Muir Snowfield 4.28.12
Sara, Kevin, and I are planning an attempt on Mt Rainier late May, so we figured it’d be a good idea to get some training in and head up to Camp Muir. We were already going to be down in the area for BCC on Sunday with the weekend objective being various Tatoosh Peaks. There was an instructor cabin Friday night and Saturday night too, so how could we pass that up? Sara and I decided to ski the Muir Snowfield while Kevin borrowed some snowshoes. It would be my second time backcountry skiing and up some steeper terrain than my first outing over a year ago, so I gave fair warning to Sara. It’d be an adventure for sure. We woke up Saturday after everyone had left the cabin and got ready. We were geared up and leaving the parking lot at Paradise at 9AM. The parking lot had lots of cars already, with more skiers and climbers getting ready. The good thing is that the highway would be built for us. The bad thing, it was already warming up a bit more than we anticipated.
Strapping on our flotation, ready to take on the Muir Snowfield...eventually
We started off from Paradise, trying to keep a nice pace. I tend to fry myself straight out so I hung back. We could just make out Mt Rainier through the haze, and as we gained elevation, it became more clear.
Hazy Mt Rainier summit as Kevin and Sara head up
Sara and I stuck to the skin tracks while Kevin was never too far away in the boot/snow shoe tracks. Many times they were one in the same, or if not, right next to each other. I was warming up too quickly and could tell, so I finally just stopped to take off my hat and grab out my bandana. I soon caught up with the others, right after they had both stripped down to bare essentials as well. I took off my long sleeve shirt and my rain pants, and lathered up in some more sunscreen. It was a gorgeous, sunny day which unfortunately meant I was in my typical catch-22: concentrate on not overheating or avoiding the sun? Not overheating won out and I was soon blinding everyone on the mountain with my super white skin that’s generally hidden from view.
Sara enjoying the sunshine
Plenty of groups were on the mountain and we watched the skiers in front of us as they went up Pan Face, deciding how to head up ourselves. Eric passed us with a friend as they were headed up the Muir Snowfield as well, so they could ski the chutes on Nisqually I believe. They were obviously moving much faster than us so we watched as they made their way up Pan Face. There were a couple nice switchbacks so we decided to try those.
Heading towards Pan Face
Sara had me go in front so she could help me from sliding as Kevin took the snowshoe tracks. At the last turn Kevin deviated from the track and kicked steps just above us. I was making slow progress and kept taking breaks – which required me to get off the track so others could pass. We were almost around the corner and past all of the hard stuff when I slid off the track. There were a couple people behind me so I let them and Sara pass me, figuring I could make it the last little ways. I saw people slide off the track in front of me, and soon found myself sliding down the slope farther than anticipated. I finally got my right ski below me and came to a stop – with my left ski practically over my head. I decided the best option for getting out of my predicament was to take my skis off and boot it the rest of the way. I called up to Kevin so he could let Sara know I’d be taking a while. Apparently he didn’t realize I had actually slid/fallen down the slope so they were wondering why it took me so long. Frustrated and exhausted, I finally crested and saw Sara, and after painstakingly slow progress reached her. I put my skis back on and we continued up.
Lunch break just above Pan Face
I was ready for a break so when Kevin asked where we wanted to stop of lunch, I said right there was fine. We sat down and I got some water and shotbloks in me. I went about filling my water bottles with snow as I was going through more water than I ever had I think. Sara and Kevin ate lunch while I just kind of sat there. I put more sunscreen on as I think I had sweated all of mine off. I told Sara and Kevin to continue up without me as I was just not doing well that day. I felt ok but I was really frustrated with my performance – or lack there of. They agreed to continue up and decided to target 2:30/3 for a turnaround time. It was just after 11:30AM. Whenever they had had enough, they’d turn around and collect me on their way down. Kevin just asked me to make it over to the main trail to make it easier for them to find me. We had gone up Pan Face to the left instead of the normal right where the main trail was. They left and I grabbed my duct tape as I had a couple hot spots on my feet. After I taped up my heels and ankle bones, I decided to get going again. The others had probably gone about 10 or 15 minutes before me.
Muir Snowfield, our path for several hours
I started out slow and was determined to just keep a steady pace and see how far I could get. I had my camera out taking lots of pictures – it’s so hard not to when you get a good day on Rainier with great views of the summit. Earlier in the morning we spotted a few of the Tatoosh Peaks although they were mostly in the clouds now. We saw Unicorn, Castle, and Pinnacle.
Tatoosh peak poking through the clouds - Unicorn, Castle, Pinnacle
In the distance we could see Mt Adams too, although partially shrouded in clouds. The going above Pan Face was much better for me. I didn’t feel as exhausted and was keeping a decent pace. It also has a much more constant grade that I could manage. I slipped once but after that I was good. I noticed how much energy it took me to get up that little steep section when I was slipping so it was nice to not be doing much of that. I stopped to add more snow to my waterbottles to keep up my water supply, and spotted Kevin and Sara out ahead of me. Kevin would stop every so often to keep an eye on Sara so I would try to wave, but he didn’t notice me farther down. Finally I was getting close enough that Sara noticed me. I was just catching up when we stopped about 8300’ for a break with a great view.
Slowly catching up to Sara and Kevin
We sat and rested for a bit, and discussed what our plan was for the rest of the day while admiring the three volcanoes in the distance – Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, and we could just make out Mt Hood.
Mt Adams with Mt Hood to the right (not really visible in the picture)
Mt St Helens
We decided to keep heading up until 2:30PM. Separately we had all targeted 8500’ – 9000’ for our goal, so we’d make that. About 2PM we geared up again with Sara taking lead and Kevin bringing up the rear, and we steadily made progress up. At 2:29PM we stopped at a nice little shelf in the snow at about 8750’ and decided to head back down. After a quick group shot, Kevin started hauling down the snowfield on his snowshoes while Sara and I got our skis ready.
Sara, Kevin, and I at our turnaround point at 8750' on the Muir Snowfield
Sara lead down first and I cautiously followed. The snow was pretty good. It took me a few turns in it to feel comfortable, but then I got a good power wedge going for the turns.
Sara skiing down the Muir Snowfield
We were making our way down, still trying to catch Kevin. We took our skis off to hike through the rocky section, and continued skiing below that, closely following the tracks created by the others that had gone before us. We finally caught up with Kevin just above Pan Face. This would be the steepest and most challenging section. At Pan Face we were heading back down into the clouds too, and the snow got sticky. The two bumps above Pan Face were the most challenging for me and I very slowly side slipped/traversed across them. I didn’t trust my ability to turn. Finally we got down to Pan Face and passed some people learning how to self arrest. Sara started down and told me that I needed momentum from the bottom of Pan Face to help make it through the next section back to the parking lot. I started down and actually thought Pan Face wasn’t too bad. It was wide open and I could traverse back and forth, making my power wedge turns. Finally I was down and following Sara back to Paradise, I’m sure giving people a good laugh as they saw me power wedge past them. Soon we were back at the parking lot, and not long after Kevin arrived too. It was a challenging day but I still had fun (well above Pan Face), and was glad to be heading back to the cabin for hot showers and food.
Pan Face
View Muir Snowfield 4.28.12 in a larger map
Mt Rainier
Trail part way up the Muir Snowfield