Winter at Rainier 2010.02.08

On Monday, February 8, 2010, two unusual things happened. I found a blank day on my calendar, and the weather found a hole in our perpetually sodden winter skies. These combined to create the possibility of driving to Paradise, on the shoulder of Mt. Rainier (5,400 feet) without the need of chains. When I got there, the sun was spectacular. The skies were cerulean ... I think that's a sky color. It was a brilliant day. There were about 20 cars in the lot and although there was some coming and going, the number never increased. During the summer there are lots of hiking trails, but these were covered by more than 100 inches of Snow Monday. I don't own cross country skis or snow shoes, so I expected to take a few photos and leave. To my surprise, there were lots of well trod snowshoe trails and I was able to hike all over the mountain in simple boots by simply walking in their tracks. And I shot nearly 2,000 pictures. Here are the 50 or so best ones (in my humble opinion).

I spent about 4 hours hiking, and at the end of these pictures are photos of ALL the people i saw on the mountain. In effect, I had this magnificent place all to myself.

Feel free to use the comment button and let me know which ones you liked best!