Burgers and Corn – after work dusk patrol

After a fun weekend riding lifts at Mt Bachelor, the weather was shaping up nicely for a mid week after work run to Hoodoo for an annual burgers and corn “Dusk Patrol.” This year, Mark and Niel were game to join Andy, Todd and I in the hopes of harvesting some corn, so we had a nice crew as we headed out from the office and up the McKenzie along highway 126. The water in the McKenzie was a beautiful shade of deep green as we made our way past Vida and then Blue River, and before long Hoodoo came into view from the Highway. A few minutes later, we arrived in the parking lot, applied skins to our skis, shouldered packs and started skinning. The clouds from the morning had given way to mostly sunny skies, and the temperature was pleasant with a slight breeze to keep us cool as we skinned. Standing on top of Hoodoo and soaking in the views, I thought to myself about how much better this was than sitting in the office….

My Burton DIY Split and Mt Washington
,My Burton DIY Split and Mt Washington

For our first run, the group opted to ski the northwest face, thinking the exposure would lead to decent snow given the aspect with respect to the sun. I dropped in first, making several nice sweeping turns halfway down the slope, then stopped to setup to shoot photos of the others as they skied by. The below shots of Andy with the sun in the background came out nicely……

Andy enjoying the evening corn
Andy enjoying the evening corn
Harvesting some ripe corn

We regrouped at the bottom and joined back up with our uptrack and skinned back to the top. The route selection for run number two would be the east face, which was starting to firm back up as the sun set towards the west. Before dropping in, I snapped a photo of Andy, Todd, Niel and Mark with Mt Washington in the background.

The crew atop Hoodoo
The skiers atop Hoodoo

The turns down the east face were prime corn, and we caught some of the action with my new telephoto Canon 70-300 mm lens, including the shots below of Todd and Niel.

Todd dropping a knee
Todd dropping a knee
Niel getting some of the action
Niel getting some of the action

We skied about two thirds down the east face, and opted to head back up from there for another lap. I wasn’t paying attention and ended up losing one of my board halves, which proceeded to cruise the remaining one third down the slope, so I had to butt glissade down while the others started up. I ended up getting to my board half and was able to catch up with the others in time for one last lap before burgers and beers at the base. Andy grabbed the camera and snapped some photos of all of us as we dropped in for a third lap. The snow didn’t disappoint….

Mark's turn to drop in...
Mark getting some action on lap number three
Matt harvesting some fine corn
Matt harvesting some fine corn

The turns to the base were sweet, and we even scored some fast snow across the flats all the way to the car. I stopped before I was all the way down and snapped a few pics of Mt Washington in the nice evening light. Once at the base, we moved the vehicles to find a suitable spot out of the breeze to grill the burgers and enjoy a few beers. Drinking a cold one and grilling up burgers in the parking lot always feels better after a day of work…….

Mt Washington in the evening light
Apres ski activities

The burgers had all the fixings, including onions, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. and even some fresh cheddar Niel brought from a local farm. The little alcove we’d found in the snow bank worked well for grilling and kept the breeze from blowing the grill out, and soon we were enjoying burgers and kettle chips with a view of Hoodoo and Hayrick.

Seasoning the burgers
The grub
The grub

After a second round of burgers and brews, I set up the tripod and snapped a picture of the crew with Hayrick and Hoodoo in the background. Todd, being the jokester he is, flipped the camera off as I was snapping a few photos with my remote, so everyone busted out laughing, which was captured in the below photo…..

The crew
The crew

With turns had, and burgers and beers finished, it was time to hit the road and head for the barn. The ride back down Highway 126 and the McKenzie was pleasant, and I found myself dreaming of the spring turns to come. Those turns would have to wait however, as a road trip to Southern California and Disneyland were in the works for the following week for me and my family. In the meantime, however, there’s always time for burgers and corn! Here’s a parting shot from the day…..

Ripping a heelside turn
Ripping a heelside turn

Willamette Pass Backcountry, March 30, 2014

Sunday March 30th was to be the last day of operations at Willamette Pass, and with a recent storm that dropped a couple feet of snow above 6000 feet, my decision to head out for some turns came easily. After talking with Dan & John who’d skied the area on Saturday, it sounded like the best plan for Sunday would be to utilize the lifts to access the backcountry beyond the resort.

The plan was to meet Dan, Joe and John at the patrol shack at 8:30 am in time to catch the 9:00 am chair. I woke extra early in the morning, hoping to get out with the camera and snap a few shots somewhere along the way to the Pass before making turns. There was lots of water in the side creeks along Highway 58 due to the recent rainfall, but I decided to try to get a decent picture of Salt Creek Falls. Arriving at the snow park to find the road still gated, I walked down the snow covered road for about 15 minutes to the falls, found a suitable overlook that offered the best vantage point for a picture, setup up the tripod, and snapped some photos. There was a variable wind that, along with the falling snow made it challenging to get a good exposure around 2 seconds, but the below picture turned out ok.

Salt Creek Falls
Salt Creek Falls

I was hoping to hike to the base of the 286 foot falls, but given the road closure I didn’t have enough time to do that and still make it to the Pass by 8:30 am. Oh well, next time. After the photo shoot, I hiked back to my car and was sitting at the Patrol shack by 8:30 am when Dan, Joe and John showed up. We caught the chair at five till nine, and made a couple of laps in the area before venturing out of bounds. West Peak was our first objective, and after a short bootpack, we found ourselves standing on top of the peak contemplating options…..

Looking back at the Pass
Looking back at the Pass from West Peak

After testing the stability with a cornice cut and a few other tests, we elected to drop into the steep treed north side. Dan dropped in first, followed by John, Joe and I. The snow was soft and nice, but in the thick trees we did find a crust below the surface. Lower down, in a nice opening, the snow was perfect. I made several turns after John, with each slash providing a nice face shot. Dan followed me, and I was able to capture a few photos as he enjoyed the nice pow…..

Dan enjoying the pow
Dan enjoying a nice turn
Turns through the meadow
Turns through the meadow

We continued to make turns down to the flats below, and eventually made our way back to the resort for an early lunch. After lunch, it was time to head back out to West Peak for another lap, prior to exploring some other areas in the vicinity. Our second run was equally as nice as the first, providing light, stable powder and great turns.

A shot from the top
Matt on top of West Peak

After West Peak, we decided to venture in the other direction and check out the conditions. Our objective were the nice north facing glades that offer short 300 foot shots where we could utilize a well placed boot pack. The conditions didn’t disappoint. Joe and John dropped in first, and I followed, enjoying each turn. At the bottom, we loaded our packs with skis and Joe put in the boot pack up the steep slope, punching in two feet or better with each step. It was worth it however, as we utilized the track several more times over the course of the afternoon.

Late March turns
Matt riding through the glades
Joe ripping it up
Joe ripping it up

On the third or fourth lap, I pulled out the camera and snapped a few pictures of Joe and John booting up the slope with my wide angle lens set at 17mm. At this focal length, the trees really dominate the scene, which was my intention. At home later, I converted my favorite shot to black and white (shown below), which is a great medium for winter photos……

Heading back for another lap
Heading back for another lap

A few more powder laps followed, with each one nearly as good as the last, though the temperature was starting to climb to just above freezing. I snapped the below photo John ripping by me just before he sprayed my lens with a bunch of snow. The second shot below is a shot of me taken by Joe….

John getting some action
John getting some action
Matt getting another pow turn
Another pow turn

Around 3:00 pm, we decided to make one more lap before heading back to the area to help with closing the resort. Before heading down, John had an idea he wanted to try. A year ago or so, I snapped a picture of a fellow patroller which ended up on the cover of Ski Patrol Magazine. The powder shot was really nice, however Raleigh had the pole in his rear hand angled upward in a way that I think showed some nice style. John, however, has always given Raleigh crap about it, and now he wanted to try a picture with him, Dan and Joe all skiing with the new “style.” If it turned out, he wanted to print it, put it on the cover of a Black Diamond catalog, and give it to Raleigh and let him know several of his friends had a cover shot as well. So, we decided to give it a go. As the three skiers skied by me, I snapped several photos and the photo below makes me laugh. For some reason it reminds me of the Three Bears.

The three bears
The three bears

After the our last lap, we skinned back out to the area, in time to catch the last chair. I had a binding issue so the others went ahead once we were back at the area. I was able to fix my binding with a spare part from my repair kit, and made it back to the lift in time for one last trip up. I loaded the last chair at 4:01 pm, and due to a late injury on one of the runs, a sled needed to go back to the top of EPA, so I grabbed a Cascade 100 and it accompanied me on my last lift ride of the season at the Pass. As I prefer to do, I made turns down RTS for the last run of the season, before helping to close the lower mountain. As usual, saying goodbye to the ski season at the Pass was bittersweet. I’ll miss the fun and camraderie of patrolling during the winter, but am definitely looking forward to corn runs and the spring climbing season. Below is a parting shot of Joe riding some nice powder from our day….

A parting pow shot
A parting pow shot