June 25, 2006, Winthrop Glacier, Mt. Rainier
6/25/06
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3820
2
On Sunday, Adam Gorski, Dave Perkins, Steve Greenlaw, Jesse Thompson and I skied the Winthrop Glacier. We had unfinished business to complete after turning around at 13,000 feet on the same route June 10th in zero visibility and moderate snowfall.
We left camp Sherman Sunday morning at sunrise, touring and weaving onto the Winthrop through huge crevasses. We booted the steepest section up onto the ridge, skinned up to about 13,000 feet, then booted the rest once we intersected the climber's trail. Wow, what a fantastic view and feeling of accomplishment for a first-timer on top of the mountain (4 of 5 of us first-time summit.)
My 3rd turn off the rim, I broke through a small crevasse, and one of my skis came off and fell inside. Everyone held their breath as I hiked back up, peered over, and reached in. Yeah! Let's go!
The ski down was everything from perfect corn up top, to hard wind-affected, to deep & creamy.
Skiing down the ridge was wonderfull and uneventful, but like most ski trips there was the "interesting" part. As we approached the steepest section above gaping crevasses, a serac broke 500 feet or so below us, but we couldn't see how far it went as the ridge dropped off sharply. It was early afternoon now, very warm--very soft. Dave went first and said it was good. Steve went next and set off a soft, wet 30-foot-wide slab that went about 150 feet into the flats. Jesse and Adam went carefully and I brought up the rear, trying to be light on my feet. Then one by one, we quickly snaked down through the lower crevasse field and over a final 5-foot wide bridge that made all of our eyes practically pop out of our heads.
We broke camp and skied Interglacier on the way out. A great day!
I hijacked our route photo from another post last week--hope that's ok.
We left camp Sherman Sunday morning at sunrise, touring and weaving onto the Winthrop through huge crevasses. We booted the steepest section up onto the ridge, skinned up to about 13,000 feet, then booted the rest once we intersected the climber's trail. Wow, what a fantastic view and feeling of accomplishment for a first-timer on top of the mountain (4 of 5 of us first-time summit.)
My 3rd turn off the rim, I broke through a small crevasse, and one of my skis came off and fell inside. Everyone held their breath as I hiked back up, peered over, and reached in. Yeah! Let's go!
The ski down was everything from perfect corn up top, to hard wind-affected, to deep & creamy.
Skiing down the ridge was wonderfull and uneventful, but like most ski trips there was the "interesting" part. As we approached the steepest section above gaping crevasses, a serac broke 500 feet or so below us, but we couldn't see how far it went as the ridge dropped off sharply. It was early afternoon now, very warm--very soft. Dave went first and said it was good. Steve went next and set off a soft, wet 30-foot-wide slab that went about 150 feet into the flats. Jesse and Adam went carefully and I brought up the rear, trying to be light on my feet. Then one by one, we quickly snaked down through the lower crevasse field and over a final 5-foot wide bridge that made all of our eyes practically pop out of our heads.
We broke camp and skied Interglacier on the way out. A great day!
I hijacked our route photo from another post last week--hope that's ok.
Aaron, I enjoyed reading about your journey. Your ski route was almost identical to our ski route a few years ago. Zap
Right on man. Looks super fun!
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