Mt Rainier, Camp Muir

September 6, 2004

Paul Belitz, Corey Bloom, Sky Sjue

Normally I wouldn't write a TR for a trip to Muir, but I got some nice photos, and the skiing was stellar. Not to mention that it's been a while since I wrote a TR.

Last weekend I joined Justin, the Hummel twins, and Sky on their quest to keep their ski streak going. We hiked up to the Sulphide on Shuksan in the rain. There, we skied a few hundred feet of suncupped ice, then squished our way back to the car. Suck. But the flame was ignited, and I wanted to ski again. So, Sky, Corey, and I got our September skiing in on Labor Day, opting for a mellow day at Muir. The conditions were unreal, the top 1300 feet were a few inches of fast, smooth fresh corn that had been deposited just a few days prior. The lower snow was dirtier and rougher, but still quite nice.

I had been battling an infection of strep throat all week (I finally went to the doctor and got some antibiotics on Tuesday), so I was very, very slow on the way up (5.5 hours to Muir!). But the weather was gorgeous, the scenery spectacular, and the corn made it all worthwhile. I even ran into Jim and his friend Erik just above the lower snowfield.

While I was dragging ass, Sky and Corey were lapping the upper slopes, and a good time was had by all. And on a somewhat irrelevant note, this trip marked my first twelve consecutive months of skiing!

Sky and Corey at the parking lot. They nearly forgot their most important gear.....	Adams in the distance, Tatoosh in the foreground.	Rainier in the clouds. A very impressive lenticular cap covered the summit for most of the afternoon.

Gib Ledges and the Kautz from the lower snowfield. I nearly quit below here, but encouragement from Jim and Erik convinced me to continue.	More clouds blow across.	Sky and Corey traverse to get to the untracked fresh. The light was quite nice.

Sky enjoying the untracked Septermber Freshie bliss.	It might be flat, but it sure was nice!	The fat Snafflehound with his prize.

At Pebble Creek there was a fat chipmunk. Mr. Snafflehound put on an impressive display of boldness, skill, and speed, and was well rewarded for his troubles with some of Tim's Cascade Style Potato Chips. Yummy.

Sky and Corey relaxing before hiking down.	Sunset was quite pretty, the lenticular was nicely illuminated.