I'd take a look at the Paradise Glacier and see what shape it was in. I was not disappointed.

I opted to climb up to and then ski out from Mazama to Cowlitz Rocks and ascend the glacier from there. The skinning was pretty straightforward either following a day-old track or setting my own in a few inches of low density powder on a firm base. Climbing the glacier wasn't a problem either, as ski crampons were not needed. I turned around at about 8,600 feet and skied down from there. The first 400 feet or so were on a soft wind-pack with minimal sastrugi, while from 8,200 feet back down to the saddle at Cowlitz Rocks at about 7,200 feet, there was great, soft powder and a totally smooth surface. That bottom 1,000 feet was good enough to warrant a second run.

The air temps stayed very cold all day and (thankfully!) there was very little wind such that by the end of the second run, the conditions hadn't changed much and there was no wind or sun crust on the lower part of the glacier. The ski back to Mazama Ridge was fast and Edith Creek basin held a lot of great powder and good coverage for the ski back down to the road.