Trip Report
Basic Snowshoe - Paradise (Mount Rainier)
Spring snowshoeing in the sun is fun!
Gabrielle Orsi
- Sat, Apr 21, 2018
- Basic Snowshoe - Paradise (Mount Rainier)
- Paradise
- Snowshoeing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Snow was softening due to solar radiation over the day, as to be expected. The snowpack was still quite deep - we measured it at 10 feet at our campsite near the Paradise visitor center the day before (4/20/18). The route was clear of obstacles.
This was an end-of-season spring snowshoeing trip: the snow was still deep and fun to snowshoe on. Strong winds the night before this trip smoothed the snow over and piled up powdery snow for us. It looked pristine! There were not very many visitors to the Paradise area on April 21 so we enjoyed snowshoeing with only 1 other group in our vicinity. At times, we laid own track in the snow.
After an easy saunter to 4th Crossing we headed towards the ridge where both the Mazama Ridge route and the Skyline route can be picked up. The snow was a little sugary so it was hard work climbing the ridge and challenging for novice snowshoers. Bright sunshine lifted our spirits but also made us quite warm. Views on top of the ridge were fantastic and we lingered for photos. Then we descended to a sheltered spot for lunch before retracing our steps to Paradise.
We had plenty of time before the Longmire gate closure, but these closures will be ending soon with the season for snow recreation winding down.