May 5, 2010, Mt. Rainier, Paradise

Caught a break in the weather as the clouds parted on my drive up to Paradise.  Left the parking lot just before 9 am under sunny skies for the first time out earning my turns.  Skinned up towards Glacier Vista and then up to Pan Point on my way to the Muir Snowfield mostly following the tracks of group that headed out by an hour before me.

Made it up to 8200' just before noon.  Decided to head down at that point as the clouds were starting to close in and a descent in poor visibility was not something I really wanted to deal with.  Opted to ski down the route I climbed since it was my first trip and I was travelling solo. Skiing was good on the snow field with ski penetration of about 4-6" and no crust.  Things down around Pebble Creek were wind blown and icy which made for some dicey skiing. Down below Pan Point things were better and the  run out back to the parking lot was fun in the light snow.

Had a great first experience and can't wait to try it again someday.