Mt. Rainier - Muir Snowfield

molsongolden

molsongolden

Active member
I searched but all the threads were a few years old. Tuesday I hiked from Paradise (~5500ft) to Camp Muir (just over 10,000ft) and it was awesome. I didn't think to bring skis or even a sled because this was my first time but the snowfield is still absolutely covered. We ended up using rain gear and glissading most of the way back down the snowfield. Could be fun if you feel like dragging your skis up but it is a pretty steep climb.

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it was snow from summit to paradise even in to the early parts of july, and yes, people were skiing all 9000' of that descent. gooood year for it
 
I think it took us a little under an hour and a half to get to the bottom of the snowfield. The beginning of that hike starts out paved then becomes maintained rock/dirt trail. The snowfield is the really time consuming part of the hike because it is so steep. Next time I go I'm definitely taking poles.
 
Ahhh that sounds crazy. Any thoughts on if it is able to be hiked in mid/late may? Is the weather still too rough then?
 
Late winter and early spring ski descents are the best. Up Gib Ledges and down Fuhrer Finger. But if you're not a climber then you should probably take some classes and hire a guide from IMG or RMC (rip off IMO).
 
AAI as well, but it's some serious cash for any of the three.

As for May/June, it is best to be able to pick a weather window. If you just slate a date way in advanced, you're just rolling the dice. This year especially - May and basically the first half of June was super volatile.
It was absolutely nuking at Rainier above 7/8000ft today. Some deep drifts and whiteout. Wouldn't even be worth skiing. But there is still plenty of snow on the snowfield - lots of people (foolishly) still hike for turns.
 
Actually, I don't think Alpine Ascents, Rainier Mountaineering, or International Mountain Guides do guided ski descents of Rainier. And they pretty much only guide up the DC and ID route from what I know. Super Lame. We did the Jib to FF route in March 2008 and it was awesome. We climbed the ledges at night and had an amazing sunrise from just above Gib Rock. Hayes and I are going to try and ski the Kautz this winter. Ski these routes in the winter and you reduce your risk of falling through a thin bridge or getting stuck in a bergstrom for the rest of your life.
 
^yep none of them ski guide, only climb. shoulda been a bit more explicit in my post.

but i didn't post this because of that; I have to wonder how that ns crew fared on the mountain yesterday; how the turns were. sure was breezayyyyyyyy
 
what do you guys thinking about slowshoe hiking for turns in the spring? I'm looking to spend some time on the mountain this spring then go for the summit in early summer. I don't know what the weather is like up there as the august hike was my first time on Rainier. Trying to find out if it's best to go for the summit in mid summer after the snow has calmed down a little or go sooner to try and avoid crevasses. I'll be car camping in the area so I'll be able to wait for a clear day no matter when we go for the top.
 
it was OK. We hiked up a hit a wind lip for about an hour an just goofed off. The turns further up were good, but it was pretty tiring at that point.

The weather was pretty variable, going from frozen rain, to 20mph winds, to 5 minutes of clear skies.
 
muir's great, especially in june or early july. snow cover is way better then. ranger's started fussing this time last year because the snow cover got pretty thin and the muir snowfield got all crevasse-y. They wouldn't let people up to muir for a few weeks in september. but this year we have more snow, so there's possibility
 
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