Windy Days of Winters' Past In The Land of Slugs and Seracs

Windy day on Florence Peak (5,508'), looking in the direction of Ptarmagan Ridge and the NW face of Mount Rainier. Florence Peak stands in the northwest corner of MRNP. and can be reached by taking the Boundary Trail south (from Carbon River entrance), then hiking east (left) and following the top of Alki Crest to the summit rocks of Florence. On clear days, the views of Mt. Rainier are unequaled. Also seen in the middle foreground is Mother Mountain (6,480'). Less than 25 million years ago, Mother Mountain was built from successive lava flows erupting from Rainier's "satellite cones." The large empty cirques on the north of the subrange, dating to the Pleisocene, once cradled "voluminous glaciers." Another classic photo looking at Rainier from Alki Crest. February 1, 1986