It’s been a busy couple of weeks around Mountain Lessons HQ (ie, my Subaru). With the lax winter precipitation, there hasn’t been a lot to do around Portland besides pretending that it’s Spring. Except, unlike spring, the temperatures are still sufficiently wint’ry to prevent a predicatble corn cycle. This is life
With a long weekend jiggered together, Taylor and I decided to run up to Mt Rainier last weekend. It has been, I’m ashamed to admit, almost a decade since I was last there. What an enormous mountain, what amazing terrain, and what startling proximity to Portland (2.5hrs!?). We didn’t read the forecast and as a consequence, we were pleasantly surprised to discover almost a foot of stable, fresh snow under splitter blue skies.
We started up the main cattle drive to Camp Muir… with every skier in Seattle in tow.Running into winds up high (blowing clouds visible at left) we decided to scoop the primo run right next to the skin track. Taylor makes tracks in the cloud shadow.
The it was off to greener, less windy pastures.
The Tatoosh, backdrop for the whole day, has a lot of good-looking ski terrain. Unfortunately, with a 6-7’k snow level, access is tough this year.
More Tatoosh.
Away from the crowds, we discovered that what looked like frozen death cookies were, in fact, completely soft. We ate up the fresh pow.
Ah yeah. That feeling.
Stoked on powder and big mountains.
As the day wore on the sun heated up with a vengeance and the window between slush and winds shrank to none. We retreated to the valley floor to snoop out free camping. Hint: not in the national park.
The next day we decided to go high to avoid the sun-crust. That meant a lot of hiking to get to Van Trump Park 3000 feet above the 3600 trailhead. Taylor beaches the whale on some old growth blowdown.
Maybe it was the novelty of being in a new place, or maybe this place is just better, but the dirt walking here sure beat our home turf.
Taylor got lots of exposure therapy for her phobia: icy log bridges.
Comet Falls. Enough said.
We popped out of the trees at 6000′ and with some help from some cheerful Seattle locals, we found the enormous reaches of Van Trump park. Mt Rainier and Mt Adams hovered in the distance.
A big mountain. Lots of ski lines. Vows made.
Likewise, the distant and aptly named Pyramid Peak was very tempting.
Looking back towards Paradise and Camp Muir from the high point of the day at 8300′
The winds had destroyed pretty much everything, but a day in the mountains is never a true waste. Taylor is hiding in this photo, dwarfed by the terrain and the solitude.
The skiing on the way down was nothing to speak of, but the terrain and the sun dog got me talking.
Really. What is this place?
De-proaching in ski boots was reminiscent of last season.
Still, this place. We’ll be back.
Biggest thanks to Icebreaker for supporting Mountain Lessons! When ice-pellets are embedding themselves in my face and a ground-blizzard rages around me, I’m always psyched to have their merino covering the rest of me.
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It’s a surprisingly little-known fact that Muir is closer to Portland than Seattle, but seems to only draw the Seattle crowds. Must be the skyline effect.
Van Trump looks fantastic. And that waterfall… come up again soon and we’ll tag the summit?
Biggest thanks to Icebreaker for supporting Mountain Lessons! When ice-pellets are embedding themselves in my face and a ground-blizzard rages around me, I’m always psyched to have their merino covering the rest of me.
2 comments
It’s a surprisingly little-known fact that Muir is closer to Portland than Seattle, but seems to only draw the Seattle crowds. Must be the skyline effect.
Van Trump looks fantastic. And that waterfall… come up again soon and we’ll tag the summit?
Patrick, Wow! Loved the photos, what a gorgeous place.