June 5, 2010, Whitman Crest, Mount Rainier NP
6/5/10
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
1937
3
It was really nice to have a sunny day in the PNWet! Ahh, the feeling of dehydration and sunburned lips...
Chirs and I left the Fryingpan Creek trail head around 7:45 with a bunch of ideas but no real plan. We talked about potentially checking out some stuff on Goat Island Mountain, but figured that we'd just head up to Summerland and decide what to do once we got there.
We hiked on dry trail for a bit, and then patchy snow for a while, and then finally started skinning around 4500 ft. We crossed the creek as we entered the main basin on the last, sad snowbridge. Once out in the open, we had a snack, soaked up the sun, and talked about what to do. The south facing slopes of Goat Island were kinda beat. Do we want to climb, ride, climb out, and ride again, or do we want to just climb a bunch, and then ride a bunch? The lure of spring riding overtook us and we elected to just do one long run, so we started up the north facing slopes of Meany Crest.
Lower down, the snow was pretty deep which made us wonder what we'd find up high, but as we got higher, the snow firmed up. One steep slope required booting, where I wasted a bunch of time fiddling with ski crampons, taking 2 steps and admitting that they weren't going to cut it on my splitboard, and then switching over to boot crampons. Grrrr! No worries though, no rush to beat the crowds in this neck of the woods! We saw maybe 8 other folks throughout the day, some of whom headed to Little Tahoma -- which appeared to be in fine shape -- but the feeling of solitude was great.
Once on the Fryingpan Glacier, which wasn't a frying pan on this day thanks to a steady breeze, we headed up to a high point on Whitman Crest around 9300 ft. The views over the other side of Little T and Mount Rainier were spectacular and a new angle for both of us.
The ride down was pretty freakin' awesome with 4,000 ft of really good turns all the way back to the creek. The glacier is so wide that it felt like we were riding down a huge bowling ball; the turns were nice and carefree and the kind you can only get on a big glacier in spring. The angle increases as you roll over Meany Crest, and the spicier terrain rode great, with small, loose surface sluffs on the steepest terrain. The final huge bowl that had us a little worried about avy danger on the climb up was ripper on the way down.
After a long break, we rode down to the creek, where Chris put the last snowbridge out of its misery. I walked across the footbridge. Some trail sliding, and then it was time to shoulder the boards for the walk out, giving us ample time to reflect on the total-awesomeness of our day ;).
Neither of us brought a still camera (doh), but here are same frame grabs from a video camera, and a link to a video of the whole ride down, so it's pretty long:
Steep turns down lower
Chris
Chirs and I left the Fryingpan Creek trail head around 7:45 with a bunch of ideas but no real plan. We talked about potentially checking out some stuff on Goat Island Mountain, but figured that we'd just head up to Summerland and decide what to do once we got there.
We hiked on dry trail for a bit, and then patchy snow for a while, and then finally started skinning around 4500 ft. We crossed the creek as we entered the main basin on the last, sad snowbridge. Once out in the open, we had a snack, soaked up the sun, and talked about what to do. The south facing slopes of Goat Island were kinda beat. Do we want to climb, ride, climb out, and ride again, or do we want to just climb a bunch, and then ride a bunch? The lure of spring riding overtook us and we elected to just do one long run, so we started up the north facing slopes of Meany Crest.
Lower down, the snow was pretty deep which made us wonder what we'd find up high, but as we got higher, the snow firmed up. One steep slope required booting, where I wasted a bunch of time fiddling with ski crampons, taking 2 steps and admitting that they weren't going to cut it on my splitboard, and then switching over to boot crampons. Grrrr! No worries though, no rush to beat the crowds in this neck of the woods! We saw maybe 8 other folks throughout the day, some of whom headed to Little Tahoma -- which appeared to be in fine shape -- but the feeling of solitude was great.
Once on the Fryingpan Glacier, which wasn't a frying pan on this day thanks to a steady breeze, we headed up to a high point on Whitman Crest around 9300 ft. The views over the other side of Little T and Mount Rainier were spectacular and a new angle for both of us.
The ride down was pretty freakin' awesome with 4,000 ft of really good turns all the way back to the creek. The glacier is so wide that it felt like we were riding down a huge bowling ball; the turns were nice and carefree and the kind you can only get on a big glacier in spring. The angle increases as you roll over Meany Crest, and the spicier terrain rode great, with small, loose surface sluffs on the steepest terrain. The final huge bowl that had us a little worried about avy danger on the climb up was ripper on the way down.
After a long break, we rode down to the creek, where Chris put the last snowbridge out of its misery. I walked across the footbridge. Some trail sliding, and then it was time to shoulder the boards for the walk out, giving us ample time to reflect on the total-awesomeness of our day ;).
Neither of us brought a still camera (doh), but here are same frame grabs from a video camera, and a link to a video of the whole ride down, so it's pretty long:
Steep turns down lower
Chris
Thanks for the report.
That was on our radar that day too. So about a 2 mile carry before continuous snow?
It's a little more work, but good for you guys enjoying the solid-dude.
That was on our radar that day too. So about a 2 mile carry before continuous snow?
It's a little more work, but good for you guys enjoying the solid-dude.
Yes, about 2 miles to dirty yet continuous snow.
As you know, the trail is a nice wide mega-highway, so the hike in and out doesn't involve any fighting deadfall or ducking through brush, so while annoying, it's not too bad. It looked like they had already got in there with chainsaws.
I'm still, as the kids say, "stoked" on this day!
As you know, the trail is a nice wide mega-highway, so the hike in and out doesn't involve any fighting deadfall or ducking through brush, so while annoying, it's not too bad. It looked like they had already got in there with chainsaws.
I'm still, as the kids say, "stoked" on this day!
Glad you're still stoked Preston. There were a few times on the way up from Summerland I got the feeling that I was putting you thru mild torture. Of course, all that changed after the first couple of turns. It usually does...
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