Reflections of a gaper

[mikeadam]

Beautiful day yesterday. Drove through amazing fall foliage to Paradise. Hiked up a verglassed, snowed up and icy trail to 7200 feet where we put on skins. For the next 3 hours we rhythmically made our way up a firm base (the snowfield is flat as a pancake-ZERO suncups) with ice softening to 1" of corn snow. We reached 10K took off the skins and turning points downward rocketed past small crevasses carving turns.

(9400 feet upwards toward Muir-Keep right as they begin to fill in and become invisible)

The upper part was a traverse over some holes with a tiny bit of moving slushy snow all around. The last 2000 feet were solid with nice sastrugi out left. Conditions were better than any groomer in the world. On the way out we were treated to a 5 minute ice avalanche coming down off the Fuhrer Finger. As Big Lou would say "The mountain is showing off".

Walking downhill on pavement in Rando boots is a mistake I intend to *never* make again. Sweet ski conditions in mid October- I love the Cascades. A bit of walking but well worth it.

[Bronco]

I hate that paved "trail" throught the medow. My wife and I were up there 2 weeks ago and watched a poor bastard with rental plastics and a HUGE pack stumble up the trail a bit and then try to come back down. He looked very uncomfortable and finally decided to side step down through the steep section to avoid the looming faceplant. Ha Ha

[Lambone]

Cool mike, that sounds like a blast!