The first stable weather of the spring arrived and teams are out and about on the upper mountain. We have a few updates we'd like to pass on.
Guides made it to the top of the Cleaver via the Ingraham Direct (ID) on 4/23. It was described as mellow walking but has considerable exposure to ice fall from seracs above.
Around six teams of independent climbers have successfully climbed the Ingraham Direct to the summit, and guides are headed up today (4/28) to begin working on the ID.
We received a report on 4/25 from a team that ascended the ID and skied the Fuhrer's Thumb. They report the lower ID up to Camp Comfort being quite steep with thin crevasse bridges. Above Comfort they describe the ID as "easy as it gets." Ski conditions on the Fuhrers Thumb were described as continuously planar, with corn up high and hot pow down to the Wilson Bench where the snow got sticky.
They ran into a party near the summit that had climbed the Success Cleaver planning to ski the Success Couloir. However, wind effected surface conditions led them to ski the Fuhrers Finger instead.
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| Photo taken on 4/24 on the Ingraham Direct. Red line: route skiers took to Camp Comfort. Green: guide service path to the top of the DC. |
Climbing permits are still available by self-registration with the Paradise WIC slated to open on May 4. Those looking to climb or ski on the upper mountain (even in a single push) need to obtain a climbing permit and pay their annual climbing fee. See our park website for more information about permits and the climbing fee.
