Muir Snowfield and Ingraham Direct 5/23

Well folks, it looks like summer might be here to stick around earlier than we expected! In our previous blog post, we mentioned that the mountain had been going through some changes rather quickly. As of today, let’s upgrade that to rapid changes! Below we’ll highlight some relevant information for those either planning a climb or simply a trip to Muir.

Looking up Ingraham Direct from below the Flats on 5/21

Over the past week Camp Muir has melted out substantially along with the lower mountain. There are sections of exposed rock and trail, particularly in the Pan Point zone. Skiers, you will likely need to take off skies and “boot” sections of trail. The days of skinning from Paradise parking lot to Muir are coming to a close… For all parties, either skiing or hiking, please use the trails through the rocks and do not trample the vegetation. The path to Muir will likely switch to the summer route in the coming days and folks will be walking over Pebble creek. Beware of those creek holes this time of year! 

The upper mountain on the south side has also been greatly impacted by the unseasonably warm days in May. For starters, Cathedral Gap is more rockbound by the day, if not hour. Wear your helmet for overhead hazard and be prepared for gravel travel through the gap on your upcoming climb. The Cowlitz crossing to the gap has some cracks open up as well, so teams, pleeeease rope up and use proper glacier travel as soon as you take off from Muir… You are on a glacier! 

The route coming out of Ingraham Flats remains to be the ID. While guided and independent teams alike have been stomping in the trail, there seem to be more and more hazards coming into play. There are multiple snow bridges the climb travels through, please use caution before, during, and after crossing. Inspect the snow integrity yourself, move in control, and look after your team members as they cross while you manage the rope tension. Within this same zone (roughly 1000 vertical ft) there is potential for ladder crossings as well. The route has been tweaked almost daily so be prepared if ladders get put in over the coming week. The same rules apply to each ladder you proceed to travel over, paying close attention to how and where it is mounted over the crevasse. 

Above these traversing crevasse bridges the climb seems to be in good shape and remains quite direct. In good weather conditions, a well prepared team will find the climb an enjoyable wilderness challenge worthy of attempting. However, please always remember that for any party climbing the summit is only halfway! Keep those energy reserves for the way down.

Looking out at some of the cracks near the top of the ID as rangers traversed down from above the Cleaver.

A special note for skiers, while skiing the upper mountain gains more and more popularity, it should be understood that this presents an abundance of hazards we are not going to get into here (a whole can of worms). What I want to touch on is specifically teams ascending the ID. As of now it's not recommend to descend the Ingraham Glacier via skis. This is not a friendly ski route and would require very advanced ski mountaineering skills and multiple transitions throughout the descent. If, however, you are skiing the ID down, do not descend the climber’s trail. This destroys the track relied on heavily for guided and independent teams alike. If you feel like you need to ski the trail down, it is likely an indicator that you should not be skiing the upper mountain to begin with… 

Remember to check in with the rangers when you get up to Muir for the latest and greatest route info and get your permits from the Paradise Wilderness Information Center which is open every day for the season starting on Friday May 26th from 7:30 am-5:00 pm. Self registration will no longer be available. Looking forward to seeing you on the mountain.

                                                                            Happy Climbing!