July 31, 2003, lower Paradise Glacier area

Two backcountry skiers I know, one experienced and one novice, wanted to get in some summer skiing and, perhaps, start their own year-round skiing streaks. We spent two days camping on the east side of Mt. Rainier, acclimatizing and trying to stay cool in the deep green swimming holes of the Ohanapecosh River. The big day arrived with more sunny skies but cooler temperatures, and we drove up the Stevens Canyon road as dozens of RAMROD riders enjoyed the long coast down. The abundant avalanche lillies of 10 days earlier had disappeared along the 4th Crossing trail to Mazama Ridge, replaced by a profusion of lupine and Indian paintbrush, and we made good time considering the numerous interruptions necessitated by rest, "power pill", and potty stops. The snowpack had retreated from near the Stevens-VanTrump Memorial to the entrance to the lower Paradise Glacier valley, ~6200', but there was good cover from there.

Once upon skis, the experienced skier took off, but it became apparent that the novice skier didn't really know how to make waxless skis climb. A little instruction in stomping and edging fixed that. Unable to contain their excitement, the two skiers headed up the first hill and made several runs on slightly suncupped but unrunneled snow (I had, somehow, neglected to bring my skis and so was relegated to the role of photographer). Eager for more downhill action, we made our way farther up the valley, dropping our packs where the snow began bridging the creek. The waterfall area a little farther up the valley looked like it only had a few more days of continuous snow remaining. The two skiers made about a dozen runs each; focussed mainly on speed, they neglected to make any turns, so it is debatable whether they satisfied all of the traditional criteria for a streak-countable ski trip, but they did log a fair amount of vertical.

Here's a photo of the novice skier on his first run: