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| The south side of Mount Rainier - June 11, 2018 |
The last week of mixed weather has brought a mix of conditions to Mount Rainier. Early in the week, snow fell below the elevation of Paradise. This shut down most climbing trips, but a few lucky skiers found mid-winter powder skiing conditions on the Muir Snowfield and Inter Glacier. This snow blew around, especially above high camps, and led to natural avalanches on steeper slopes. Crowns were visible on the Ingraham Glacier and other nearby features, clearly demonstrating unstable snow conditions. With warm weather forecast in the coming week, these slopes will be more prone to loose wet avalanches. Watch out for wet surface snow, pin wheels, and roller balls that can quickly entrain large amounts of snow.
On the White River side of the mountain, the trail into Glacier Basin is more dirt than snow and many are choosing to hike rather than ski on the approach. The Inter Glacier is starting to sport some open crevasses and the least broken line ascends on the climber's left side of the glacier near Mount Ruth. Strongly consider roping up on the ascent, especially if the light is flat or visibility is poor. Ensure that you can see the entirety of the runout if you choose to glissade on your descent. Glissading into a crevasse would be a terrible way to finish your trip!
The Emmons-Winthrop route has been seeing increased traffic over the past few weeks. The route remains largely unchanged and has a bootpack that is coming and going with fresh snowfall. As always, use a GPS to save your ascent track for possible use when descending in poor visibility later in the day.
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| Willis Wall - June 12, 2018 |
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| Carbon Glacier (Liberty Ridge in middle). June 12, 2018 |
Liberty Ridge has been shutting down all recent groups due to a combination of rockfall and complicated glacier travel on the approach. Snowfall last week and sustained winds likely built some sensitive avalanche conditions on the route also.
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| Mowich Face - June 12, 2018 |
