I was on the Mtn in 2008...for those that remember, that spring was much like this one where the area had late heavy wet snowfalls, except in 08 it was followed by very warm temps which created massive wet heavy slides. We were almost hit by a giant skier triggered slide on the wilson and wound up assisting a splitboarder out of it. Needless to say we came off the mtn the next day.
here is a pic, if it will work? those tiny tiny black dots at the base of the slide is our party. I was fortunate enough to have someone send this to me who was on the muir snowfield that day
Anyway..while this recent avy was much larger then most, it isn't anything new for Rainier. The weather is always all over the place, as are conditions as most everyone knows. This just goes to show that while this route along with the DC and Emmons is usually very crowded in comparison to other routes, it is not to be taken lightly. I believe that there is an extremely high false sense of security on these routes that should be stressed to independent climbers (Let alone solo climbers who do not have a permit let alone a solo permit to be above 10k)
I'll be on the mtn for 9 days starting saturday, Original plans were for the Fuhrer Finger. Obviously our plans have changed. The coulior is probably loaded with windblown. If the conditions arent good above 10k, there are plenty of other smaller incredible climbs within the park to get on.
Be safe out there guys, unfortunately with the current conditions, I dont think this is over...