Mount Fremont is one of those peaks near Sunrise Visitor Center that still hold snow one the road opens in mid July. The Peak and numerous sub summits and options for skiable lines so it is the perfect area to spend some time in. The are is one of the more popular areas in Mount Rainier National Park. There is a hiking trail to a lookout tower on the true summit but we decided to camp on the ridge. This would give us great views and skiing directly from camp.

A Little Bit of Info on Mount Fremont

Mount Fremont is a 7,317 foot summit located on the Northeast side of Mount Rainier National Park. It is situated northwest of Sunrise Visitor center and has a popular trail leading to the Mount Fremont Lookout tower which was built in 1933. It is accessed via the Sunrise Road which is open between the Months of July through October.

 

Heading to Mount Fremont from Sunrise Visitor Center

With the Sunrise road finally opened in Mid July Scott and I arrived at the Visitor Center early in the afternoon. We packed our gear for an overnight camping trip as we started hiking the Mount Fremont Trail. As we made it up to the ridge before Frozen Lake we left the trial and headed for the bowl to the north. 30 minutes after leaving the car we were heading for our first turns of the trip.

Our First Turns of the Trip

Since the area was north facing we spotted a small ribbon of snow that went to the valley below. From our vantage point we could see it went so we strapped in and started riding towards the basin.

The snow was soft corn since it had been baking in the sun as we rode down. There weren’t many lines that made it through the steep upper face but the lower apron had a much better snowpack. Our plan was to wrap around the ridge in the photo below and hike up the valley behind.

Making our way to the Camping Spot

Once we were in the valley we started heading towards the next valley. We had seen that there was still good skiing on north facing slopes and the next area had some bigger bowls. We made our way through the ribbons of snow and hoping boulder to boulder.

Making our way into the next valley we did a high traverse over to towards the western most bowl. With each step the terrain got steeper and steeper as we used our ice axes and carefully made steps.

Once in the bowl that we had planned on going to we were a bit to high. Putting on my snowboard we traversed to the main lake that was still buried under a late spring snowpack.

Once in the basin we hiked up to the high ridge and dropped off our gear. From our vantage point we had a perfect view of the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier and the Burroughs. It would be a perfect spot for the sunrise but before setting up camp we went out to get some laps.

Taking Laps of the Northeast Bowl of Mount Fremont

The bowl had enough snow so we could ride all the way to the lake. So I made my way over to a nice chute before dropping in. It was nice and soft late spring corn that was almost slush and every turn was edgeable making my way towards the lake below.

We would ride down to the lake below before heading back up on our bootpack. The lines were about 500 feet so it was a great area to get turns from camp.

After I was in the basin Scott made his way down the same line. It was the perfect fall line run for an afternoon ski.

Once back on the ridge we still had another hour of daylight so we decided to do one final run for the day. This time we dropped directly into the bowl from camp.

The Perfect Spot for a Sunset

Once at the lake we put our boards onto our backpacks and started making our way back up the ridge. After hiking up twice it was now a staircase. 30 minutes later we were back at camp and taking in a stunning sunset as we cooked dinner and took in the light show. As the sea of clouds swarmed around the mountains we had a stunning view of Skyscraper Mountain.

As the sun started dropping over the Puget Sound the colors really starting brightening. Off in the distance we kept looking at the Moraine Park area wondering what the skiing would be like. Before long it was time to get in the sleeping bag. We wanted to be awake early in the morning to catch the sunrise so we set our alarms and went to bed.

Day 2 of the Trip

We woke up 30 minute before sunrise as we didn’t want to miss the show. As we drank coffee we watch the early morning alpenglow cover the upper mountain. We had a perfect view of the Emmons Glacier and Ingraham Glacier climbing routes on the upper slopes. Down lower we could see Mount Ruth, the Interglacier and the Winthrop Glacier. In front of us was the Burroughs.

After eating breakfast and a few cups of coffee we felt like the snow had softened up again. We made sure to take lines next to the rocks as it would be warmed then the middle of the glacier.

Heading Back to Sunrise Visitor Center

After two laps we felt like we had enough of the bowl and it was time to head back to the car. We decided to retrace our route to the basin as it went quite a bit lower than the lake. Once we packed up our backpacks it was time to drop for our final run into the east facing basin below.

We were able to make it quite a ways down the valley as we milked our final turns. We kept joking that the further we rode the less we would have to hike Soon we were at the end of the snowline and hiking back towards the car at Sunrise.

We retraced our steps back to the original bowl we had skied in. Soon enough we were back over the ridge and walking down the Mount Fremont trail.

Once on the trail we were 30 minutes away from the car and on a busy trail. Numerous people asked us why we had skis and didn’t believe we had been skiing. There wasn’t that much snow around but we had made the most out of it. While most people had put there gear away for the season we were still making the most of the snowpack.

Thank you for reading this trip camping on Mount Fremont. If you want to see more ski tours within Mount Rainier Backcountry check out this link