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bccarlso
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Joined: 05 Aug 2011
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Location: Tacoma |
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bccarlso
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 Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:10 am |
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Has it been super busy up there on weekends?
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peter707
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Joined: 16 Jun 2022
Posts: 39 | TRs | Pics
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peter707
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Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:09 am |
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| bccarlso wrote: | | Has it been super busy up there on weekends? |
On a sunny, warm, 1/5 avalanche danger day, on Saturday 02/11/2023, midway up the snowfield at say 8000', I had a pretty good view and counted people on the snowfield. I counted ~15 people higher, and ~50 people lower on the snowfield, for ~65 people above Panorama Point on the Muir Snowfield. There may be others that I can't see, but I could see at least ~800' up and ~1500' down.
1) about 20 people at Camp muir, approx 19 AT skiers / splitboarders & 1 snowshoer w/ downhill board
2) about 45 people between panorama point and camp muir, that probably turned at some point prior to camp muir
3) while snowboarding down, probably saw ~10-15 people hikers at panorama point at 3pm, they enjoyed glissading down panorama face, many a terrified / joyous yard-sale down that slope. At 3pm at pan point there's no way to make it to Longmire gate by 4pm on foot, so presumably there were even more people here at 12-2pm.
Nearly everyone ski/snowboarded down the muir snowfield, although a few folks ski'd the paradise glacier, a few folks ski'd the cowlitz, a few folks ski'd the nisqually glacier.
here's a strava segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/28411172?filter=overall, it shows 12 uploaded gpx tracks to Muir on 02/11/2023 or 02/12/2023 although strava segments are not designed for snowfields where people don't all take the same line, it's an underestimate. There may be a different segment each weekend since how the route moves around. https://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#8545601879?c=c236m85d&z=E&t=1ZvzKI&a=V4lb_VBRWf39tln9K8Rk_Tq6ZP09_1r9HZVZ_Q
There's probably ~50-100 cars waiting for the gate to open at 9am. Traffic clears quickly once the gate opens and you can probably get to paradise by 9:40am if you are at the gate at 9:10am.
 ChinookPass
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bccarlso
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Joined: 05 Aug 2011
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Location: Tacoma |
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bccarlso
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Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:35 am |
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Thanks for the detailed reply! So it sounds like it's not like the summer months when the parking lots are full and you have to circle around for half an hour or more until a spot opens up. I figured with the weekdays closed, it might still be like that in the winter.
peter707
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peter707
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peter707
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Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:09 am |
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I would say it's as popular as a ski-tour gets, but no where near average summer visitation of a national park. I don't actually know how full the parking lots got at say, 11am. But I would guess that it's not close to a summer weekend where it's in the thousands. There are days in June/July that I'm snowboarding past 300+ people on the way down from muir, it's not like that when the gate closes at 4pm in the winter.
While the muir snowfield is as benign as it gets in terms of a 4500' vertical foot tour [with the exception of the 31-degree panorama face for 1/50th of the vertical gain], it has navigational hazards on probably 75% of winter days. Lots of snowboarding at 3mph while looking at gps watch in a whiteout. The fault line tends to go towards the Nisqually glacier, not the paradise parking lot.
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ranger rock
One of the boys
Joined: 14 Dec 2011
Posts: 2549 | TRs | Pics
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Is walk in access allowed when the entrance roads are closed?
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vogtski
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Joined: 03 Dec 2022
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Location: Waitgate WA |
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vogtski
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Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:04 am |
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| ranger rock wrote: | | Is walk in access allowed when the entrance roads are closed? |
No problem on the unplowed Mowich, White River & Ohana entrances; probably get you a ticket or ambulance ride on the plowed, but closed Paradise road.
"Paradise is accessible by foot when the road is closed by using the existing trail system. The Wonderland Trail connects Longmire to Narada Falls and the unplowed Paradise Valley Road. Consider this to be a true wilderness outing, as it requires trail-breaking, navigating avalanche terrain, fording icy rivers, and camping overnight. It is critical to have a high level of skill with winter terrain and navigation.
"Do not walk or ski in the roadway—use the trails. Use caution when crossing the road. Vehicles, including snowplows, could be present at any time and cannot stop quickly in winter conditions."
https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/paradise-winter-access-faq.htm
Trail details: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8036588
Diagonally parked in a parallel universe
Diagonally parked in a parallel universe
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