Snow, Snow, Snow

Over 25 inches of fresh, powdery snow fell at Paradise in the last 24 hours. This should make for some nice skiing/boarding. Keep in mind that this new snow is falling on a hardened, icy-firm snowpack... which could mean increased avalanche danger.

Ice Worms

By Sandy Doughton at the Seattle Times

Ben Lee is stalking a creature most people think is a myth —
if they've heard of it at all.

"I don't know what we'll see," he warned,
loading an ice ax and snow shovel into his backpack. "Nobody knows what ice
worms do in winter."

Thriving in conditions that would turn most living
things to Popsicles, these inch-long earthworm cousins inhabit glaciers and
snowfields in the coastal ranges of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and
Oregon. They move through seemingly solid ice with ease and are at their
liveliest near the freezing point of water. Warm them up slightly and they
dissolve into goo.

Learn more about Ice Worms here in the Seattle Times.

Cold Snap and Frozen Waterfalls

The mountain sustained several days of sub-freezing temperatures between Feb 16th-20th and the trend is expected to continue for the next six days.

During that time numerous frozen waterfalls formed along the Nisqually-Paradise Road. Here are a few images... The approach is rather short, and the ice seems to be getting thicker each day.

It was cold and blustery Friday and Saturday, particularly on the Muir Snowfield. I ran into a number of parties that turned back from their Camp Muir and/or summit plans because of the winds and temperatures. A few hardy groups did make it to Camp Muir on Saturday night, but those east winds and cold temps intensified with elevation and in the end, most parties lost their summit steam. And rightfully so, I recorded -7° F and a steady 20-25 MPH wind at Camp Muir.

On Feb 10/11th, Ted cleared a mountain of snow at Camp Muir. Thankfully, his handy work was still intact, as access to the Public Shelter, restroom, and emergeny radio remained easy.

ICE...

It dropped to -1°F with 50+ MPH gusts at Paradise last night. The icicles on my house are growing, and I suspect the waterfalls are freezing. If this cold snap keeps up, there will be some ice climbing in the park. Probably in the usual spots above the Nisqually Bridge.

More Nisqually Icecliff

Here is another image of the upper Nisqually Glacier, with the route lines drawn. The BLUE represents the line Hannah climbed on the Nisqually Icecliff. The PURPLE is a variation on the Nisqually Cleaver, and the GREEN is the standard Nisqually Cleaver Route.

Photo by Gauthier, Feb 12th, 2006.