May 11, 2007, Muir snowfield, Nisqually Chute
5/11/07
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
1431
1
Went with the 'happy hour' schedule in an effort to avoid traffic from the morning commute, but drive still took quite a while and I didn't get started from paradise lot til 1:15 or later. The (far too small) parking lot in the area leftover from construction was full but I saw no one on the trails, which was initially mysterious. Snow all the way to parking lot still and will be for a while. Eventually skiers starting coming down while I was going up. A lot of skiers, I thought, for a weekday. Muir route had fair amount of climber traffic probably from people camping for summit tomorrow.
Weather was pretty pleasant even with the midday start, hazy high cloud prevented sun from beating down too hard and occasional breezes. Winter-spring direct route up Pan Pt still being used. I was bootin' and knuckledraggin' today, since the Muir run is good for that.
Around Moon Rocks I noticed the snow getting a little more refrozen so angled off the main route to get more centered for the snowfield, deciding not to bother with going either to camp or my usual destination of Anvil Rock. The main snowfield was quite nice. Odd snow, sort of a wind-plastered high air content 'mousse' of weekold snow that's been windblown and sublimated. It felt just like corn even if it didn't entirely resemble it. Despite the dozens of skiers and boarders I saw, no one had been in the chute today, or for a while. Maybe folks were scared of wet slides? I tested it at top and really there wasn't enough surface snow there to cause worry. Either it's already slid there or didn't accumulate. There was slide debris in the center but it was easy to work around it. Great conditions, one of the better runs I've had down the Chute. Only got sticky once I was on the moraine proper. Exit from the moraine was easy too thanks to some older snowshoe tracks; were it not for those would have been ugly because the snow there up from the moraine was quite unconsolidated. Final turns were sticky too but whatever; it's kind of nice coming through the lower part late, without having to play dodge the tourists.
Muir snowfield around 9300
Nisqually Chute looking up
Saw some nice tracks coming down the Turtle ...
Weather was pretty pleasant even with the midday start, hazy high cloud prevented sun from beating down too hard and occasional breezes. Winter-spring direct route up Pan Pt still being used. I was bootin' and knuckledraggin' today, since the Muir run is good for that.
Around Moon Rocks I noticed the snow getting a little more refrozen so angled off the main route to get more centered for the snowfield, deciding not to bother with going either to camp or my usual destination of Anvil Rock. The main snowfield was quite nice. Odd snow, sort of a wind-plastered high air content 'mousse' of weekold snow that's been windblown and sublimated. It felt just like corn even if it didn't entirely resemble it. Despite the dozens of skiers and boarders I saw, no one had been in the chute today, or for a while. Maybe folks were scared of wet slides? I tested it at top and really there wasn't enough surface snow there to cause worry. Either it's already slid there or didn't accumulate. There was slide debris in the center but it was easy to work around it. Great conditions, one of the better runs I've had down the Chute. Only got sticky once I was on the moraine proper. Exit from the moraine was easy too thanks to some older snowshoe tracks; were it not for those would have been ugly because the snow there up from the moraine was quite unconsolidated. Final turns were sticky too but whatever; it's kind of nice coming through the lower part late, without having to play dodge the tourists.
Muir snowfield around 9300
Nisqually Chute looking up
Saw some nice tracks coming down the Turtle ...
Hi wolfs, I think you saw our tracks, we went to Hazard the same day, the Turtle was great! Same type of snow that you saw but very nice for what we usually see on the Turtle. Felt like corn all the way to Van Trump, then sticky.
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