Van Trump Park ski - June 19, 2025

On June 19, 2025, we returned to Van Trump Park via the Comet Falls trail, about 6 miles from Longmire at Mount Rainier National Park. While this hiking trail is a popular destination, not that many people pursue the very appealing ski options that await above the waterfall by entering the Van Trump Park zone. This zone is named after Philemon Beecher Van Trump and his partner Hazard Stevens, who are credited with the first ascent of Mount Rainier in August 1870.

Philemon Beecher Van Trump 1838-1916 (Public Domain)

Mostly the Comet Falls trail attracts day hikers rather than skiers or even climbers. The National Park Service writes, "The Kautz Glacier route (the Kautz) is the third most popular climbing route on Mount Rainier after the Disappointment Cleaver and Emmons-Winthrop. It is also a considerable step up in commitment and difficulty from the Disappointment Cleaver or Emmons-Winthrop routes. The approach is long and the climbing route itself requires a high level of proficiency in ice climbing and glacier travel. The route is popular with guides and independent climbers alike. You can expect to see a few other parties on the weekends, but on the weekdays, it is possible to have the route to yourself." 

Another factor limiting crowds here is the small parking lot at the Comet Falls trailhead. With the early start (~6:00am) required to experience the best snow conditions, parking was not an issue for our party. The parking lot was certainly overflowing when we returned to our cars (true each time we have skied here). 

The ratio of effort - carrying skis and hiking to the snow line - to reward is pretty well-balanced in June, in my view, with about 3 miles of hiking on dirt, ascending from about 3600 feet at the trailhead to just under 6,000 feet to reach Van Trump Park. As long as you stay below 10,000 feet, a Mount Rainier climbing permit is not required. We have aimed on our ski trips here to reach about 8,000 feet elevation before skiing down, which makes for a full day. 

Between the slope angles and the snow quality and firmness, we have needed a mix of tools to ascend - ski crampons, boot crampons (while carrying skis), ice axes. Sometimes attempting to skin up or create a skin track across a slope of still-cold icy granular isothermal snow on skins alone just does not work. Timing is key to obtain the best snow conditions - firm for ascending, softer for descending. 

En route to skiing, the dramatic waterfall is well worth the small detour, but for the skiing (and skinning on your skis) you really need to reach what I think of as the "entrance" to Van Trump Park, a large relatively flat area. (Do not take the left fork for Mildred Point). Unfolding spectacularly front of you is the undulating, almost stair-stepped terrain offering many options. Traveling through the lightly wooded park "entrance" and veering looker's right up and over the shoulder of a small knob is typically how we have gained access to the wide open, treeless slopes. If this area is not fully snow-covered there is a path beaten to the top of this knob, where the most intrepid hikers tend to stop. On the descent be sure to regain the knob and not descend too far into the drainage of Van Trump Creek - i.e., cut skier's right. There are some islands of rocks for taking breaks on the climb up but watch for moats. 

Finally, I was pleased to be able to make some contributions to community science by using my smartphone to log various patches of "watermelon snow," colored pink by algae, for the Living Snow Project.

Resources

• Washington Trails Association entry on the Comet Falls trail
• National Park Service page on Comet Falls
• Trail conditions at Mount Rainier National Park
• Climbing - Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
• Caltopo map
• Living Snow Project – community enabled science to track snow algae blooms across mountains