[ridgewalker]

To practice for upcoming summits this season, the Yamabushi headed out to Camp Muir to practice snow travel and roped climbing techniques. Having plowed through 4 chapters in "freedom of the hills" we were all ready to try it out. Due to a batchelor party the night before, we started out late, and realized we would likely not make it to Camp Muir as planned. We arrived at Paradise Lodge Parking Lot around 1pm. After a bit of time we started up the route that had been marked by NPS wands. These served useful later as I followed the route back down by headlamp, as my friends snowboarded. While the sun had been blazing on the snowfields most of the day, the snow had left and icy crust on the top layer. Boots and Ice Axes were great, as we got above the meadow, and began a direct ascent of the snow ledge at Panarama Point. This area serves as GREAT practice of Step Kicking and Self Arrest Practice. To the West the views of the Nisqually Glacier were awe-inspiring. Looking accrossed at sucessive creavese lines where the glacier pitches over bumps in the rock, opening up its translucent blue secrets. I spotted one line of tracks that looked as if it was heading acrossed the ice fields and up the terminal moraine on the other side. By looking at Beckey's Book, I figured these tracks were a team heading to Camp Hazard to climb up to Point Success and then the summit. After reaching the Muir Snowfields after a jumble of rocks, we practiced our rope techniques and head up to the base of Anvil Rock. This was the first time I really got to see this feature on the Mountain. Most of the times I had headed up here on the Snow field, there was a cloud and I was making the course by wand markers and compass. The rock rose with a reddish hue as the sun began to pass its sunset colors on the rock. It is wide at the base and tapers to a point. A long slope follows behind it fromt he Muir Snowfield. It was one of those locations that you half expected for some tribe to set up there yearly Solstice Ceremony in order to pay homage to the forces of the Mountain's nature. Over the years I have come to realized that a mountain is something to be respected and appreciated rather then conquored. Sometimes I feel that those before us had it right when they looked at these spires as spirits. With by back against the rock, looking out I could see out towards the Tatoosh Range and off towards the three temples in the distance, Adams (Klickitat), Hood (Wy-east) and Helens (Loowit). The alpen glow painted a pink and orange hue on their icy summits, with the steam off the crater of Loowit catching the last golden dye of the sun. I could have stayed there all night on that rock, the night stars begining to shine and the crescent moon marking the direction of the sun. Watching the rest of the Yamabushi head off in snowboards, which would prove to be an interesting descent for them. I headed down by head lamp to Panarama Point to get a view of the Paradise Meadow area. After taking a few obligatory photos of myself and the mountain, and then a pan of the tatoosh range, I came around to find two other hikers/skiers. Asking them if they were ok, they responded that they were, and I realized that they were taking in the sights just as much as I ahd been at Anvil Rock. The rest of the descent to the Parking Lot was a matter of following ridgelines and the NPS Markers back to the Parking Lot. I got off course a few times taking in the Stars by found the route easily as a boot beaten path. Once I reached the parking lot, it took about 30 mins to collect the rest of the Yamabushi, each sharing their stories of the jumps or terrain they found. The general consenses was that the snow was really icy and not the best. But in this year, it was about as good as we were going to get. Realized one thing on the way out... They lock the gate at Longmire.... We had to go into the Lodge, and get the combo. The man at the service desk was nice enought, asking us about our trip and the snow conditions. It seemed he had not been up to paradise for awhile, as activity around the lodge had started to kick up. All in all he said life around the lodge was good, having enough time to head up Rampart Ridge, and along the forest floor on the Wonderland. In the end the trip was great, and look forward to returning earlier to get more practice this time. -- Ridgewalker

The Yamabushi Crew

Nisqually Glacier

Sunset

Sunset on Klickitat (Adams) and the Tatoosh Range

[Cascade Dave]

Wow!! Great photos... ...I especially like the one of Adams with Unicorn Peak in the foreground. It looks like the Snow Lake Basin is clearing up rather quickly.