telemarker Posted June 27, 2008 Posted June 27, 2008 (edited) Trip: Mt. Rainier - Fuhrer Finger Date: 6/25/2008 Trip Report: My friend Robbie and I trekked to Rainier with skis hoping to smuggly click in on the summit and ski all the way down to Paradise in paradisical corn snow, via the Fuhrer Finger. The reality turned out to be a bit different. We camped at about the 8,600'. First, I'm awakened from a deep sleep by, "John, it's almost 3am." Then I'm awakened again, "John, it's almost 4am..." Now this is getting annoying. So, we get a 4.30am start on this route. Making our way up the FF, we notice how the sun is already hitting the upper rock, and we get confirmation of this by two rocks WHIZZING by us before we even know what's happening. Since we're really, really smart we conclude perhaps the objective hazards of FF warrant an earlier start? The route is in great shape, with only a few minor crevasse crossings, nothing sketchy. We climbed corn snow in very warm temps anticipating the dreamy turns from the summit back to camp. We tag the summit in an icy bluster, remove crampons with wodden fingers and quickly ski back to our route. For the next 6,000' we sideslip and make sketchy turns on snow that SHOULD HAVE BEEN CORN! Instead, the temps have plummeted quickly and we end up "skiing" (and I use this term in the loosest possible meaning) refrozen pennitentes and bulletproof corn. The best turns are at the bottom of the Finger. To add to the bliss, we get to ski crust over rotten corn with heavy packs, and find the better turns are down the frozen bed surfce that is the HUGE avalanche below the Turtle Snowfield. So, no pics because we were just surviving and I wasn't too interested in shooting. I'm sure there are plenty of pics of this route from previous TR's. Otherwise, a very fun route, no need for ice screws. The only gear we used were ski poles and crampons, and the skis for the "descent". Edited June 27, 2008 by telemarker Quote
telemarker Posted June 27, 2008 Author Posted June 27, 2008 thanks for the beta, man! Yer welcome! Quote
cbcbd Posted June 27, 2008 Posted June 27, 2008 Corn snow would've been too boring... nah, I hear ya... but hey, still beats slogging down. Quote
telemarker Posted June 27, 2008 Author Posted June 27, 2008 Corn snow would've been too boring... nah, I hear ya... but hey, still beats slogging down. Exactly. It was still a great climb. No regrets! Quote
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