July 9, 2006, Muir snowfield

I might as well come out of lurking in the shadows now, since reading all the trip reports here is making me very jealous indeed! I made my annual summer pilgrimage up to Muir with the same friend I had brought last year, and we were pleased to find much more snow this time, and hence less hiking and more skiing. We pulled into Paradise around a quarter to 9 and had no trouble finding a parking spot (on a Sunday??!!!). The clouds looked a little ominous on the drive down from the Kitsap peninsula, but they cleared up for a beautiful day. The snow was not bad either, rather sticky and a little bumpy in some places, but tons of fun to rip down grinning like an idiot. I wish I had the pictures my friend took of my launch off the remains of a cornice above Pebble Creek, which ended in my ski randomly popping off ten feet after landing and a faceplant shortly after. It was even possible to ski within 400 yards or so of the visitor center and lower parking lot by following two other adventurous skiers winding their way over patches of snow. Definitely a good day!