11-18-2010, Mt. Rainier- White Pass TR

Well, too much of good thing perhaps. Got up at 5:30 AM and headed out the door to meet NWBoarder28 and his friend at the entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park. Driving up I-5 I watched the temperature drop and the rain turn to snow. In Morton, Washington, there was new snow on the ground at the 1200 foot level. The day`s report from NWAC showed 41 inches on the ground up at Paradise. As the sun broke through the scudding clouds, the stoke level was high.

Got to the park entrance right at 9:00 AM with several inches on the ground. To my utter disappointment, the sign read, "Longmire road not open today". I asked the Ranger if there was any chance and told me that there was four feet of snow on the road and in places, 6 to 8 foot drifts. Not only was there no way it would open, but the storm knocked out the power and phone and they were not sure if it would open tomorrow either.

So, back into the little town of Ashford I went, meeting up with NWBoarder28 to discuss options. Just outside the park entrance is the Mount Tahoma Ski Trail System with ski to huts.

; a fully stocked back country supply in Ashford, Wa., we decided that heading for

We still had enough daylight to go back up for a second run which we did. Picked a different run that was steeper, but was also choked with rocks and a creek so overall, it was not really worth the hike though the lower run out was as awesome as our first run. The day was kind of an exercise in adaptation, but we pulled it off and had epic time doing it.

Pictures of the day:





















Here is a little sample of the great powder

I shot this short video segment with the iphone as  NWBoarder28 and Justin rode by:

video