Skiing Paradise to the Nisqually Bridge?

I was up on Muir last weekend, which got me to strategizing a bit for next winter. <br><br>Have people thought about/done ski laps from Paradise to the Nisqually bridge in the wintertime? It looks like you could do laps of about 1500 vertical down to about 4000 ft for minimal work. Are there chutes through those steep cliffs? I think that side of the valley is West facing... the snow could be okay when it's cold. What do people think? Is this Washington's Loveland Pass, or better?<br><br>-Matt

<br>For a new guy you got a pretty good eye for our goods, Matt. <br>You're right, it's every bit as good as Loveland Pass, probably a lot better. <br>Many of us locals ski to the bridge, especially on good snow years. On bad snow years it's been known to remain a bit boney below the glacier snout. It usually takes 'til at least February or later to be filled in enough to be a no-brainer down by the bridge. <br>Jerry and I have looked at the cliffs you mention, directly west of Paradise (near Nisqually Vista and Dead Horse Creek) for possibly lines of entry. It looks to me that a couple might go with good snow coverage, but I haven't gone that way. Most folks enter from further above. The tour has lots of options; you can drop in where the Moraine Trail starts, or further up above the hump at Glacier Vista, or over at the base of Pan (all west facing), or from the top of Pan (north facing entry). The Nisqually Chutes (8200, south facing) to the the bridge is a classic that gets you over 4000 vf of turns and if you go all the way up to Muir (10,000) you get over 6000. <br>The route down over/around the snout has lots of options too. If you're dead set on avoiding the actual glacier, once you're down into the moraine you can follow the left (east) side lateral moraine ridge and go around to the (skiers) left of the the nunatak at the end of the ridge. This takes you down a steepish (45 -50 degree) slope below the snout. Other favorites are down the snout skiers right of the nunatak or crossing to the far right side about even with Wilson's Gully and descending on the right (west) side of the glacier. <br>It doesn't hurt to have a little glacier experience for the two latter routes, and now is a pretty good time of year to shoot a pic or two of the glacier to remember where the more gnarly areas are on the glacier, before they get all covered up again, with pretty, smooth white snow . <br>Have fun and be careful. See you up there, sometime, no doubt

Hey Jeffey,<br>Not sure what happened but I was editing my post, fixing a couple of typos and somehow I deleted your preceeding post. Have no ideal how it happened.<br>Sorry about that, mate.<br>How can I ever make it up to you ???

Hey Jeffey,<br>Not sure what happened but I was editing my post, fixing a couple of typos and somehow I deleted your preceeding post.  Have no ideal how it happened.

<br><br>That's okay. No worries. Your post is more informative anyway <br>

Great info Ron, thanks for posting it. I guess you need to be a little more careful with those moderator powers of yours, though!

So is it in? <br><br>Ha!