Bottom Line:
Wow - what a day. Amazing conditions, both snow and weather. It was very quiet and it was largely a day of "fresh tracks". I love the Skyline ridge up and to the left of the skier route, with its cornices, sculptured snow and excellent views. Skipped the final ascent to Panorama (see map) as skiers seemed to be having difficulty with the gully (avy debris?), the summer route had a steep, high-consequence final slope, and I had left my ice axe in the car. Yes, I was wishing I had my skis - the conditions were ideal.
Stats:
- Distance: 4-1/2 miles
- Vertical: 1276 ft
- Duration: ~ 3 hours
- Road/Parking: The Longmire gate opened at 10am (a relief given I have arrived this year to find the gate would not open that day), and there were only a handful of cars in the Paradise parking lot around 11am. Fresh tracks!! Toilets are open. National Park Pass checked at Ashford gate. Chain requirements for all vehicles without all-wheel-drive/4X4 and traction tires in the morning. The road was pretty icy, so it made sense, although there was no chain control per se other than the ranger asking whether you were carrying them. No problem for the Subaru :) There was still some ice on the road on the descent, mainly in the shaded descent down to the bridge over the Nisqually drainage. Busier at Paradise around 2pm, but mostly folks coming up to drink in the views rather than hike. NOTE: The website had incorrect information about the road closure time; the gate was scheduled to close at 5pm, rather than 3pm.
- Weather: Sunshine with temperatures in the 20-30Fs; warm in the sun; light wind with occasional gust and blowing snow in the morning; amazing visibility.
- Snow Conditions: The Northwest Avalanche Center rated the avalanche risk as "Low". With a hard freeze overnight, and 2-4" of low-density snow on top, conditions were ideal for simply hiking with microspikes (snowshoes are heavy and would have been overkill). There are some deeper drifts higher up where gaiters are useful. Wet pack only revealed itself in the afternoon at the bottom of Deadhorse Creek. CAUTION: There are areas of avalanche debris (especially in the gully up to Panorama), large cornices that you will want to give some distance (e.g. up the Skyline ridge), and snow bridges of various stability (careful on Deadhorse Creek). Read the terrain and stay away from low points where there may be water running underneath.
- Trail: Open terrain hiking at its best! With the snowpack, there is no need to stick to trails (not that you would really know where they are below the deep snow), and one can really explore - a real treat! I always think it is odd that so many folks seem to stick to the established skier skin track, especially when the conditions were so ideal and you could easily explore the different ridges and lay down your own tracks. I roughly took Skyline up, and Deadhorse Creek down, with plenty of open exploration at the top. The views of Mt St Helens, Adams, Goat Rocks and the Tatoosh Range were outstanding. Snow depth at higher elevations seems to have improved somewhat - Mt St Helens looked better than 2 months ago. The snow was light and fluffy over a firm base, much better than the heavy concrete at Snow Lake a few days ago.
- Takeaway: Is this the most beautiful snowshoe area in the lower-48? It certainly ranks up there on a beautiful sunny day! Three hours of joy - this is why we hike! A winter refresh is coming in mid-week, and warming this weekend might change the avalanche conditions.
There are higher definition pics on the linked Instagram. A YouTube short in included below, and also available at the Instagram link.
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