A White Christmas at Whittaker Mountaineering

Winter arrived one week ago Friday when we were closing up the shop, and the day's heavy rain turned to fat white flakes. That night I went to a friend's house a half an hour away. When I left at 6:30, Ashford was it's normal, gray, rainsoaked self. When I returned three hours later it had completely transformed into a winter mountain wonderland. In the past week we have had easily a few feet of accumulation here in Ashford, with Paradise reporting accumulations of 54 inches currently, and Camp Muir reporting depths of 98 inches.

The snow is stunningly beautiful, creating idyllic mountain scenes everywhere you turn. It is creating the perfect backdrop to everyone's holiday celebrations. The Snowplay Area opened at Paradise and people are coming to rent snow tubes and snowshoes to play in the beautiful thick powder that has blanketed Mt. Rainier. This afternoon we are preparing for yet another storm. This one bringing up to a foot or two of more snow and high winds, which means possible power losses in the area. People are rolling out the generators and stopping in for last minute foul weather gear. It is a trade off though for living so close to beautiful trails to XC Ski, snowshoe, and sled.

Here are some photos from around Basecamp and the Park showing off the bounty of snow from this weeks storms. Stay warm! ~Whittaker Mountaineering

Basecamp!

Whittaker Mountaineering


Picnic Tables!


The Mountain Haus


Snowshoeing Eagle Peak in the Park


The Sun Came out for a Day!

Frozen Nisqually River