On Friday I made the annual pilgrimage up to Camp Muir on the southern flank of Mt. Rainier for the fourth time in 2 years. This time was special because I brought my father along for the trip. We left Seattle early but still got delayed at the National Park gate due to avalanche control work on the road from Longmire to Paradise. It may be April in the Pacific Northwest but it still feels like mid winter
. Having received nearly 30 inches of cold, low density snow in the last three days, avalanche conditions at Paradise were going to be high in the afternoon hours. We arrived at the parking lot a bit after 9 and were pleasantly surprised to find very light crowds. With cool temperatures and a nice breeze the skin up to Panorama Point went very quickly. at the base of pan face we found ourselves with two options for gaining the Muir Snowfield. Pan face is notorious for solar radiation slab releases due to its southern exposure, so we choose to gain the snowfield via the ridge and some exposed scrambling. Mt. Rainier national park rangers were kind enough to install a fixed line to the upper ridge. This was very helpful as it was incredibly exposed. The trip to Camp Muir above Panorama Point mellows out considerably and becomes a long slog up to 10,100 ft. above sea level. We began the accent and made it to just above 8,000 ft before weather began to make its way onto the mountain. With no terrain markers and numerous objective hazards, the Muir snowfield can be a dangerous place in "whiteout" conditions. This combined with the late hour made it an easy decision to descend. The conditions on the decent were typical of a Muir ski. The extreme elevation change and influences of wind and solar radiation make for a highly variable decent. This time was no different. We skied everything from bullet proof ice to dry powder.
. Having received nearly 30 inches of cold, low density snow in the last three days, avalanche conditions at Paradise were going to be high in the afternoon hours. We arrived at the parking lot a bit after 9 and were pleasantly surprised to find very light crowds. With cool temperatures and a nice breeze the skin up to Panorama Point went very quickly. at the base of pan face we found ourselves with two options for gaining the Muir Snowfield. Pan face is notorious for solar radiation slab releases due to its southern exposure, so we choose to gain the snowfield via the ridge and some exposed scrambling. Mt. Rainier national park rangers were kind enough to install a fixed line to the upper ridge. This was very helpful as it was incredibly exposed. The trip to Camp Muir above Panorama Point mellows out considerably and becomes a long slog up to 10,100 ft. above sea level. We began the accent and made it to just above 8,000 ft before weather began to make its way onto the mountain. With no terrain markers and numerous objective hazards, the Muir snowfield can be a dangerous place in "whiteout" conditions. This combined with the late hour made it an easy decision to descend. The conditions on the decent were typical of a Muir ski. The extreme elevation change and influences of wind and solar radiation make for a highly variable decent. This time was no different. We skied everything from bullet proof ice to dry powder. 
On a side note one benefit of this trip was the ability to scope out the Furher Finger, which I plan to ski in early May. The Finger extends from the upper Wilson glacier to the Nisqually ice fall and then on to the summit of Mt. Rainier. This line is the most direct route to the summit and features an amazing 12,000 ft. ski decent!
Jeff Schomaker
TNF Seattle
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