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The dog days of summer we experienced in July and August were finally over, and that meant it was time for some September turns. Dan, Joe and I made plans to head out on Labor Day to Mt Hood, and check-in on the snow conditions since they were rapidly deteriorating, at least from what we could see on the Timberline webcam. I met Dan early as usual at the Harrisburg exit on I-5, and we carpooled up to the cop shop and picked up Joe in Albany. After a brief stop in Sandy to charge, we pulled into the Climber’s Lot a little after 8:00 am.

The mountain was looking pretty, and the Palmer was looking small, but there were turns to be had, so we got our gear together, shouldered packs, and headed out. Instead of heading up the road to Silcox, we headed over to the Mile Canyon to walk up that way. Joe had skied the canyon a few weeks prior, and was able to ski down quite low. Unfortunately, given the recent warm temps, the snow had melted quite a ways up and we were stuck in approach shoes for quite a ways.

A little over halfway up the Mile Canyon, we were able to get on snow and start skinning. As we donned skins, we met a few other skiers, including one who looked familiar. Turns out it was Silas Wild of Turns-All-Year fame. We chatted for a bit about TAY streaks and the good-old days of TAY past, and then continued on. Once we made our way to Silcox and the top of the Mile, it was a short hike on dirt and then back to skinning in the Palmer Canyon. The Palmer Canyon was also quite melted out on the top third prior to the mid-station, and then it was a longer than normal walk from the mid-station to where the snow remaining on the Palmer was waiting.

At the bottom of the Palmer, we donned skins once more and headed up. As we made our way about halfway up the Palmer, a bunch of other folks emerged below and it looked like, and sure enough was, the same crew out of Washington that we saw last year in September. It didn’t take long, and we were at the top of the snow on the Palmer, about 50-100 feet below the actual top station. The first order of business was to get the beer on ice, which I did promptly. A few minutes later, it was cold, and the Good Vibes Only hazy IPA from Baerlic Brewing hit the spot. 

After a few sips of beer, we took the skins off the sticks and enjoyed a sandwich before getting ready to drop in. Our friends from Washington headed down first, and we watched as they slid down the Palmer, enjoying some nice turns.

I headed down first after most of the Washington crew disappeared below, and enjoyed some nice corn snow before setting up to shoot some shots of Joe and Dan as they dropped in. Both of them made perfect turns, thoroughly enjoying a perfect September corn harvest.

At the bottom of the snow, we regrouped and donned skins to head back up for another lap. As we were getting ready to head up, a group of three skiers and riders came down, and one of the skiers was Naoto, a friend of Joe and Dan’s and former patroller from Willamette from many years back. We hung out and chatted with him and his buddies for awhile, and it seemed like the perfect time to snap a picture of my second beer I’d brought up the hill. It was a refreshing Johnny Utah Pale Ale from Georgetown Brewing Co. After capturing the picture, I put it back on ice to enjoy later when we were done with the Palmer.

A bit later, we bit Naoto farewell and headed back up the Palmer for a second lap. At the top, the other half of my hazy IPA was waiting, and it was nice to be able to enjoy it along with a good view. Before we dropped in, we had to get the “sponsor” shot from the top, which was somewhat ironic given that I was riding a homemade split with no sponsor gear whatsoever. Nevertheless, the name “sponsor” shot has a good ring to it.

Eventually, it was time to drop in. Dan took the camera and headed down, and then snapped off a bunch of photos of me enjoying our second lap, including the four-shot sequence below.

About halfway down, we regrouped and I grabbed the camera, and slid down to shoot a few shots of Joe and Dan as they came down. I managed to capture a few shots with both of them in the frame that turned out pretty well…

The skiing was really good on the second lap, and not wanting to be quite done, we decided to ditch the skins and packs and head back up for a half lap to the mid-section of the snowfield where the snow was skiing the best.

We did just that, and after about 15 minutes or so of booting, were in position to make turns once again. I slid down first, enjoying several nice turns, and snapped a few more pictures.

We made our way back to our packs and gear, and after a brief break, enjoyed a few turns on a small but skiable strip of snow. 

From the end of the snow, it was a longer than normal hike back to the mid-station. It was a bit depressing how much snow had melted since August, and it was beginning to look like getting October turns on the Palmer might be quite a challenge. Below is a picture of Dan looking quite small as we made our way over to the Palmer Canyon.

Once we made it to the Palmer Canyon, it was a short hike down to the snow below, and soon we were back to sliding. The turns were decent all the way down, and we had to pull the skis a few hundred above the Silcox and then walk down to the last patch of snow in the Mile Canyon.

The Mile held good snow for a few hundred yards, and we were able to link patches down and ski a bit more than we initially thought. Dan grabbed the camera and snapped several photos of me, including the pics below…

About halfway down, we saw another skier heading up and it was a familiar face – fellow turns-all-year enthusiast Amar Andalkar. We stopped and caught up with Amar for a few minutes, and chatted about our last outing when we skied together on the Avalanche Glacier Headwall on Mt Adams. After awhile, we continued on down while Amar continued on up, and made our way down to the final patches of snow before the turns were completely through.

The hike down to the Climber’s Lot went quickly, and soon we had brats on the grill and were enjoying some chips with fresh tomatillo dip. Both offerings absolutely hit the spot, and it felt great to hang out in shorts and flip flops after a great day of turns. 

Before long, with the food gone and the hour growing late, it was time to pack up and hit the road. All in all, it was a great day of September turns on the mountain. Here’s a parthing shot of Dan and Joe on the Palmer enjoying some more of that great corn.

The year was flying by as usual, and July was quickly approaching, and Dan, Joe and I wanted to get out early to get our turns in. We decided to head to Mt Hood to take advantage of the fact that we could ski back to the car on groomed snow, while also venturing out of the area in search of wild snow as well. As usual, I met Dan early at the Harrisburg exit on I-5 and we headed up the freeway to pick up Joe in Albany. An hour or so later we were in Sandy, charging at the Supercharger before making the final leg of the drive up to Timberline.

The mountain was looking more like August 1st than July 1st, but we were happy to be getting out on the snow. We shouldered our packs and made the walk up to Silcox on the road. Several cars past us on the hike up, and when we got to the hut, we found out there was a promo shoot happening for some clothing outfit.

At the Silcox, we traversed over to the west side of the Mile/Palmer, and found a lane of snow to skin on just alongside the area boundary. Joe and I didn’t get hassled, but Dan did at the very top of the snow near the top of the Palmer. We were way west, on what I thought was well outside the area boundary, but there was a cat track out there that was damn near all the way out to the Zigzag!

Eventually we made our way above the top of the Palmer and found a suitable spot to enjoy a rest, eat some food, and soak in the views. The clouds above the mountain were really pretty, and Joe and I enjoyed our lunch while waiting for Dan, who was lagging quite a bit behind us after not getting any sleep the night before. Eventually Dan caught up with us, and we headed on up.

We worked our way up and over to the Zigzag, and skinned up to a point above Illumination Saddle that afforded a good view. The snow on the Zigzag wasn’t the best quality, being a bit runneled, and it was quite warm. We called it near the base of Crater Rock, and it was time to step out of our bindings and get a beer on ice. My beer of choice for the day was a whopper of a can – a 32 oz. hazy IPA from Mighty Pine Brewing that I picked up a few weeks earlier in Port Angeles while on a trip there with family to visit the Olympics and surrounding area. I snapped a picture of it, but then put it back in my pack to enjoy for later at the top of the Palmer. If you are in the Port Angeles area, it definitely worth checking these guys out — their beer is awesome and they are super good people.

After changing the skis over to board mode, we were ready to drop in. We traversed to the west a ways, looking for smoother snow, and ended up finding some snow that provided for good turns above Illumination Rock. It was a bit sticky, due to the warm temps and the fact that a few inches of fresh snow had fallen a week or so ago, but nevertheless we enjoyed the turns. I snapped several pics of Joe as he came down, and he grabbed the camera and returned the favor for me lower down.

Dan came down after us, after climbing up behind us, and I was able to snap some photos of him as well as he descended. He started out looking pretty tiny high above us, then worked his way over to Illumination Rock, and eventually made his way down to regroup with us above the Zigzag.

We party skied down the upper Ziggy to our usual entry point around 8500 feet in elevation. From there, given the stickiness of the snow and the warm temps, we decided to forgo skiing lower down on the Zigzag and instead head over to the Palmer. Getting off the Zigzag required taking off the skis and doing a bit of booting, but nothing like the usual booting later in August or September.

On the short hike over to where we could traverse back to the Palmer, I noticed something shiny sticking out of the snow on the Zigzag. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a full ski with Dynafit bindings. I decided to haul it out, and it reminded me of several other items (including a half of a splitboard) that I’ve found on the Zigzag over the years.

A few minutes later, after a quick traverse, we were back at the top of the Palmer and it was time to cool the beers and enjoy them. My beer was super fresh and great tasting, and I’m ready for a return visit to Mighty Pine. Our timing was perfect — we made it to the top just as the lift quit spinning, and we enjoyed the views while sipping our beers. I managed to down most of mine, although I gave a few ounces to Dan, and then it was time to ride. The Palmer didn’t disappoint, and the snow conditions were really nice. 

We stopped in the middle of the Palmer to get a quick rest of the legs, and then continued on down to make more turns. At the mid-station, we headed to the west to enjoy some of the groomed terrain west of the lift, and that turned out to be a great choice. I fired off several shots as Joe and Dan skied down, including the ones below. 

We milked the turns all the way to the bottom of the Palmer, ending up at the top of the Mile where we’d ditched our shoes behind some rocks earlier in the day. I fired off a few more shots of the boys as they skied that way….

After a brief stop at the top of the Mile to collect our shoes, we set off again, dropping into the half pipe before skiing out the Mile canyon back to the parking lot. It was a pretty swell treat to be able to make turns right back down to the car.

Once at the car, it was time to enjoy some Apres’ activities, and I was really looking forward to the fresh garden salads I’d made the day before. They definitely hit the spot, and sitting there in flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt, enjoying fresh eats from the garden while basking int he sunshine, it reminded me why summer turns in the Oregon cascades are so special. All in all, it was a great way to kick off the month of July and the summer ski season!