Mike's Stuff at Happy Monkey Snowboards

Muir Snowfield, Mt. Rainier, April 3rd, 2004

Simon, Ruston, Paul and I hiked up the Muir Snowfield on the south face of Mt. Rainier on Saturday, April 3rd, 2004. We started at Paradise, which is at 5,557ft and our goal was to get to Camp Muir at 10,188ft. The hike takes you up the Muir Snowfield, which is a permanent snowfield between the Nisqually, Cowlitz, and Paradise Glaciers. The entire trail was snow covered, with roughly 14ft of snow at Paradise.

It was a beautiful, clear day, and the temperature at Paradise when we set out at 10:40am was in the high 60's. The freezing level was forecast to be around 10,000ft that day, and I think it was pretty accurate. As the day progressed we got a lot of high clouds around the mountain, by they stayed away from the mountain itself. The clouds managed to obscure the hot sun in the afternoon, which was a nice relief.

Simon and Ruston are, I believe, descended from billy goats. They were significantly faster than Paul and I, and we split into two groups at Pebble Creek. Simon and Ruston made Camp Muir in roughly 4 hours. Paul and I hiked for 5 hours total before stopping at 9,200ft and turning back. Paul and I are positive we'll make it next time.

The ride back down was great. It only took about a half hour, and the Muir Snowfield was in great shape. It was easy to find fresh tracks, and the snow, even though it was an odd, cold corn snow, was nice. As we descended and it got warmer again, the snow got a lot stickier, especially once we got back to the tree line. Simon called that part "the field of suction cups."

All-in-all, it was a great day and a good time was had by all.

The pictures below are a combination of shots from Simon, Ruston, Paul and I.

Simon and Ruston getting their transceivers on.

Ruston's coat is a little heavy... (Simon)

My pack with snowboard, ready to go.

The top of the mountain was clouded in when we started.

Our goal is just beyond the ridge in the top center of this picture.

Paul at lunch time, around 7000ft.

Ruston near Pebble Creek. (Simon)

Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. Adams.

Far, far away is Mt. Hood... look hard, it's tough to pick out. Its in the center of the picture.

Ruston (plus Simon... look closely). Not sure where. (Simon)

Ruston warming himself on a rock. (Simon)

Paul at 9,200ft. "We were that close!"

Mike at 9,200ft. A little disappointed, but I'll make it next time! (Paul)

It's about 4:00 now. You can see a big band of clouds that has been moving around the peak for a couple of hours now. It was a neat effect that these pictures really fail to capture.