September 7, 2003, Paradise Glacier
9/7/03
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
4216
8
The forecast looked grim, but Sunday morning alas no drips on my sky light. I met Ron , Jeanette and Robie for some grub @ Eatonville's famed Tall Timbers and we headed up. Robie off to mountain bike the westside road, the remainder to ski Ron's proposed line on the Paradise Glacier.
Took the main trail to Muir to about 7100, then went climbers right to what we thought was a skinable finger . First patch might have gone, but not without considerable exposure. So we took to the rocks again to about 7600. Here we ran into a couple of tele-masters who were getting in their sept quota. Very nice turns as they disapeared into the fog . From here we skinned up past some nasty crevases and cracks and all agreed it was good to be climbing up what we planned to ski. At about 8700 we ran out of skiable snow.
The decent was fun , though over quickly. When Jeanette and I got to the bottom we found one pole ,one ski and no Ron! ??? Turns out he had performed the ever popular dive after runaway ski with stuck brake manuever ! We found him about 50 ft down, thankfully ok, ski in hand. He figures it would have landed about 800 ft lower if he hadn't caught it;D Good trip for sept, let the snow begin ! Oh yea thanks to Jeanette for the great bbq action , fab potatoe salad, and excellent cookies ! Also thanks to Ron and Jeanette for great recon.
Argh, I knew I should have tried to find a ride. Sounds like you guys had fun. I figured Rainy-er would be socked in, I couldn't see anything from Seattle. Oh well, I've still got three weeks to get those turns in. :)
Yeah, pbelitz, you should have. It would have been fun to put a face to another fellow skier/poster.
Jerry, nice report and way cool shot of the "trail guard".
Yeah, the trip went off pretty much as planned, except for the errant minty hunk of love (Sumo) and the clouds not lifting.
I had "ordered up" sunbreaks for the climb and ski down and the showers for the drive home. The showers for the drive home were spot on but the sunbreaks were a little lacking. What we did see we weren't fast enough to get the camera out in time to get any shots of the huge crevasses that we stayed away from.
If you're still interested in getting in some turns up there, it should be ok for at least another week or two. As Jerry points out, the route is in fairly good shape for skiing from about 8700 down to about 7600... an occasional small crack here and there just to keep you on your toes, and 2 or 3 fairly large ones to navigate between about 7900 and 7800. There's actually skiable snow down to the saddle just above McClure Rock (about 7350) but below 7600 the rocks protrude east into the fall line in two places such that it becomes steep enough that stopping a slide for life in case of a fall becomes questionable, especially for use geezers. In a nutshell, don't fall into the cracks and don't slide over the cliffs 8)
More pics and the actual gps track of the trip are posted at:
http://groups.msn.com/WildHeartsSkiing/septemberski.msnw
Jerry, nice report and way cool shot of the "trail guard".
Yeah, the trip went off pretty much as planned, except for the errant minty hunk of love (Sumo) and the clouds not lifting.
I had "ordered up" sunbreaks for the climb and ski down and the showers for the drive home. The showers for the drive home were spot on but the sunbreaks were a little lacking. What we did see we weren't fast enough to get the camera out in time to get any shots of the huge crevasses that we stayed away from.
If you're still interested in getting in some turns up there, it should be ok for at least another week or two. As Jerry points out, the route is in fairly good shape for skiing from about 8700 down to about 7600... an occasional small crack here and there just to keep you on your toes, and 2 or 3 fairly large ones to navigate between about 7900 and 7800. There's actually skiable snow down to the saddle just above McClure Rock (about 7350) but below 7600 the rocks protrude east into the fall line in two places such that it becomes steep enough that stopping a slide for life in case of a fall becomes questionable, especially for use geezers. In a nutshell, don't fall into the cracks and don't slide over the cliffs 8)
More pics and the actual gps track of the trip are posted at:
http://groups.msn.com/WildHeartsSkiing/septemberski.msnw
Sorry I couldn't join y'all for some turns. Glad that you were still able to get in a decent run despite the weather.
Once the first freshies cover up the bumps on the snowfield count me in for a trip to Rainier.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new snow is only about 4-6 weeks away.
Once the first freshies cover up the bumps on the snowfield count me in for a trip to Rainier.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new snow is only about 4-6 weeks away.
"They" say desperate people do desperate things, and in our desperation to continue our yearly streak, we did earn our turns, and find some very skiable snow for September. ;D
Looking forward to doing more of those fun "tailgate" parties 8)
Looking forward to doing more of those fun "tailgate" parties 8)
Ah-h-h-h! Another excellent September ski, sorry I missed the turns and the damp looking tailgate party. Looks like you guys made the best of the conditions. Hey! and that's some kinda Marmot there JW! 8)
Paul
Paul
Graeat report of a great ski trip, but nothing this ancient woman would want to do. I'll wait for powder, sending up vibes for an early winter.
For the same distance on dry trail you could hit the Squak on Baker. It really isn't that bad. Either way september turns are september turns. And any turns have to be good, right?