Because of moderate avalanche danger and low visibility, the rangers at Paradise recommended Glacier Vista instead of Panaroma Point for our afternoon snowshoe.
Surface snow was fairly wet and clumpy, rather than powder, so our snowshoe spikes got packed tight with wet snow, making for slip-sliding both up and down some inclines. This was more a problem on the Nisqually loop.
Several other groups had been out and back to Glacier earlier in the day, leaving a trail of tracks from both boots (microspikes?) and snowshoes, but visibility was only about 20-30 feet (cloud + glare). We weren't familiar enough with the Glacier Vista route to be confident we could navigate back in those conditions, so we turned around after about 1.5 miles - nearly the end of the trail. Pathfinding skills are recommended for this trail, and with the way the clouds rolled in to obscure line of sight, we agree.
By contrast, Nisqually Loop was marked at regular intervals with bamboo poles and was easy for us beginners to navigate. We passed hikers on the loop who enjoyed their hike without snowshoes. We also saw a grouse very close there!
A worthwhile afternoon stomping in the snow in May.
Even though we were only out for three hours, we both got sunburned. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen on the mountain!
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