Eagle Peak Saddle — Friday, Dec. 9, 2005

Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise

Got started late (after noon). The snowshoe trail is in excellent shape, moderately travelled in lower section. Donned 'shoes @TH, though boots would be fine to 3700' or so. At 4965' a traverse of an avalanche slope began. We'd been here in summer and knew there was a left switchback somewhere near here (topos show it too) that would avoid the open slope. But the lone prior snowshoer to this point had continued straight across, and we chose to follow their tracks. However, a temperature inversion (32 deg @ TH, 55 deg @5000') created sorta' wet slab conditions, and as we moved across numerous recent small snow slides were visible. Got progressively more cautious and turned around at 5080'. Under these conditions, we probably should have chosen to break new trail up the left treeline instead of following on the open slope. Beautiful Saturday on a nice trail; met two other single snowshoers. Road over the bridge in back of Longmire to TH was plowed but icy; we parked at road's end cul-de-sac.