June 8, 2003, Mount Rainier, Nisqually Couloir
6/8/03
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2613
2
Volcano #5 Volcano Tour 2003
Ski descent: 4,500 VF
Distance: 9 miles
Somehow waking in the comfort of your own home, to the smell of your own coffee maker, takes the pain out of a 4:00 am start. Sort of. Our group of three met Ron in Issaquah at our usual meeting place and we all piled into the F150 for the drive down to Paradise. At this hour of the morning travel was easy, but unfortunately I couldn't flash my MRNP pass at the unmanned gate, which oddly validates my new feelings of hometown pride.
At Paradise, the parking lot was wildly busy, even at this early hour. We could see large hordes of people mingling and chatting, and what appeared to be guides discussing the day's itinerary. Our group moved quickly through the morning ritual of gearing up, and was soon fleeing the busy parking lot, ahead of the phalanx. I was amazed at the contrast of two mountains as I followed the trench made by climbers following the guided route to the summit. Mount Baker was empty in comparison to this, and so was Adams for that matter. Rainier certainly put the red carpet out.
Wands with color ribbon were conveniently spaced 20 yards apart along the lower section of the trail , hinting at the dense fog that plagued the mountain and made the short stroll through the lower trees a maze in bad weather. The precautions were certainly overkill this day, the sun ablaze in the 7:30 am sky.
As we gained the benches approaching the snowfield, we could easily make out the route down the tasty Nisqually chutes and the short hike from out of the glacier carved gorge - our route was decided! Now to move fast before the hordes took over Muir.
The size and robot-like action of the guided troops were amusing at best and disturbing at worst on this weekend day with good weather. As we gained the broad shoulder of the Muir Snowfield, we could see the huge lock-step groups snaking their way up onto the route from the parking lot behind us and maybe this spurred our group on a little faster. We were unsure if they were day hikers or campers, but we were sure we would also be included in the 'wildlife' pictures had we chance to encounter them. We felt more comfortable when we realized we could relax at Muir Camp without their company and easily descend while the snow was still good, hours before they would arrive.
We made our way down the relatively moderate slopes of the snowfield, past hundreds of climbers, and veered west toward the start of the Nisqually Chutes. The snow was perfect corn, if a little sloppy in the steeper sections facing the sun, and we were able to drop a narrow snow finger from skier's right into the main snow chute for added thrill. This entry approached 45 degrees and quickly moderated in the main chute, where we regrouped and then went playing on the wave cornice further down the chute. The finish run onto the ramp below was a race against gravity, and we came to rest in the flats with a short hike back up onto the ridge where the Muir Trail passed. The ski back to the car was a wild ride of trying to keep your speed in the ever increasingly grabby snow and dodging the tightly packed groups of hikers and climbers. But what a treat to ski right back to the parking lot - of course now filled with hordes of tourists. High fives were passed all around - the fifth and last Volcano of the tour a success. And recon for a summit bid was now in hand - we all agreed next year's ski would have to include a ski from higher up on the mountain. The access and the skiing were just too much fun. More investigating was warranted for truly huge vertical skiing.
At last our Volcano tour was ended. In the seven days of the trip we had managed to ski 5 Volcanoes and top out on three, in the major leagues a pretty good batting average - in the PNW a remarkably successful week. We had learned much about the PNW snow and skiing, and were intrigued by the tremendous opportunities yet to come.
Wayne and I shared private smiles - perhaps this will have to become a yearly event!
[Volcano Tour 2003 sample photos available @: http://groups.msn.com/MCSAWashington/shoebox.msnw?Page=1 ]
Ski descent: 4,500 VF
Distance: 9 miles
Somehow waking in the comfort of your own home, to the smell of your own coffee maker, takes the pain out of a 4:00 am start. Sort of. Our group of three met Ron in Issaquah at our usual meeting place and we all piled into the F150 for the drive down to Paradise. At this hour of the morning travel was easy, but unfortunately I couldn't flash my MRNP pass at the unmanned gate, which oddly validates my new feelings of hometown pride.
At Paradise, the parking lot was wildly busy, even at this early hour. We could see large hordes of people mingling and chatting, and what appeared to be guides discussing the day's itinerary. Our group moved quickly through the morning ritual of gearing up, and was soon fleeing the busy parking lot, ahead of the phalanx. I was amazed at the contrast of two mountains as I followed the trench made by climbers following the guided route to the summit. Mount Baker was empty in comparison to this, and so was Adams for that matter. Rainier certainly put the red carpet out.
Wands with color ribbon were conveniently spaced 20 yards apart along the lower section of the trail , hinting at the dense fog that plagued the mountain and made the short stroll through the lower trees a maze in bad weather. The precautions were certainly overkill this day, the sun ablaze in the 7:30 am sky.
As we gained the benches approaching the snowfield, we could easily make out the route down the tasty Nisqually chutes and the short hike from out of the glacier carved gorge - our route was decided! Now to move fast before the hordes took over Muir.
The size and robot-like action of the guided troops were amusing at best and disturbing at worst on this weekend day with good weather. As we gained the broad shoulder of the Muir Snowfield, we could see the huge lock-step groups snaking their way up onto the route from the parking lot behind us and maybe this spurred our group on a little faster. We were unsure if they were day hikers or campers, but we were sure we would also be included in the 'wildlife' pictures had we chance to encounter them. We felt more comfortable when we realized we could relax at Muir Camp without their company and easily descend while the snow was still good, hours before they would arrive.
We made our way down the relatively moderate slopes of the snowfield, past hundreds of climbers, and veered west toward the start of the Nisqually Chutes. The snow was perfect corn, if a little sloppy in the steeper sections facing the sun, and we were able to drop a narrow snow finger from skier's right into the main snow chute for added thrill. This entry approached 45 degrees and quickly moderated in the main chute, where we regrouped and then went playing on the wave cornice further down the chute. The finish run onto the ramp below was a race against gravity, and we came to rest in the flats with a short hike back up onto the ridge where the Muir Trail passed. The ski back to the car was a wild ride of trying to keep your speed in the ever increasingly grabby snow and dodging the tightly packed groups of hikers and climbers. But what a treat to ski right back to the parking lot - of course now filled with hordes of tourists. High fives were passed all around - the fifth and last Volcano of the tour a success. And recon for a summit bid was now in hand - we all agreed next year's ski would have to include a ski from higher up on the mountain. The access and the skiing were just too much fun. More investigating was warranted for truly huge vertical skiing.
At last our Volcano tour was ended. In the seven days of the trip we had managed to ski 5 Volcanoes and top out on three, in the major leagues a pretty good batting average - in the PNW a remarkably successful week. We had learned much about the PNW snow and skiing, and were intrigued by the tremendous opportunities yet to come.
Wayne and I shared private smiles - perhaps this will have to become a yearly event!
[Volcano Tour 2003 sample photos available @: http://groups.msn.com/MCSAWashington/shoebox.msnw?Page=1 ]
Yep. That's one of my faves.
Nice report.
Nice report.
Great photos, thanks for sharing. You really lucked out with the weather for all your trips.
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