Nisqually Chutes

The morning rush.

Other than the 2 feet of snow we received two weeks ago, it's been an incredibly dry January. The high pressure has brought some sunny, warm weather though and with that in mind 6 of us (and a few others as you can see) rallied up to Rainier today to take advantage of the 50 degree weather at Paradise. Getting prepped to skin at about 9:30, we donned t-shirts, sunscreen and sunglasses.

North Cascades - Rainy Pass

We were up in Winthrop for a family weekend, doing some cross-country skiing and crying about the lack of snow. However, the mountains a short 25 miles west had been blessed with a recent 7" of new at cold temperatures, and the time was right for a tour. Loern and I hooked up with North Cascades Mountain Guides, and Josh met us bright and early on Sunday for our adventure to Maple Pass. We took the sleds from about 7 miles west of Mazama, up over Washington Pass and on to Rainy Pass. We skinned about a mile south on the summer trail to Lake Ann, then up the hill for the skiing. Fantastic snow and 15 degree temps made for a perfect day. The snow was not consolidated at all, and well bonded to the previous layer. We took a run toward Lake Ann, then another down a north-facing slope, then a final run back to the lake. With blubird skies and a strong group of four, it was by far the best day of the season so far.