On Thursday, Ron Brothers, Robert Smith and myself, Roger Matthews, arrived at Paradise about 10:30am. We were more or less ready to go up the mountain at 11am, but were dismayed by a bit of a rain downpour. We all were optimistic, at least in varying degrees, and so we donned our ponchos etc, and headed up the snowy trail. It was cold and wet and windy, but we hoped the weather would break eventually and give us a good outing.
(Note: you can click on the photos for a larger version.)
Ron Brothers looks a lot more "professional" than me, the guide :).
We stopped at the first steep slope, and Ron Brothers learned the four ways of arresting a fall on snow with an ice ax. Then we had lunch, and were on our way.
Here are Ron Brothers and Robert Smith on the trail
Part way up, we ran into a marmot, which Roger entertained with a variety of whistling tunes, while Ron and Robert were wishing he would shut up because they were teetering on a snow cliff and wanted to move on.
Here's the Marmot, whistling back at me
It was a very hard long slog up to our base camp at about 7,700'. We camped on an isolated patch of snow on a ridge above the main trail. We went past an interesting small crevasse on the way, probably from having veered a bit onto the Cowlitz Glacier. But it seemed safe enough.
A small crevasse on the Cowlitz Glacier
Looking upwards on the trail, gorgeous. Ron, Robert and I climbed
the snow slope behind them as soon as I was done taking photos.
Here's Robert Smith working his way up a snow slope. There were LOTS of them.
It took us a while to flatten a snow platform, and pitch our tents, but we finally got them up.
I couldn't help but laugh, they looked like the Wicked Witch of the East, who got flattened by
Dorothy's house. Both of these guys look like they got flattened by the tents,
as BOTH of them have only their legs sticking out from under their tents!
Then I started up the stove, and melted snow for dinners. We had our freeze dried dinners and we all appreciated the hot food and hot tea.
This was our "kitchen". The big boulder shield the stove from the wind,
and we had dinner and breakfast cooked here.
A little Chipmunk was eyeing our dinner.
Then off to bed where I think only Ron had a fairly good nights sleep. Robert and I froze ourselves a bit before we finally donned every bit of clothing we had inside our sleeping bags. It was cold and the wind blew from 20 to 40 mph until late in the night. The tents had an ice coating on the inside. And the snow under us froze into a solid flat surface that I just couldn't get to sleep on. I think Robert and I dozed a bit, but mostly it was a miserable night. We could hear Ron "sleeping" in the next tent, so we knew he got more sleep than we did.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, and the skies just got clearer all day, though some clouds were always present, and sometimes we got bathed in a bit of fog, but mostly it was clear, sunny and spectacularly beautiful.
View from Base Camp in the morning! Wow!
The same picture, with some labels
A waterfall above the Nisqually Glacier, far across the valley
Our gamble with the cold and rainy day previously has paid off with a gorgeous second day. We had hot oatmeal for breakfast, packed light packs, and headed off for Camp Muir at 10,000'.
Robert Smith taking a much needed break to rest and take in the incredible views
And Ron Brothers also taking a rest and drinking in the views
We climbed strenously for quite a few hours, but we finally threw in the towel at Anvil Rock at 9,000'. We were tired from not the best night's sleep. We got so spectacular photos of the bergschrund, a large crevasse, at the base of Anvil Rock where the Cowlitz Glacier pulls away from the rock. And Little Tahoma loomed large in the background.
The Bergschrund below Anvil Rock
A closeup of the Bergschrund
Robert Smith and Ron Brothers next to the Bergschrund
From the same location, looking downhill
Then we took off for Paradise, picking up our tents on the way down.
Robert got some good shots of a marmot and a fox, and Ron got stuck for 10 minutes in a snowbank. I asked if he wanted help and he said he didn't, so I just took some humiliating photos of him to chuckle over as he was still stuck.
But he eventually got loose, we got the tents backed, and we glissaded and plunge stepped spritely down the mountain and got to the parking lot about 7:30pm.
Ron Brothers starting a long glissade, with Anvil Rock in the background
Ron getting a little sideways on his glissade, but having a ball
A Cascade Fox we spotted on the way down.
The fox is focussed intently on something under the snow!
We were extremely glad to see the roofs of the lodges at Paradise!
Then a dinner at Brunos, we were eatin' in Eatonville, and then for a long dark drive home.
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