Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Camp Muir
Wonderful trip with a great group!
Nancy Lloyd
- Sat, May 20, 2017
- Alpine Scramble - Camp Muir
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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We used snowshoes from the parking lot to the chute leading up towards Panorama Pt. The chute had good boot tracks, so we switched to spikes or crampons which helped with traction on this steep section. Snowshoes up the chute would have been possible but very difficult due to the bumpy, uneven surface and icy spots. We continued all the way to Muir with spikes and carried our snowshoes and ice axes. Traction devices were not really necessary but they added a level of security with footing and saved some energy.
On the descent, we took our spikes off part way down since the snow was considerably softer. Had a couple of short glissades back to the top of the chute, then a fun glissade down to connect with the Skyline trail. By then, snowshoes were needed on the mashed potato snow back to Paradise.
Arrived at Paradise around 7:45 and the upper lot was almost full. We began at 8:30 with fairly firm snow, but we put snowshoes on right away. Sky was blue with scattered clouds mostly to the south and west, chilly starting out but we warmed up quickly. A cold east wind began to pick up around 7000' and was pretty consistent all the way to Muir, felt like 10 to 15 mph. We walked through a cloud briefly a couple of times, but everyone was prepared for the conditions and had a great sense of adventure! For several in my group it was the first time at Muir and first time at that elevation. Muir was cold and windy, but we found a nice protected area on the south side of the shelter to have lunch, summit treats, and take in the scene.
As planned, we enjoyed a relatively leisurely trek with plenty of time for short breaks and photo-ops. Six hours up, one hour at Muir, three hours back to Paradise; trip time includes breaks along the way. A very enjoyable trip!