Back Country Skiing on Mount Rainier

At my most recent job, I haphazardly made a promise to a colleague and friend at a happy hour that I would ski down Mount Rainier with him within a year. A year came and went, so I fell short, but finally this past weekend I at least partially made good on that word. Mind you I'm a pretty poor skiier. Fortunately, he's not only a very good skiier (and quite experienced at back country), but he also brings a lot of humility to the table, and made it a very fun experience despite my lack of skill. Thanks a lot Tim. In any case, it was a beautiful summer day. Mount Rainier beckoned.

We had to hike a couple of miles on boots due to the snow melting quickly this year. We then were able to skin up the rest of the way, although that wasn't much easier in my view. Needless to say the scenery throughout was phenomenal. We were able to see both Mt. Adams and Mt. Saint Helens behind us with quite a bit of clarity. The Rainier beer was another key touch.

We conquered the Muir Snowfields by early afternoon, finally arriving at Camp Muir. We saw a few people who were seemingly coming down be from summitting.

After struggling on the ski down, we arrived back at the edge of the snow and reverted back to hiking boots. We saw a number of mountain goats on the way down!

It was a long day, but very worthwhile. I was thrilled to be able to do this at least once in my life, and couldn't have asked for a better group to go up with.