Juneuary 16-26, 2014, Rainier, 10K to Bridge CORN!

Juneuary 16, 2014, Mount Rainier, The Turtle to Nisqually Bridge via Van Trump Glaciers

An exceptionally nice day with exceptionally good snow conditions, a pleasant surprise to find the snow surface already well-consolidated on all aspects and mostly smooth corn on steeper southerly aspects just 2 days after the major storm cycle ended. What a way to get Juneuary really rolling!


Morning view of the Mountain above the Nisqually River at Longmire, January 16.


Zoomed view from Longmire, with the Van Trump Glaciers and Turtle at right center.

Met the group of 5 others (the Freebirds, shred, Rory, Jameson) at the Longmire gate just after its 9am opening the next morning, still planning to continue on to Hood solo that evening, and we set up the car shuttle: I convinced them to leave the extra car at Nisqually Bridge (3900 ft) instead of Christine Falls trailhead (3600 ft), since the snowpack in the steep woods above the trailhead looked much too thin (1-2 ft) for decent skiing, while the ski down to the bridge would be an easy cruise on 3-4 ft of well-consolidated continuous snow out in the open. I also knew a nice hidden exit route (one I'd last done 17 years earlier in May 1997) that would allow us to ski the south-facing Van Trump Glaciers from the 10000 ft level on the Turtle and still exit out to Nisqually Bridge via the moraine just west of the Nisqually Glacier terminus. This would be much better than having to ski the SE aspects along Wilson Glacier which we would ascend to reach the Turtle, as those would be out of the sun and re-freezing by the time we skied down in late afternoon.


The park's snowcat begins constructing the snowplay area on the slope behind the snowblower -- the snowdepth at Paradise had finally reached the required 5 ft during the previous week's storm cycle.

Before the trip I hadn't been sure if the snow would be consolidated enough for good skiing, or perhaps an unconsolidated mess, given that the first major storm cycle of the 2013-14 season had just ended a few days earlier, bringing over 5 ft of new snow to Paradise and increasing the snow depth from 56" on January 7 (only 55% of normal for that date) to 106" on January 12 (100% of normal!), then settling to 98" by January 15 (88% of normal). But that turned out to be a non-issue: a solid surface wind-and-sun crust covered almost everything on all aspects, topped by a couple inches of windblown powder in spots, fully-supportive and edgeable on skis, but not really so on foot with deep postholing into 2 ft of partially-consolidated snow below the crust for those not on skis. Easy travel on skis and skins, but with ski crampons essential on most steeper or shadier aspects.


Leaving the Paradise stampede path and breaking our own trail in a new direction towards Glacier Vista.

We left Paradise a bit after 10am and skinned to Glacier Vista at 6350 ft, then ripped skins for the steep and frozen 150 ft descent down to the Nisqually Moraine -- unfortunately one of us took a slide without gloves on, bloodying a hand pretty well. That little slope is always dangerous in frozen morning conditions. From this point on, we would see no one else all day until reaching Longmire well after dark.


Four-shot panorama from Glacier Vista, showing the full sweep of our ascent route across the Nisqually and Wilson Glaciers and up to the Turtle at top center, with the Muir Snowfield and Nisqually Chute (the next day's objectives) at right. The steep debris funnel of the Fan is at left center. (click for double-size version)

Crossed the Nisqually Glacier near the 6400 ft level below an outcrop of icy spires not yet buried by winter snows, then up via the Wilson Gully from 6800-7400 ft. This portion is exposed to serac fall hazard from a small ice cliff looming overhead, with no real way to avoid this hazard (over the last 2-3 years) if you currently wish to do the route at all. The Fan, a distasteful gully to the left of the large vertical rock cliff, is steeper and exposed to cornice fall hazard, and also the only place that even had a chance of avalanche hazard this day -- large crowns from storm-slab avalanches a few days earlier were visible on the steep wind-loaded E and SE aspects at its top, too.


Three-shot panorama from the west edge of the Nisqually Glacier, looking up at Wilson Gully at left and the large jumble of seracs which marks the junction of the Wilson and Nisqually Glaciers at center. (click for double-size version)

Ski crampons became essential for the next portion of the route, a rising traverse left from the big plateau at 7400 ft up to the notch in the ridge near 7700 ft. This was the sketchiest part of the entire ascent, a 40-degree sidehill in firm conditions with ski edge penetration varying from a few inches to barely a few millimeters at times on firmer patches. Postholing deeply on foot would have been worse though, and we all made it up on skins with ski crampons -- thanks for the nice low-angle track, Jeff and Carl.



The next bit of ridge up to 8100 ft also featured some firm sketchy sidehill, on the left edges this time and already partially shaded by just after noon. I checked out the easier detour via the broad south-facing (sun-warmed!) bowl to the left of the ridge, but was unsure if that had enough snow at its top to connect (it does not yet this year) and so returned to the track on the firm shady side.


Skinning the firm NE-facing sidehill along the edge of Wilson Glacier near 7900 ft, with our ski descent onto the Nisqually Glacier visible above the jutting rock outcrop.

[img width=1000 height=600">http://www.skimountaineer.com/TR/Images2014/RainierVanTrumpWilsonGlacierPano2000-16Jan2014.jpg" />
Two-shot panorama from the west edge of the Wilson Glacier at 8100 ft, looking up at the moraine crest which we would ascend, with the Van Trump Glaciers at left and the Turtle above at top center. (click for double-size version)

We took a lunch break atop a small outcrop near 8100 ft, and then enjoyed an easy cruise up the broad moraine crest beside Wilson Glacier which extends to 8600 ft. Another steeper set of switchbacks above that, but quite easy on nicely softened snow, and then angling sharply left around the large rock outcrops near the standard 9200 and 9400 ft campsite areas, staying on the sunny south aspects as much as possible and away from the steep shady SE slopes of the Wilson Glacier itself.



It was already 3pm by the time we reached the Turtle at its 9800 ft terminal moraine, and the sun was now barely warming this SSE aspect, glancing obliquely across it. The slope was steep, firm, and very sketchy to skin even with ski crampons.


The skins and ski crampons barely leave a mark on the steep firm snow of the Turtle, with the Kautz Ice Cliff looming overhead and the hidden gully of Fuhrer Thumb at right.



Half of us switched to booting with foot crampons at 10000 ft, but the others made it the whole way on ski crampons to our high point at 10500 ft at a flat spot on the ridge west of the Turtle. Winds were very light and variable, mostly 5-10 mph with some higher gusts, and temps were in the mid 30s °F.



Skied down at 4:15 pm, 2 of us choosing the easy way via the Turtle, the other 4 traversing across 100 yards of loose scree to ski a south facing gully instead. Regardless, it was too late and too high on this day, and snow conditions were firm until we dropped below 9800 ft, at which point it was nicely corned if you stayed on the smoother and dustier aspects (which had absorbed the most sun).


Four-shot panorama from our high point at 10500 ft, with Rory carving turns on the Turtle at left, and the Wilson, Nisqually, and Van Trump Glaciers all falling away below, with Goat Rocks and Mounts Adams, Hood, and Saint Helens on the horizon at upper right. (click for double-size version)


Smooth corn on the uppermost slopes of the Van Trump Glaciers near 9000 ft.

We skied the open bowls which hold various small remnants of the Van Trump Glaciers, and our descent routes reunited below 9000 ft.


Skiing smooth corn at sunset on the Van Trump Glaciers.


By staying on the most southwesterly aspects which were still getting direct sunlight, we enjoyed smooth corn almost the entire way down to treeline at 6200 ft by sunset (4:45pm this day). The lighting conditions were just as spectacular as the snow conditions, a golden glow slowly turning rosy on the upper Mountain.



It was now time to pull off the exit back into the Nisqually drainage, the goal being to end up at 5400 ft atop the moraine just west of the Nisqually Glacier terminus -- about 3/4 mile of traversing to do, with 800 vert to work with from 6200 ft. I took a quick look at the map and then navigated through the open subalpine forests by dead reckoning and my internal compass, along with faint memories of having gone roughly this way 17 years earlier -- however 1996-97 was a huge snow year, and snowdepth at Paradise was well over 200" in early May 1997, so things looked very different that time with a deep snowpack burying most terrain features.


Two-shot panorama along the exit traverse from Van Trump back into the Nisqually drainage near 6000 ft, looking across at the sunset glow on the Tatoosh and Mount Adams. (click for double-size version)

Lots of small gullies to cross this time, the route traverses left through a couple open bowls and across some semi-steep slopes, avoiding cliff bands both above and below at various points. Thankfully the routefinding worked great in the fading light, and we popped out at the upper end of the moraine near 5400 ft exactly as planned, a few minutes after 5pm. Yay!



Snow conditions had deteriorated severely in the twilight though, turning to a mix of supportive and breakable crust. The 600 ft ski descent from the moraine crest to the Nisqually River was not very good, requiring careful skiing to avoid knee injury. The snow improved nicely along the river though, well consolidated and supportive, and we quickly cruised down to the ramp at the east end of Nisqually bridge by 5:30pm as the last light faded away. The rising traverse through the slide alder to reach the road needed headlamps, and I should have put on skins to make it easier too, as the snow was firmly frozen and very slick without skins, while booting was nearly impossible due to thigh-deep postholing.



The vehicle we had left at the bridge parking lot had a warning notice on it, but our two other cars in the Paradise parking lot had none. Exiting the Longmire gate at 6:45pm was no problem, just go in the front desk of the Longmire Inn, enter your name, address, and vehicle info in the logbook, and the clerk walks all the way out to open the gate for you. Unfortunately the Copper Creek had just closed when we got there at 7pm, but we enjoyed a fine meal of burgers and fish&chips and salads at the Highlander in Ashford instead, along with $13 pitchers of Moose Drool. An outstanding day with a great group and truly fine skiing, 6600 vert in a single run from our high point to the bridge.

But I was beat, way too beat to even consider driving the 190 miles from Ashford to Timberline on Mount Hood -- the route from Paradise to the Turtle is always much more tiring and takes more effort than numbers alone would indicate. It would be much better to just stay somewhere nearby, and ski on Rainier again the next day. I had cell service in the Highlander parking lot, and tried to drum up some partners to meet me at the Longmire gate the next morning and repeat the car shuttle, this time intending to ski Muir and Nisqually Chute. Eventually I headed back to Longmire for the night, still unsure of partners for the next day, and spent the night in my car at the Eagle Peak trailhead with its spectacular view, mesmerized by the full moon's glow on the Mountain all night long through the windshield. Too bad that I didn't think to try some night photos using the mini-tripod (Ultrapod II) that I always carry, oh well, they might not have come out too great since I only had a compact ultrazoom camera (Canon SX160 IS) and not a DSLR.


[hr">[tt">MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
400 AM PST THU JAN 16 2014

SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BRING DRY WEATHER THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT AT LEAST. A WEAK FRONT MAY BRING A LITTLE PRECIPITATION TO MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK THIS WEEKEND. HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN AGAIN NEXT WEEK.

THURSDAY...SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 11000 FEET.
THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
FRIDAY...SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 11000 FEET.
FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 11500 FEET.
SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                       THU    THU    FRI    FRI    SAT
                            NIGHT         NIGHT

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)     17     18     17     17     14
                     NW 40  NW 40  NW 30  SW 25  SW 40

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)     36     38     39     38     32
                     NW 25  NW 30  NW 20   W 10   W 30

PARADISE  (5420 FT)     43     39     55     34     46
                     NE  5   CALM   CALM   N  5   W 10

LONGMIRE  (2700 FT)     50     38     57     36     49
                      CALM   CALM   CALM  NE  5   N  5

++ TEMPERATURES AND WIND FOR THE SUMMIT AND CAMP MUIR ARE AVERAGE
   CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE FREE AIR AT THOSE ELEVATIONS.
++ TEMPERATURES FOR PARADISE AND LONGMIRE ARE THE EXPECTED HIGHS AND
   LOWS. WIND IS THE AVERAGE WIND EXPECTED DURING THAT PERIOD.

EXTENDED FORECAST...

SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET.
SUNDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 6500 FEET.
SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 6000 FEET.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
TUESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9500 FEET.
TUESDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET.
WEDNESDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET.
[/tt">

Juneuary 17, 2014, Mount Rainier, Camp Muir to Nisqually Bridge via Nisqually Chute

Enjoyed a glorious dawn and sunrise the next morning, standing and shivering and shooting photos on the bank of the Nisqually River for 20 minutes, before heading to the Longmire Inn for a nice breakfast omelet while I waited for the 9am gate opening.


Sunrise glow on the Mountain above the Nisqually River at Longmire, January 17.

As I came back outside, I was glad to see that Kam had arrived to join me and set up another car shuttle (there's no cell service at all in Longmire, so I had not gotten his text reply). We dropped off a car at the bridge and skinned up from Paradise just before 10:30am, even though I was really slow getting ready and then really dragging after that, exhausted from 2 straight big days. The route up Panorama Face looked way too firm for easy skinning, everyone we could see was being forced to boot up it, so I suggested we head around to the right and ascend the south face of the SW ridge of Panorama Point, a standard winter variation which gets sun and softens at least 2-3 hours earlier than Pan Face does.


Three-shot panorama along the stampede path towards Panorama Point, with the highly preferable ski ascent route up the south face of the SW ridge visible at right, Nisqually Chute just above and left of Kam's head, and the Nisqually and Wilson Glaciers at center. (click for double-size version)

This worked out great, the snow was nicely softened although we used ski crampons anyway for insurance, and 4 quick switchbacks put us atop the ridge crest for an easy cruise the rest of the way up Pan Point. This also avoided the potentially serious hazard of falling bodies on Pan Face, which can be a significant risk on busy days with firm frozen conditions in the morning.


The excellent route up the the south face of the SW ridge of Panorama Point, no crowds, no hassle, and a nice clean skin track.

The steep rolls near 7000 ft were also nicely softened in the sun, and skinned easily too. The iciest part of the entire route was from about 7000-7200 ft, with large areas of hard water ice for about a 1/4 mile along the winter route, and isolated icy patches continued past McClure Rock and 7500 ft.


Two-shot panorama skinning along the winter route, with the Goat Rocks and Mounts Adams, Hood, and Saint Helens along the horizon. (click for double-size version)

The ski crampons were not needed above 7700 ft, and the rest of the route was an easy cruise in gorgeous calm weather. We strolled into Camp Muir just after 2pm, just amazingly nice weather for January or June or anytime, over 40 °F and winds 0-5 mph.



Met a few others up there who were interested in joining us for the run down to the bridge, especially given the offer of a car shuttle, and we skied down as a group of five around 2:45pm. Mostly smooth windpack on the upper snowfield, fairly good skiing, and very very nice compared to typical winter snow conditions up there.





Below 9000 ft, steeper rolls were softened into good corn, and the well-corned rollover at 8400 ft above the entrance to Nisqually Chute made us confident that the entire Chute would be in prime shape. There were already a dozen or more tracks in the gut of the Chute, from earlier in the day and the previous 2 days, but the entire open slope to skier's left had not a single track on it yet.


Three-shot vertical panorama from the entrance of Nisqually Chute. (click for double-size version)

Just awesome smooth soft corn, perfect for carving big sweeping turns down the entire untracked face in a single shot.

[img width=521 height=800">http://www.skimountaineer.com/TR/Images2014/RainierNisquallyChuteCornSkiingAnimation-17Jan2014.gif" />
Five-shot animation of me skiing untracked corn down the skier's left side side of Nisqually Chute. (photos by kamtron, click for double-size version)


Six-shot panorama / multiple exposure of Kam skiing a line of untracked corn down the skier's right rib of Nisqually Chute. (click for double-size version)

The snow was perhaps a bit too soft on the lower half, an hour earlier might have been better, but it never got sticky or gloppy. The flattening angle near the bottom of the Chute made the snow near-perfect again, as we zoomed out onto the smooth surface of the Nisqually Glacier at high speed.


Three-shot panorama from Nisqually Glacier, with Nisqually Chute at right center with numerous tracks and several skiers. (click for double-size version)

The run down the glacier to its terminus was mostly great, lots of smooth corn with only a few over-softened parts that had not consolidated well yet.



We skied down the east side of the glacier terminus and then joined the fast track out along the river, now smoothed into a highway by dozens of skis.




Three-shot panorama from beside the Nisqually River, with its source from an ice cave at the Nisqually Glacier terminus visible at center, and the moraine we skied down the previous day after traversing out from Van Trump Glaciers at left. (click for double-size version)


Zoomed view from the edge of the alder, looking back at numerous ski tracks in Nisqually Chute and on the glacier below.

We made sure to use skins for the slide alder ramp leading up from the east side of the river to the bridge this time. It's always nice to enjoy a little flavor of the North Cascades at the end of a trip on Rainier.



We were out to the bridge before 4pm, comfortably well before dark unlike the previous day.


View from Nisqually Bridge looking back up the river, with Nisqually Chute visible in the bright sunlight at center.

Another run of over 6000 vert, two days in a row of epic corn conditions in mid-January! And a total of 13000 vert of skiing for only 10000 ft of gain, the car shuttle gaining us an extra 1500 vert each time. By the time we finished shuttling the cars, the glow of another awesome sunset was upon the Mountain again too.


Two-shot panorama from about 4100 ft on the Paradise Road at sunset on January 17, showing the Turtle and Van Trump Glaciers at center, with the Muir Snowfield, Nisqually Chute, and Nisqually Bridge at right, and Pyramid Peak at far left. (click for double-size version)




[hr">[tt">MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
400 AM PST FRI JAN 17 2014

SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BRING SUNNY MILD WEATHER TO MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK FRIDAY. HIGH CLOUDS WILL INCREASE SATURDAY...AND SUNDAY SHOULD BE CLOUDY BUT REMAIN DRY AS THE REMAINS OF A WEAKENING FRONT MOVE THROUGH. THE UPPER RIDGE WILL STRENGTHEN AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR MORE DRY WEATHER.

FRIDAY...SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 11000 FEET.
SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9000 FEET.
SUNDAY...CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET.

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                      FRI    FRI    SAT    SAT    SUN
                            NIGHT        NIGHT

SUMMIT  (14411 FT)    16    16    16    15    12
                    NW 30  SW 25  W 40  W 55  W 40

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)    38    37    31    29    28
                    NW 25  W 15  SW 30  W 30  W 15

PARADISE  (5420 FT)    60    35    46    31    43
                    NE  5  N  5  W 10  SW  5  SW  5

LONGMIRE  (2700 FT)    55    37    49    36    47
                    NE  5  NE  5  NW  5  CALM  CALM

++ TEMPERATURES AND WIND FOR THE SUMMIT AND CAMP MUIR ARE AVERAGE
  CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE FREE AIR AT THOSE ELEVATIONS.
++ TEMPERATURES FOR PARADISE AND LONGMIRE ARE THE EXPECTED HIGHS AND
  LOWS. WIND IS THE AVERAGE WIND EXPECTED DURING THAT PERIOD.

EXTENDED FORECAST...

SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY...PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
TUESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9500 FEET.
TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET.
WEDNESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
THURSDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET.
[/tt">


Juneuary 18, 2014, Marmot Mountain Works: New Skis!

I really needed a rest day after 3 straight tiring days, and with winds forecast to increase substantially on Saturday the 18th, it seemed like a good day to rest, followed by a day of watching the AFC/NFC championships during even windier and cloudier weather on Sunday the 19th as a weak system brushed the northern edge of the upper level ridge of high pressure.

Trip reports from Saturday indicated strong winds which prevented the corn from softening nearly as nicely as the previous 2 days. The webcam showed a lenticular cloud above the summit and a stack of lenticular lee-wave clouds off to the east of the Mountain, indicative of the strong winds aloft:

[img width=1000 height=562">http://www.skimountaineer.com/TR/Images2014/mountain-2014Jan18-1120.jpg" />


Spent most of Saturday at Marmot Mountain Works during their going-out-of-business sale, thermofitting the new Scott Cosmos boots that I bought on the 14th, and also buying new skis which they mounted while I was there: the new 2014 Dynafit Cho Oyu (182 cm, 125-89-111), to replace the Volkl Amaruq (177 cm, 127-88-109) which has been my main ski mountaineering setup since my previous similar skis, the K2 Mount Baker Superlight, had a toepiece rip out at 13200 ft on Rainier in June 2011 (see TR). But the Amaruqs now have over 160 days of hard use primarily in spring and summer conditions and are quite thoroughly thrashed, with at least 6 separate cracks in the edges, and the Vertical FT bindings on them have over 310 days of similar hard use and abuse, with repeated exposure to volcanic ash and grit. Not a setup I could really trust anymore on steep exposed terrain or heavily crevassed glaciers, where one's life depends on the edges and bindings, so they're now my late-summer and early-autumn rock skis.


New skis: Dynafit Cho Oyu, 182 cm, 125-89-111, 3530 g (7 lbs 12 oz) with Radical ST bindings.
Old skis: Volkl Amaruq, 177 cm, 127-88-109, 4030 g (8 lbs 14 oz) with Vertical FT bindings.

The new setup is amazingly light: the Amaruq is a very lightweight ski (1400 g at 177 cm), but the Cho Oyu is truly ultralight at 1140 g for 174 cm or 1190 g for 182 cm (measured weights). The total weight of the new 182 cm Dynafit Cho Oyu setup with Radical ST bindings and leashes is 3530 g (7 lbs 12 oz), versus 4030 g (8 lbs 14 oz) for the Amaruqs with Vertical FT bindings and leashes -- a huge savings especially considering that the Amaruqs had already been 200 g (7 oz) lighter than the K2 Mount Baker Superlights they had replaced. I picked the 182 cm Cho Oyu over the 174 cm because of its rockered tip, which makes the running length somewhat shorter than the traditional-camber 177 cm Amaruq, and the tail-to-heelpiece distance (important for easily skinning switchbacks if you're not tall) ended up slightly less than the Amaruq also.

Just for fun, here's a look at my current quiver of touring skis, acquired slowly over a period of many years -- it's easy to build a nice quiver that covers a broad range of snow conditions and keep current with improving technology if you buy a new setup every few years. Surprisingly, the new Cho Oyu are even lighter than either of my two pairs of 70-mm-underfoot Volkl Mountain Norbert Joos, which was in its day (introduced 2004) considered an "ultralight", high-performance ski-mountaineering ski. Also included in the table ([color=gray">gray[/color">) are two non-Dynafit-binding setups which I now use only for lift skiing due to their unwieldy weight, and the other retired setups which I've used since I began ski mountaineering in 1996:

[tt">
Skis                  Length  Tip Waist Tail  Area  Bindings              Total Weight            Date Purchased
                        (cm)  (mm) (mm) (mm)  (cm^2)                        (with brakes, + leashes on some)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volkl Mountain N.Joos  177    104  70  92    1490  Dynafit Comfort      3770 g ( 8 lbs  5 oz)  Feb 2008 (bindings Feb 2005)
Volkl Amaruq            177    127  88  109    1820  Dynafit Vertical FT  4030 g ( 8 lbs 14 oz)  Jun 2011 (bindings Mar 2008)
Dynafit Cho Oyu        182    125  89  111    1880  Dynafit Radical ST    3530 g ( 7 lbs 12 oz)  Jan 2014
Dynafit Stoke          182    130  106  122    2100  Dynafit Vertical ST  4420 g ( 9 lbs  5 oz)  Apr 2010
[color=gray">Lifts Only:
K2 Mount Baker    174(=177)  120  88  108    1790  Fritschi Freeride    5530 g (12 lbs  3 oz)  Jan 2006
Black Diamond Megawatt  188    153  125  130    2510  Marker Baron          7150 g (15 lbs 12 oz)  May 2009
Retired:
Tua Excalibur          190    90  70  80    1470  Fritschi Diamir      5050 g (11 lbs  2 oz)  Dec 1996 (bar broke, unmounted)
Tua Mito                185    98  70  88    1510  Fritschi Diamir 2    5100 g (11 lbs  4 oz)  Aug 2000 (still usable)
Volkl Mountain N.Joos  177    104  70  92    1490  Dynafit Comfort      3600 g ( 7 lbs 15 oz)  Feb 2005 (edge cracked, unmounted)
K2 Mount Baker SL  174(=177)  125  88  108    1810  Dynafit Vertical FT  4220 g ( 9 lbs  5 oz)  Mar 2008 (toe ripped, unmounted)[/color">
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[/tt">The listed "Area" is approximate, based on a simple 2-trapezoid formula, but gives a rough comparison of their flotation in powder.


Dynafit Stoke, 182 cm, 130-106-122, 4420 g (9 lbs  5 oz) with Vertical ST bindings.
Dynafit Cho Oyu, 182 cm, 125-89-111, 3530 g (7 lbs 12 oz) with Radical ST bindings.
Volkl Amaruq, 177 cm, 127-88-109, 4030 g (8 lbs 14 oz) with Vertical FT bindings.
Volkl Mountain N.Joos, 177 cm, 104-70-92, 3770 g (8 lbs  5 oz) with Comfort bindings.


[hr">[tt">MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
400 AM PST SAT JAN 18 2014

SYNOPSIS...THE REMAINS OF A WEAKENING FRONT WILL BRING MID AND HIGH CLOUDS TO MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...BUT NO PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED. AN UPPER RIDGE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL STRENGTHEN AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR MORE DRY WEATHER AND MILD CONDITIONS.

SATURDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 11000 FEET.
SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
SUNDAY...BREEZY. PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
SUNDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY...PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                      SAT    SAT    SUN    SUN    MON
                            NIGHT        NIGHT

SUMMIT  (14411 FT)    16    16    14    14    16
                      W 40  W 45  W 55  NW 40  NW 20

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)    33    30    27    29    33
                    SW 30  W 35  W 30  NW 20  NW 15

PARADISE  (5420 FT)    50    35    44    33    45
                      W 15  W 15  W 20  NW  5  N  5

LONGMIRE  (2700 FT)    48    36    48    34    46
                    NW  5  NW  5  W  5  CALM  E  5

++ TEMPERATURES AND WIND FOR THE SUMMIT AND CAMP MUIR ARE AVERAGE
  CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE FREE AIR AT THOSE ELEVATIONS.
++ TEMPERATURES FOR PARADISE AND LONGMIRE ARE THE EXPECTED HIGHS AND
  LOWS. WIND IS THE AVERAGE WIND EXPECTED DURING THAT PERIOD.

EXTENDED FORECAST...

MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
TUESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9000 FEET.
TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9000 FEET.
WEDNESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET.
THURSDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET.
THURSDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8000 FEET.
FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET.
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Juneuary 19, 2014:

Sunday morning was mostly cloudy, but by early afternoon the clouds were mostly gone, leaving behind only a shape-shifting lenticular cap which eventually vanished entirely by mid-afternoon:





Time to get ready for another big trip and another big serving of summerlike corn on Martin Luther King Day.


Juneuary 20, 2014, Mount Rainier, The Turtle to Nisqually Bridge via Van Trump Glaciers

After the somewhat windier and cloudier weather over the weekend, the MLK holiday on Monday was forecast to be stellar once again, almost identical weather to January 16-17. Time to take my new skis out for a spin. Paresh and Kane were already heading to Rainier, planning to ski the Nisqually Chute to bridge car-shuttle, and they asked me to join them. I convinced them to ski the Turtle and Van Trump route instead, and it worked out great again.



Snow conditions were very similar to 4 days earlier, but notably icier in some areas and softer in others. The snow on the Nisqually Glacier crossing in the morning was much firmer and icier after several more days of sun, and we all used ski crampons from 6800 ft at the base of Wilson Gully on up the rest of the day. The sketchy rising traverse from 7400-7700 ft on Wilson Glacier was icier too, and the previous skin track was partially filled with loose snow that had frozen in place, requiring the track to be re-stomped-in firmly with each step.



Higher up though, the skinning conditions were in general better, more sun-softened and grippier even at almost exactly the same time of day.



The skin up the Turtle from 9800 ft to the same 10500 ft spot was simple this time, not sketchy at all and fairly easy to put in a skin track like a highway in the well-softened corn at 3pm.



We topped out at 3:30pm, with temps in the mid 30s °F and a 10-15 mph westerly breeze on the ridge.



Skied down just before 4pm, this time enjoying corn right from 10500 ft on down, especially in the sun, but refreezing already in the shade.



Just stellar conditions, getting better with each warm sunny day.





Once again we skied down in the golden glow of sunset, only a few minutes earlier than 4 days previously. It appeared that no one else had skied this route since my previous descent on Thursday.



The exit was even easier this time given that we had Thursday's tracks to follow, although snow conditions below treeline were once again crusty after sunset (no surprise). The ski down from the crest of the moraine was quite a bit easier this time -- maybe it was the new skis and the rockered tip working better in those conditions? Overall, the new skis worked great this day, light on the feet and skiing really well throughout the descent.

Another quick schuss along the river, then skinning through the alders for a few minutes and back out to the bridge by headlamp once again, a bit after 5:30pm.

---

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
400 AM PST MON JAN 20 2014

SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER RIDGE WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THIS WEEK...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WHEN A WEAK UPPER LOW WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHT PRECIPITATION. OTHERWISE DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE WITH SOME DAYTIME SUNSHINE AND MILD CONDITIONS.

MONDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
MONDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
TUESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
TUESDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 5500 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET IN THE EVENING.
WEDNESDAY...WINDY. MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 4500 FEET.

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                       MON    MON    TUE    TUE    WED
                            NIGHT         NIGHT

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)     18     15     12      5     12
                      W 10  SW 25  SW 35   W 75   N 50

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)     34     33     29     18     25
                      W  5  SW 15  SW 25   W 40   N 25

PARADISE  (5420 FT)     46     39     48     29     38
                     NE 10  NW  5   W 10   W 15  NW 10

LONGMIRE  (2700 FT)     48     34     50     35     47
                      E 10   CALM   N  5  NW  5   S  5

++ TEMPERATURES AND WIND FOR THE SUMMIT AND CAMP MUIR ARE AVERAGE
   CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE FREE AIR AT THOSE ELEVATIONS.
++ TEMPERATURES FOR PARADISE AND LONGMIRE ARE THE EXPECTED HIGHS AND
   LOWS. WIND IS THE AVERAGE WIND EXPECTED DURING THAT PERIOD.

EXTENDED FORECAST...

WEDNESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 5500 FEET.
THURSDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7000 FEET.
THURSDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9000 FEET.
FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10000 FEET.
FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
SATURDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
SATURDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
SUNDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.



Interlude: Juneuary 21, 2014, Crystal Mountain

Ski testing...

The Cho Oyu has been great so far -- probably the best ski-mountaineering ski I've ever owned, given the combination of ultralight plus surprisingly good performance. I'm rarely this enthusiastic about any ski, but maybe they just suit my skiing style really well too. And SO light!

I've skied them 6 days so far during the first 8 days after I bought them, including 32,000 vert on 5 trips from Turtle or Muir to the bridge, plus taking them to Crystal and putting in 55,000 vert on the lifts to really get used to how they ski. Skied a wide range of conditions that day, mostly firm groomers and sun-softened ungroomed, plus some icy refreezing crust and other various bad snow that I sought out for testing in late afternoon as the shadows took over. They did well in all of that, edge hold was excellent and they'll carve a nice GS turn on firm groomers at 40-50 mph with no problem -- a real feat for such a featherweight ski, must be the carbon fiber in it. Really good torsional stiffness, but not very stiff flex overall. They do get deflected by frozen icy chunks, but that's inevitable given their lack of mass. They've handled the few icy sections encountered during the Rainier trips just fine too.

The rocker definitely makes them ski shorter than their overall length -- I'm glad I got the 182 instead of the 174, as the 182 has a much shorter running length than my 177 Volkl Amaraq (or any of my other several pairs of 177 skis). Despite almost identical tip-waist-tail dimensions to the Amaruq, they have more sidecut and a shorter radius due to their shape. Definitely noticeable while skiing, they carve a short radius turn much more easily than the Amaruqs will (I'm not a fan of short radius turns as you may know, I really prefer to make big sweeping turns, but it is nice to have the capability when needed in tight spots).

---

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
405 AM PST TUE JAN 21 2014

SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER RIDGE OVER THE AREA WILL SHIFT EAST TUESDAY. A WEAKENING LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL CROSS THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL REBUILD OFF THE COAST ON WEDNESDAY AND SHIFT OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON ON FRIDAY WITH LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOPING. THE PATTERN WILL REMAIN LITTLE CHANGED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

TUESDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 9000 FEET.
TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN OR SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW LEVEL LOWERING NEAR 5500 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WEDNESDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW IN THE MORNING. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 4500 FEET.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 6500 FEET.
THURSDAY...SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 7500 FEET INCREASING TO 10000 FEET IN THE AFTERNOON.

TEMPERATURE AND WIND FORECASTS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS.

                       TUE    TUE    WED    WED    THU
                            NIGHT         NIGHT

SUMMIT   (14411 FT)     12      6     12     10     15
                     SW 35   W 65   N 50   N 60  NE 45

CAMP MUIR(10188 FT)     31     20     26     24     32
                      W 25   W 35   N 20   N 25   E 30

PARADISE  (5420 FT)     54     31     41     30     50
                      CALM   W 10   CALM  NE 10  NE 20

LONGMIRE  (2700 FT)     54     34     44     33     46
                      CALM   CALM   CALM   CALM   CALM

++ TEMPERATURES AND WIND FOR THE SUMMIT AND CAMP MUIR ARE AVERAGE
   CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE FREE AIR AT THOSE ELEVATIONS.
++ TEMPERATURES FOR PARADISE AND LONGMIRE ARE THE EXPECTED HIGHS AND
   LOWS. WIND IS THE AVERAGE WIND EXPECTED DURING THAT PERIOD.

EXTENDED FORECAST...

THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 10500 FEET.
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...SUNNY DAYS AND MOSTLY CLEAR NIGHTS. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 12000 FEET.
SUNDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 11000 FEET.
MONDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW LATE. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 8500 FEET.



January 22, 2014, Mount Rainier, New Snow at Paradise

Wednesday, January 22, was forecast to be the worst weather day of the entire period of extended high pressure, as a small weak upper-level low fought through the persistent ridge and arced southeastward through the region, dropping snow levels to 4500 ft overnight into the morning, with mostly cloudy conditions and a chance of light snow. A good day for a rest day as Juneuary was rudely interrupted by a tiny bit of January.

No precipitation or snowfall was recorded at Paradise either on the NWAC telemetry or the NPS daily manual measurements, but webcam images of the Paradise parking lot reveal that about 1/2" of snow did fall sometime overnight prior to the morning of Wednesday, January 22, enough for the park to actually plow:






The ridge quickly took over again, and by mid-afternoon the clouds had vanished, not to be seen again for 5 days: