Feeling surprisingly spry after yesterday's trip to Interglacier, I decided to do an afternoon skin up Alpental. Still a ton of snow up there, though skiing to the car won't last long.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
June 14: Interglacier
This is a 12-mile round trip taking you to the head of glacier (Interglacier) at about 9,800 feet on the north side of Mount Rainier. It's a bit of a slog thanks to a huge flood that wiped out quite a bit of the approach trail a couple years ago, but the skiing has always made it worth the time, and this Saturday was no different. A beautiful day in a spectacular place. I even saw a bear on the way back, but managed to forget to hit the record button on the camera.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
June 7: Muir again
It has felt very much like fall here for the past week, topped off Friday by a snowstorm at the higher elevations that dropped about 2 feet of snow. Looking for higher-quality snow, I went to Paradise thinking I'd ski some treed terrain and bowls low on the mountain. A dreadful whiteout and snow aced that idea, so I decided to get another workout in and go up the snowfield. I broke out of the clouds at about 9,000 feet. The first bit of skiing was great: Nice, dense powder. The rest was horrendous in a classic Rainier whiteout. Slow, frustrating going. Here's some video of the section where you could actually see:
May 31: Muir Snowfield stairmaster
It's boring, but the Muir Snowfield on the south side of Rainier is a great tour for making sure everything, including your legs, are in working order before going further afield. It's about 4 miles and 4,500 vertical feet of skiing. I did luck out with the weather, as you'll see below.
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