November 20 - Muir

     Our group of four; Rob, Richard (Lintermans), Ryan (Sthlfree) and I arrived to a closed gate at Longmire just after 8:00.  Judging by the snow on the ground and the crystal clear view of the mountain, it was going to be a good day.  We ordered breakfast at the hotel and received our meal just as the gate opened.  We were not worried about the snow being tracked out as it was a Tuesday but rather we were optimistic that one of the two cars ahead of us would cut a skin track through the 6 to 10 inches of fresh snow that we expected to find.
     We arrived at Paradise the third car in the lot.  A telemarker, Joel, was setting out just as we pulled in.  Ahead of him (we would later learn) was a solo woman skier.  There was plenty of snow for skinning out of the lot with temps approaching 30, clear skies and sunshine.  A snowboarder with snowshoes showed up as we departed the car.  We were skinning by 10:00.
     The climb was the normal slog with much better than average visibility and no wind.  It was cold but the sun kept us warm and thankful to be there on such a beautiful day.  A good skin track was in place and we found ourselves atop Pan Point in no time.  We took a short break and continued upward and onward.  Near pebble creek I needed to stop and apply more duct tape to my heels (I need boot help) where the snowshoer passed me.  Ryan was able to pass him later on but I followed him the rest of the way up to Muir (so much for the nice skin track).  The climb took us about 4 hours (some more, some less) and we were rewarded with the wonderful views that accompany clear skies from the camp.  We chatted with Joel who it turns out shares a friend and a profession with Ryan.  He was visiting from out of town (Kansas City was it?) so the €œsmall world€ vibe was in full effect.
     We departed Muir around 3:00 and Joel was interested in joining us down the Upper Nisqualy Chute which looked to be in great shape from Pan Point.  I was unsure of the entrance point to the chute and went ahead to do some recon.  I dropped west much too high and found a descent rout filled with crevasses, cliffs and rocks.  Once I realized my mistake, I was several hundred feet below my party and reluctantly applied my skins once again.  (Yielding me an even 5K for the day.)  I made a climbing traverse and rejoined my party shortly.  I had apparently lost whatever confidence our group had in my navigational skills and time was pressing.  We needed to get on the road as Richard had a flight to catch that evening so we scraped the chutes and opted for a direct decent. 
    The upper snowfield held very nice snow.  8 to 12 inches that was cold and light and skied just right.  I just hope that I live long enough to see that mountain grow enough to put another 5 or 10 degrees on that slope.  From about 7,500ft or so down it was a rock minefield.  €œHere€™s one€ and €œthere€™s one€ was a constant dialog in my mind as I pointlessly tried to avoid the thinly veiled threats.  I was sure that I was leaving a trail of sawdust behind me.  We gingerly traversed south around the top of Pan Point and found some nice turns before the final slide down to the lot.  We quickly stuffed our gear into the car, said goodbye to Joel and were unceremoniously off.
     It had been another beautiful day on the hill.  The car was cramped and smelled of wet boots but we were satiated and I for one was already thinking about my next ski trip.  Thanks guys.