Feb 2nd conditions

General Information:

There is over 180 inches of snow on the ground at Paradise (5,420 feet.) Since December 21st, it has rained or snow almost every day and Paradise has received over 500 inches of snow for the year (which begins on July 1st.) A series of winter storms has dominated the region and is still depositing a great deal of precipitation on the mountain.

There have no reported successful ascents on the upper mountain. All backcountry travelers should expect, and prepare for, fierce and adverse weather and climbing conditions. Conditions may include high winds, heavy precipitation, low visibility, avalanche, difficult route finding and sub freezing temperatures.

General Climbing Conditions:

At this time, we have no new or current information about the climbing routes or the Muir Snowfield. One team attempted to reach Camp Muir on 1-9-05, but snow caved instead on the Muir Snowfield. The weather was so fierce, the team abandoned their gear and navigated through whiteout and heavy snowfall back to Paradise. Another four person team had a similar experience on Jan 15th and 16th; they too were forced to make an emergency snowcave (but were able to retrieve their gear.) There was brief clearing on January 23rd and 24th. During that time, a team did stay at Camp Muir and reported that the public shelter was quite accessible.

Muir Snowfield: The trail is 100% snow covered and there is no established boot path due to a significant of snow and rain.

Gibraltar Chute: A team summited via this route on December 17th. A significant amount of ice-debris from the Nisqually Ice Cliff had to be crossed in order to reach the Chute; otherwise, the approach was straightforward. Excellent climbing conditions were found in the Chute itself - firm/icy snow with good crampon-ing allowed for quick progress. Ice coverage in the hourglass near 11,800 feet was thin. The ascent was direct from top of the Gibraltar Rock to the summit was direct. The team descended Gibraltar Ledges and found them to be mostly melted.

On Dec 11th, teams of climbers attempted both the Gibraltar Ledges and Ingraham Direct. Neither summited; both were turned back due to late morning starts, icy conditions, and broken mountaineering terrain that slowed the ascent. At that time, there was a fair amount of snow below 7,000 feet however the upper mountain looked surprisingly thin. As an example, many of the rocks along the Cowlitz Cleaver, Cadaver and Cathedral Gaps are still exposed (this is not the case now.) Both teams reported a fall into thinly veiled crevasses and each party felt they could have made the summit if they had left earlier and allowed more time for circuitous route finding.

At this time, we have no reports for the Disappointment Cleaver route.

Muir Snowfield and Camp Muir

Muir Snowfield and Camp Muir on May 21 2006

There is great coverage all the way up. Most people are still using the winter trail up to Pan Point. Beyond that the trail is very well wanded all the way to muir. There has been a lot of traffic on it and there is a great boot pack all the way to Muir. Even though it is pretty soft if people stay in the boot track they only end up post-holing in a few places. The skiing on the snowfield is excellent right now. Yesterday we got a dusting of snow and had perfect corn underneath that above 8500'. Today all of that froze and the snow was rock hard down to about 8500', but below that it was a wonderful 3" of soft wet snow on top of a frozen base so it was fun fast skiing. The chute down onto the Nisqually was stellar and fairly easy to traverse back up to the main trails at the glacier vista overlook (we did not have to put our skins back on). There are also two really fun kickers just below glacier vista :)

All in all its in pretty darn good shape for skiing. I would say folks don't need crampons unless they plan to travel really early or really late in the day. Skis or a board will make it lots of fun and I don't think snowshoes are that helpful since the boot pack is so well traveled.

The Camp Muir Public Shelter was significantly refurbished in 2005. The new interior design increases the usable space markedly. The bunks are organized to accommodate more people, as is the storage and cooking space. So far, the comments have been very positive; in particular, many expressed appreciation of the increased lighting.

If you plan to stay in the public shelter, please keep it clean! Always secure the door when leaving, as a small crack will fill the hut with snow during storms. Never leave anything (food, gas, and gear.) Also, overnight travelers should consider brining own shelter in case they’re unable to make it to Camp Muir. At this time, the public shelter and toilet are accessible.

Please do your part to keep the mountain clean. Petrified feces and toilet paper flags strewn along the climbing routes and crusted on rocks near bivi sites are unsightly and unsanitary. Remember that everyone on the mountain melts snow for drinking water. All parties are required to pack their solid human waste off the mountain when not using the toilets at Camp Muir and Camp Schurman. Blue bags are available with climbing permits. Blue bags may be deposited in the large black barrels at Camp Muir or at Paradise. The barrel at Paradise is located in the restroom tunnel next to the men’s room.

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