If you have ever been to the summit of Crystal Mountain on a blue sky day the view of Mount Rainier is dominating. A world of wide open glaciers, tight couloirs and all in-between. The area has enough terrain to keep a mountaineer busy for decades. The northeast side is a popular summertime area but once winter comes they shut down the road. The only way to access it is via a snowmobile riding the 16 miles of road between Crystal Springs Snowpark and the White River campground. Our plan was to ride Interglacier in early spring conditions.
Heading Up the Glacier Basin Trail
An hour and a half after leaving the Crystal Mountain snow park we were skinning up the Glacier Basin trail. Hiking along the summer trail was slow and tedious. Well over a foot of freshly accumulated snow had fallen the day before. We had to work for each step as we put in the skin track.
We weaved through and traversed along the Glacier Basin trail passing numerous avalanche paths along the way. Two miles into the trek we reached a clearing in the old growth forest. From there we had our first up close glimpse of Glacier Basin. In the distance was east ridge of Mt. Ruth and the Northeast couloir. The Interglacier was still in the shade but the Emmons and Ingraham Glaciers on the upper slopes of Mount Rainier were in the sun.
After 3 miles of following the trail we found a small snow bridge and crossed the White River. It was early spring and the river below was raging from a constant melt cycle. From the south side of the river we were able to traverse the banks finally reaching Glacier Basin
Heading up Glacier Basin to ride the Interglacier in Early Spring
We were excited to see that we would be skinning in sunshine. Making our way into Glacier Basin everything felt so still and quiet. We still had a long ways before we would be riding down the Interglacier in early spring conditions.
To our north the Third Burrough stood prominent baking in the early spring sun. It was a steep and narrow line but from our vantage point it looked mellow and wide open. Being early spring it was still coated in a healthy a mid season snowpack.
By the time we reached the base of the Interglacier our bodies were exhausted. We were happy to see that we would be riding it in prime powder conditions. The temperature was below zero and the winds were light. Above us the snow was shin deep with nothing firm lurking.
The three thousand feet was climbed in a series of switchbacks navigating around convex slopes and steering towards mellower slopes along the way. What was at first sunshine dwindled away as the sun fell behind Rainier. The temperature was dropping dramatically as we reached the top of Steamboat Prow.
Preparing to Snowboard the Interglacier in Early Spring Conditions
Transitioning at the top of we took in the scenery while preparing to snowboard. To the northwest we could barely see the Puget Sound in the sea of clouds. To the east we could see the avalanche scars on the backside of Crystal Mountain. We were alone without any wind and below us was going to be some amazing turns on the Interglacier in early spring.
Boot rode down first making effortless turns on the main face, hooting and hollering along the way. I was next up and after a quick traditional check for any left behind gear I was ripping down the slopes. The snow stayed consistently soft for the entirety of the run, riding 4600 feet to the White River crossing before stopping.
We followed our skin track back to the snowmobiles just after the sunset, making our way back to the snowpark just after 8 p.m. It was a great day riding the Interglacier in early Spring
In total we hiked over ten miles, 5400 feet and 13 hours for a single run.
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