The Nisqually Glacier is possibly the most viewed Glacier in Mount Rainier National Park. Being directly in front of Paradise Visitor Center it is straight in front of your face. From the summit it pours down to just over 3,000 feet. For us this was an alternative to the standard descent from Camp Muir. Instead of dropping straight Josh Jason and I made our way right to ride through the crevasses in spring corn.
The snow level was hovering around 6000 feet and a forecast promised both sunshine and endless views. With that in mind Jason, Josh and I made the pilgrimage out to Paradise Visitor Center in a parking lot within Mount Rainier national park.
Snowboarding Down the Nisqually Glacier
We had hopes of getting both powder and corn as we made our way up to Camp Muir. Knowing that the Muir snowfield was boilerplate ice we decided to mix it up. Traversing towards the Nisqually Glacier all of a sudden the snow changed to a few inches of powder. With the conditions much better we starting riding down. Soon we were taking turns on the edge of crevasses being careful not to get too close.
As we got lower on the glacier the crevasses weren’t nearly as big. What was powder up high had quickly transitioned to corn but it was still fun. We made our way down as our thighs burned realizing we were only halfway down the slope. Along the way there were some nice little lips to boost off of.
Before long we were taking our final turns to the Nisqually bridge. Above us was 6,400 feet of our turns left behind on the snow. We went to Paradise not expecting much but in the end we had made the most out of the conditions. It was a beautiful and different day in Mount Rainier National Park.
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