Ohanapecosh Glacier is one of those areas in Mount Rainier National Park that seldomly has people ski touring out to. Being off the backside of Fryingpan Gap it is a relatively far distance for a day tour. I had always looked at topograpical maps and wondered what was out there. On a trip out to the Cowlitz Chimneys I finally had a good view and knew that one day I wanted to head out to the Ohanapecosh Glacier.

Jon Garrison and I left the Fryingpan Creek trailhead around 9:30a.m. Following the trail we made our way up around 4 miles before reaching continuous snow. Making it up to Summerland it was time to start skinning into the alpine. Wrapping around Fryingpan Creek we made our way up the Fryingpan Glacier. Soon we were standing on the summit of Whitman Crest.

One of the reasons we chose the Ohanapecosh Glacier was the fact that it was in the rain shadow of Mount Rainier. We rested at our high point as the clouds devoured our views in all directions. Luckily we were able to scope our run on the way up knowing that the route to the East went. After giving up on the chance of the sun coming back out we dropped into the unknown.

Snowboarding off Whitman Crest to Ohanapecosh Glacier

Riding off the summit of Whitman Crest we made some amazing turns down the low angled Fryingpan glacier. Soon we were standing above the Ohanapecosh Glacier and searching for a route through the cliffed out cirque. Finally we spotted the line we were looking and it was time to drop in. The upper headwall was steep but the slopes quickly lowered in angle on the Ohanapecosh glacier.

We stayed on the side of the Moraine all the way down to Indian flats at 5200 feet passing well over 100 waterfalls along the way. The snow in the gut was a weird texture I hadn’t seen before it looked like a mixture between avi chunder and glacial debris probably caused by rain.

For our route back we decided to follow the wonderland trail back up to Fryingpan Gap. It was a relatively easy and very scenic route. By the time we made it to the gap the clouds rolled in and visibility had become an issue. After a few minutes of waiting the clouds cleared up for our run down The steep North face of Fryingpan Gap to Summerland. The snow was still in good condition all the way down to the trail.

At 6000 feet we put our gear on our backs and packed out the final 4 miles back to the car. When we arrived the clouds had swarmed in and we had just dodged a bullet.

In Conclusion

The Ohanapecosh Glacier area is a stunning place for the views alone. If you are willing to go those extra miles it is well worth heading out to. I was so impressed that I came back to the area a few years later. That trip report with way more photos can be found here.

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