May 29, 2003, Paradise Glacier

Despite the forecast of "mostly cloudy" it was blue skies and warm sunshine, so Gary Vogt and I decided it would be a good day for the Paradise Glacier. We took his preferred route, which meant walking down the pavement on the road to the 4 Stream Crossing. The road is supposed to open to traffic on 5 June. Skinned up Mazama Ridge in good corn snow, then on to the Cowlitz Saddle. It was very hot in the valley below the former ice caves, but a little higher up the wind took over. We went up on the glacier in what I assume to be the standard route if climbing up from this point (my first trip), in good corn snow. About halfway up we noticed several small crevasses and one very long one. The wind got increasingly stronger, 15-25 mph causing us to put on every piece of clothing we had brought. After a nice lunch with a view we were able to make great turns all the way down, skiing between the crevasses. The snow, especially on the higher slopes, had turned mushy but with a firm base underneath, sending big snowballs with every turn. Down below, the snow was firmer and we had a great ski out. Total roundtrip about 6 hrs due to numerous stops to take pictures of each other telemarking. It doesn't get any better than this :)