Dropping into the South slope of Glacier Basin
Snowboarding down Yakima Peak

On Memorial day weekend Mount Rainier National park opens the gates to its NE side up to White River Campground (usually a month later sunrise opens). Dan, Tim and myself wanted to go touring but the weather was looking nasty so we decided to head to Glacier Basin and Yakima Peak if the weather didn’t work out.

Being stubborn we decided to head in Friday night an build a snowcave for shelter then ride both Saturday and Sunday but the Weather had other plans. Conditions were horrible the first night we got soaked building the snowcave and it started puking snow on the outside.

The next morning we woke up to limited visibility and about a foot of fresh so we hiked up a south facing run to do a quick warmup lap.

Enjoying the view in Glacier Basin in Mount Rainier National Park
Enjoying the view in Glacier Basin in Mount Rainier National Park
Walking on the ridge of Glacier Basin in a total whiteout
Walking on the ridge of Glacier Basin in a total whiteout

Once we made it up we had Tim go first and with his first turn he caused a big wet slide so it was obvious we were going to have to be careful.

Dropping into the South slope of Glacier Basin
Dropping into the South slope
Riding next to the rocks for added visibility in Mount Rainier National Park
Riding next to the rocks for added visibility
Dan kicking up some snow
Dan kicking up some snow
Dan skiing into Glacier Basin
Dan skiing into Glacier Basin
Dan skiing the lower slopes of Glacier Basin
Dan skiing the lower slopes

After seeing the wet slide and being completely Soaked we decided to head out and stay the night at the Crystal Mountain Dorms and head up to Chinook Pass the next day instead.

When we drove up to Chinook Pass we decided to head over to Yakima Peak and see if we could find some good lines to ride.

Heading out to Yakima Peak up on Chinook Pass
Heading out to Yakima Peak
Making our way to the top of Yakima Peak
Making our way to the top of Yakima Peak

After making it up to the top all we could find was one solid North facing slope in mediocre snow but we made the most out of it.

Dan dropping off a cornice into the North face of Yakima Peak
Dan dropping off a cornice into the North face of Yakima Peak
Dropping in with a stunning view of Rainier in the Background.
Making my way down the face of Yakima Peak
Making my way down the face
Riding into Yakima basin near Chinook Pass
Riding into Yakima basin

Once we were done with the line we decided it was time to head back to the car and call it a day.

Dan skiing back to the car up on Chinook Pass
Dan skiing back to the car

The trip was a learning experience to say the least but we had a great time exploring Glacier Basin and Yakima Peak over the weekend. Soon we were back at the car up on Chinook Pass.

Thank you for reading this trip around Corral Pass. If you want to see more ski tours within Crystal Mountain Backcountry check out this link.