Finger Fun

The weather window was too perfect! Cameron and I set out from Paradise at 1:20 AM. We had planned on ascending the ID, summiting, and skiing the Finger or Thumb. Cameron had bought a snazzy new monocular we used to scope the route from Nisqually Chutes on Sunday. He was also able to check out the Thumb from the road, and it appeared, as reported, that the bergschrund at the bottom was bridged. We skinned the refrozen boot track to the Escalator, booted up, and continued skinning to Muir, arriving around 4:30 AM.

We skinned across the Cowlitz and considered gaining Cadaver Gap after seeing a party on route but continued to Cathedral. We booted up the last pitch to Cathedral and stopped to rope up and begin the sunscreen onslaught. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous day with many parties out taking advantage and targeting the Finger/Thumb, Success Couloir, or the Kautz. Lots of stoke to be shared for a weekday!

We continued to Ingraham Flats, finding the route both well-tracked and recently wanded (thanks IMG!). As we began to push up the ID, I regarded the DC route below the Bowling Alley and Icebox. I knew there was overhead on the DC, but it felt different seeing just how much. The boot-worn ID pitched up and snaked across a couple of well-bridged crevasses before gaining one final exposed pitch below Camp Comfrot where the guided teams placed running protection. By this point, the altitude had slowed us down considerably, and the "check engine" light on my legs and lungs had certainly turned on, but the route was cruiser to the crater rim. Overall it seemed the ID should continue to go for at least a couple of weeks.

At the rim we skinned over and tagged the summit around 11:30 AM, finding Eric Gilberston out surveying Columbia Crest. We enjoyed Belgian waffles and I got my juggle in before descending. The Upper Nisqually is in pretty good shape; we hopped one crevasse that could probably be end-run and then the usual crevasse to access the Finger, which is maybe 1' across. There are other bridges which may not last much longer, which could make navigation more difficult. We also didn't notice anyone using the skiers' right Wapowety Cleaver entrance, which may be easier in a week or two.

Sensing the slightly overcooked snow, we opted to stick to the Finger, which skied delightfully, despite being chased by a microwave-sized rock. Surprisingly, the entire exit across the Wilson and Lower Nisqually was in a slightly sloppy but fun corn condition, making for nearly 5,000' of pure joy. We skinned up to the bench below Pan Point and skied out to Paradise by 2 PM to enjoy some chocolate milk and gawk at what a gorgeous day we were able to share with the mountain.