Yesterday Chris, Brett, and I went snowshoeing at Mount Rainier. It was my first time both at Mount Rainier and snowshoeing but it won’t be my last.
Fun fact – did you know you can rent snowshoes (and presumably skies too) from REI? And it’s well worth being an REI member as rentals are half off for members.
We left Seattle around 9:45a and got there a bit after noon. It snows enough in Mount Rainier National Park that you either need AWD, chains, or both depending on road conditions. We were lucky that Chris’s vehicle is AWD and the roads were decent as we didn’t have chains. Note that park rangers have checkpoints to ensure you have the right vehicle/chains before allowing you to continue. It was after bypassing one of these checkpoints that Park Ranger Margaret Anderson pulled over Benjamin Colton Barnes and was shot and killed just a week ago. The park was closed and only opened yesterday. The $15 park admission was waived in her memory.
We parked at Narada Falls1 and hiked up to Reflection Lake, which was covered in snow and not reflecting much of anything. The weather was overcast and periodically lightly snowing but altogether lovely. We saw 3 foxes along our way, a gaggle of German ladies, and a smattering of other hikers.
I ended up being a smidge overdressed as I got really hot. My story is that I was prepared for colder weather — that and I’m highly exothermic. Luckily my ski pants and jacket have ventilation areas which helped.
I can’t wait to go again!
1 Of no relations to the Vashta Nerada, thankfully!
Digital Ramblings 
Do you own snow skis?
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Re: Do you own snow skis?
No. I’ve skied for years but never taken the plunge and gotten my own skies or boots. I tend to go in spurts with a couple of years between them so it seems non-optimal buying and storing them instead of just renting when I need them.
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Re: Do you own snow skis?
So I don’t know if you saw my 2011 New Year’s Eve posting, in which I talked about getting rid of my ski clothes in a sad acceptance that I probably won’t ski any more in my lifetime.
I also mentioned that I hadn’t been able to bring myself to get rid of my skis, boots, poles, boot bag, and ski bag yet, though, and would probably do that this year.
I don’t know how particular you are about getting equipment that works best with your weight and height and all that, but being the recreational skier I was, I didn’t pay much attention to all that.
At any rate… all this is to say that if you were going to be making your way east this year, and it involved a stay at Chez Martin, you’d be welcome to check out my equipment (TWSS) and take anything you want. I also have a nice pair of goggles that even have a fan on them to deter them fogging up. :-)
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Re: Do you own snow skis?
Ah, very good to know. Let me think on it. Not sure what it would cost to check skis on a plane vs just buying some locally, but other than that I’d love to!
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