Muir Snowfield Conditions 8/15/2019

Looking towards Camp Muir and the summit

Typical August conditions exist on the Muir Snowfield. There's no snow below Pebble Creek and the slopes just above the creek crossing are fairly steep. Proper footwear selection is critical for a safe journey up and down from Camp Muir. A pair of sturdy boots that allows one to kick steps into firm snow is highly recommended. Crampons or micro-spikes are also not a bad idea.

On the snowfield proper the main route heads to eastern edge of the snowfield at approximately 8,000'. It then traverses to the west side of Moon Rocks. As you ascend the slopes from 8,000' to 9,500' there are patches where last winter's snow has melted down to older layers. Easily identifiable by their dark color, these old layers are extremely firm and icy. It's easy to loose your footing on these patches.

Dark, icy patches at 9,000'

There are small glide cracks opening near 9,000' but none of them present much hazard at this time. This may change in the coming days and weeks so check back for updates or ask a ranger when you are in the Park.

We still do get requests for information about skiing conditions and we definitely do not recommend it at this time. The sun cups are large, the slopes are icy and pumice has coated the entire surface. The folks that have made it to Muir for a ski descent recently did not appear to enjoy their turns very much.



Looking down from 9,800'