Perfect day for a snowshoe trip at Paradise! Gate to Paradise was open by 8:45 when we arrived and the road was clear and dry. We were the first car in the lot, although others arrived shortly after. Restrooms are open and stocked. 

Started out with spikes but switched to snowshoes after about 0.5 mile when we started post-holing a bit. Gorgeous day, and everyone behind us on the way up went to Panorama Point or elsewhere so we had the trail to ourselves after the split. Trail was busier on the way back but everyone was great about passing with space, which was much appreciated!

We observed quite a few roller balls on the steeper slopes of the Panorama Point trail area, not sure how recent they were but be aware. 

Great day in the park with perfect weather, although I learned an important lesson about remembering to re-apply sunscreen on sunny days in the snow!

We did a loop ski tour of Glacier Vista, kind of skirted around Panorama Point, went toward McClure Rock and took a break before descending near the Van Trump monument and came out via Edith Creek. We idea was to avoid crowds. Mission accomplished!

The snow is VERY heavy and wet. Kind of impossible to ski so it just turned into a mellow tour day. Snowshoers were also struggling with the heavy snow, most of it balling up or collecting on the bottom of the snowshoe. 

Wet loose activity everywhere. & Where there are tees, there are tree bombs 

This loop- 5.5 miles and 2000 feet of gain. We know this area well, always use GPS

Snowshoed panorama point today. Road bit icy after Longmire, lots of cars used chains one their way up and down. Both parking lots were almost full.
We arrived afternoon and enjoyed broken and packed trails around Paradise, it was easy walk up to Panorama point. After taking some lunch and photos we decided to complete the loop and go further and not back. Trail is less packed after panorama but goes easy as well. Descent from skyline trail to golden gate trail is bit steep but doable.
Beautiful day.

Beautiful day. I arrived in the park by 9:30 am and needed chains by Christine Falls. Road to Paradise had ice and snow. Parking lot was almost full by 10:30 am. Trail was easy to find and navigate. I just followed the tracks. Lots of people, but excellent photo ops. There is some steepness in places, but well worth the climb. I would start no latter than 1 pm to ensure enough time to enjoy the view and make it back down to Longmire before the gate closes. Bath rooms at Paradise were open. You can talk to rangers at both Longmire and Paradise. They recommend staying away from the edge at glacier vista to avoid crevasses. I would recommend this trail to anyone. You don't have to go all the way to the top to get a great view. I could see all of the Tatoosh Range, Adams and St. Helen's from half way up.

Tried skinning up to Panorama Point, but the visibility was so poor it was bordering on whiteout conditions, so I decided to come down and got a single lap in from Glacier Vista.

I took the way up near Alta Vista and came down the west side of the ridge. Unfortunately I went down a bit too low and it was a bit of a pain in the butt to get back to the Paradise parking lot, but I saved myself from going down the gully between Alta Vista and Glacier View (the potential for getting buried due to avy conditions was high there in my mind).

The last 100’ down to the parking lot was nasty chundery conditions because of all of the folks who were booting the first quarter mile and riding sleds down the hill (which technically isn’t allowed in the park right now since the hill is not open due to COVID-19 :/..).

I accidentally fell into a 4"~6" hole near the parking lot as I failed to spot it with my foggy goggles ;D.

About 75 or so cars were stuck at Paradise due to a crash that’s happened down the road near Narada Falls, so it’s something to keep in mind when going downhill (it may take longer than expected due to inclement road conditions). It took about 2 hours for them to sand/plow the roads and clear the crash and several folks were driving down super slow: 5~10mph is really slow if you have chains on (check the manual that came with your chains to see what speeds they're rated for, as all chains support speeds faster than 5~10mph).

PS A big shout-out/thanks to all of the rangers/staff that were up at Longmire/Paradise yesterday. 2 rangers in particular were trying to help me track down a tire pump since one of my tires was a bit under-inflated; I got down safely to Ashford and refilled the tire, making the rest of the way safely home.

Snow Conditions

I didn’t see anything that resembled avalanche conditions, but the visibility was poor and enough snow had fallen that any debris which had fallen in days prior was covered by fresh wet/dry pow.

That being said, the base/rain crust is very solid along the trail with some expected postholing around trees and other less compacted areas.