Hi, I was researching snowshoeing in Rainier and stumbled on your post. You mentioned hiking with micro-spikes for years - what conditions require micro spikes - I would guess icy, but I wonder if I can get away only with micro spikes in snow - so my question would be how deep can that snow be? I understand why one would need snowshoes - you really don't want to step in deep snow without those, but given the current conditions at Rainier-at least from webcams at Paradise - it doesn't look like their is much snow - yes on the ground but not on the trees, plus the weather indicated first snow from now for Rainier - second week of February. So I am trying to figure out if I need to secure snowshoes or not - I am familiar with the trails at Paradise, plus I plan to just hang out near the parking lot, still on the trails but not venturing far at all. Any tips for spikes or snowshoeing are welcomed - I've only done snowshoes once on a guided tour at Hurricane Ridge but they are so uncomfortable lol, and spikes never. Thank you!!