Mount Rainier is one of the most iconic mountains in the United States. The Fuhrer Finger is an extremely proud ski line, with a 3,000' 40-degree couloir, and is one of the Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. The line was named for the leader of the first ascent of this line - Hans Fuhrer, who climbed it in 1920, though it wasn't skied until 1980. Skiing this line requires competence in a wide variety of technical skills, but for those up to the challenge, it's an incredible goal.
If you don't have extensive experience climbing/skiing volcanoes and glaciers, don't even think about it. Enjoy the pictures and work up to this one slowly.
Leave No Trace
If you choose to ski this route, please do your utmost to respect Leave No Trace principles, including carrying out everything that you bring in, from food and food wrappers to your feces (which should be blue-bagged and carried out). Rainier is an incredible place, and if we can all practice LNT principles, we'll be able to continue to visit this area for years to come.
The Basics
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Seasonality/Snow: This is a tough one. People have skied Rainier year round, but in general, most will make attempts on the Fuhrer Finger between April and May, depending on the snowpack.
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Snow Stability: This tour travels through extensive avalanche terrain, as well as glaciers. Be prepared and know how to assess safe snow conditions, there are a lot of things that can go wrong up there.
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Timing: One of the route cruxes. On summit day, you'll be skiing from 14,411' to 5,400'. You'll likely experience all snow conditions in the time that you're on the mountain. Make sure you're dialed on your time plans and ensure (among other things) that you'll be skiing the Upper Nisqually Glacier and the Finger after it's warm enough to get edges into, but not so it's so warm that it's all collapsing seracs, loose wet slides, and falling rocks.
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Objective Hazards: There are a ton of objective hazards on this route. An incomplete list: crevasses, seracs, rock fall, skiing injuries, lightning, other climbers, avalanches, etc. Have a plan to mitigate all these hazards, and talk them through with your partner beforehand.
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Route: There are two main ways that folks ski the Finger, neither is better, the decision depends on your priorities.
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Climb and descend the Fuhrer Finger:
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Pros: You get to scout the line you're about to ski (especially important to understand how the route moves through the Upper Nisqually Glacier), you don't have to carry your camp up and over if you don't want to.
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Cons: You're exposed to a lot of loose rock hazard while climbing up the Fuhrer Finger. Most climbers will try to be above the Fuhrer Finger before the sun warms the south facing rocks, which begin to shed.
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Climb the Ingraham Glacier, descend the Fuhrer Finger - this trip report will describe this approach
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Pros: It's faster and simpler travel, you can take advantage of the well-trodden climbing trail and do less route finding, there's no significant overhead rock hazard on the Ingraham Glacier
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Cons: You have to find your way through the Upper Nisqually Glacier while skiing it from the top, nor do you know what the conditions are in the Fuhrer Finger till you're entering it from the top, and you have to carry all your gear up and over.
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Number of Days:
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It’s possible to do this tour in one single day, but you’ll need to be extremely fit. Groups regularly take two days to ski this route, and either ascent route (Fuhrer or Ingraham) you choose has good camping.
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Permitting
Equipment
Depending on when you’re going and what the snow is like, you’ll need some equipment to keep having fun. There are the obvious things, including your backcountry ski/splitboarding setup, personal safety gear (helmets, goggles, medkit, etc.), and appropriate layers to keep yourself warm and dry. And then there's the technical gear and the overnight gear:
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Avalanche safety gear: beacon, shovel, probe, and the know-how to use it!
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Approach Shoes: You’ll almost certainly be doing some walking to get up to and down from the snow.
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Traction: You'll likely want all the traction:
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Ski crampons: these will be essential.
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Boot crampons: Essential.
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Lightweight ice axe and/or BD Whippet: Probably bring both if you've got them.
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Glacier Gear: You'll need a glacier kit. This means harnesses, rope, and materials to set up anchors and hauls, and the know-how to put it all together.
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Radios: Radios are becoming more and more common in the backcountry skiing world, as they dramatically improve communication and safety, especially on more complex tours like this one.
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Overnight Gear: This shouldn’t be your first winter overnight trip - bring the right gear to keep yourself comfortable and safe.
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All the big-mountain backup gear in case you get stuck up there for a while.
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GPS/Navigation: You’ll need a GPS and a pre-loaded track for this tour, as navigation can get surprisingly tricky up in the high country.
A disclaimer on this description and included GPX track - this line was skied on a single day with certain snow and avalanche conditions. The track described is a reasonable way to move through this terrain, and the description below mentions some of the hazards found during the trip. However, conditions may be significantly different when you visit this area. The advice in this trip report is not meant to be followed perfectly - you will need to adapt the route for the conditions you find and for your party’s abilities.
The Trip
This trip report will describe the Ingraham Direct approach.
Begin by skinning north out of the Paradise parking area and making your way up to Glacier Vista, following the standard winter trail. Take a look at the Fuhrer Finger if you can - how filled in does it look? Can you see any avy debris?
Continue climbing up Pan Face, then up the Muir Snow Field to Camp Muir, where you'll find your first camping opportunity, as well as the last toilets on the route. Once you're ready to continue, rope up and cross the Cowlitz Glacier, punch through Cathedral Gap, and hop onto the Ingraham Glacier. You'll pass Ingraham Flats shortly - this is a great place to camp if you're not doing this in a day. Continue up Rainier via the Ingraham Glacier. In early season, most mountaineers will be taking this route, so it'll be well beaten in. Cruise up past huge crevasses to the summit crater, find the summit register, and prepare for your descent.
This is the heady part. Ski south from the crater lip cautiously, making sure you're snaking your way through the crevasses to bring yourself to the entrance of the Fuhrer Finger. If the Upper Nisqually is extremely broken up, it's possible to bypass parts of it via the Wapowety Cleaver, though this is generally steep and icy and can require rappelling. If you're planning on skiing the Wapowety Cleaver, it may be better to climb the Fuhrer Finger so you can get eyes on it.
Once you've worked your way through the Upper Nisqually, you'll reach the entrance of the Finger. A GPS is very helpful for this part. Check below you to determine whether anyone is climbing up the Finger, and when you're clear, rip the line in style!
At the base of the Finger, catch your breath - skiing above 10k' is hard! - before making your way down the Wilson Glacier. This is another heavily crevassed glacier, so be intentional about how and when in the day you're crossing it. Your goal is to get across to where Pebble Creek flows out of the east slopes. Ski down the lateral moraine, climb back up to Glacier Vista, then enjoy cruisy low-consequence turns all the way back to Paradise.
From the parking lot, enjoy unbelievable views of the line you just skied.
Participate in your backcountry community!
Congratulations, you just finished a pretty tough line! Please consider posting a trip report in the local backcountry skiing pages (Facebook, Turns-All-Year, etc.), as there are definitely other skiers who are eyeing this line and wondering about conditions! And also please consider submitting an observation to NWAC describing the travel conditions and snow stability you found! Submitting NWAC observations and writing trip reports on forums are great ways to contribute to the community and improve avalanche forecasts. It's also incredibly valuable to read the NWAC observations and trip reports written by others, as they'll help keep you updated on what the mountains are doing on a day-to-day basis. This will help determine whether you have a fun time next time you get out!
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