“I can’t believe I’m choking on face shots in Late April!” That’s what I remember thinking as I dropped in for one of the best runs of the season at Willamette Pass. The day started out with Todd and I leaving work around 3:00 pm, heading up to the Pass for our 2nd annual Willamette Pass Dusk Patrol. A storm had moved through the region in the morning and I was checking the web cams from work hoping we might score. When we got to the Pass around 4:30 it was still snowing and about 28 degrees. We shouldered our packs and started skinning up By George, and the sun poked out through the clouds. By the time we reached mid-mountain, it was snowing again pretty hard. We skinned up Timbur Glades to the top, and conditions were quite different this year than last. After sitting on the chair at the top of EPA and having the obligatory IPA, it was time to sample the goods. I was on my Neversummer Titan 164, and I’m glad I had my bigger board, becasue the snow was deep!
Matt in the White Room
We chose to ride back down Timburr Glades, and our skin track was filling in from just the hour before. The first few turns were awesome, and we took turns shooting video of each other.
Freshies – April 29, 2008
I couldn’t believe how light the snow was, and we kept getting face shots on every turn. Halfway down the run, I grabbed the camera from Todd and shot a video of him getting the goods. Here’s a shot of him in the light stuff…..
Todd skiing on Timburr
We continued down to By George and made more turns, getting face shots each time. At mid-mountain, we contemplated going back up, but decided to head down given the fact that it was getting dark. The turns all the way down to the truck were awesome! The 2008 season has been a great one, and this was probably some of the best pow I had all year long! I can’t wait until next year’s dusk patrol!
The White River Glacier was calling my name for October turns, so I took a day off work since I had plans for the remaining weekends in the month. Driving up Interstate 5 from the southern Willamette Valley in the early morning and watching the sunrise reminded me how a day on the hill is always better than a day at work. Arriving at the climbers lot around 8:00 am and not wanting to climb under the ski lifts, I decided to explore out towards the White River Glacier, not having visited the lower part since last August. Here’s a shot of the mountain from the parking lot…
Mt Hood – October 13, 2010
I shouldered my pack and set out up the trail under mostly sunny skies. The weather was pleasant, and it appeared it wouldn’t get too hot during the day. Along the trail there are some pretty views of the mountain….
Hood in fall colors
I kept hiking up and slightly to the northeast as a slight breeze picked up and cooled the sweat from my brow. After an hour or so, I reached the White River Canyon, and was treated to nice views of the canyon and Mt. Jefferson to the south….
Looking south down White River Canyon
Around 7500 feet, I found a suitable spot to take a break, and was able to peer over towards the Palmer Snowfield. The lifts weren’t running, but a snowcat was hauling a group of snowboarders and skiers up the snowfield with a big long tow rope.I’d brought along my tripod, so I set it up and snapped a few photos of the White River Glacier with me in the picture just for fun…..
Matt w/the White River Glacier
The view down onto the glacier from the ridge was magnificent, but even if you’re tempted to climb down to the glacier this time of year, it’s not a good idea due to the hideous rockfall that rains down on it. I saw several large boulders cut loose just during my hike along the ridge. Here’s a shot of the glacier jumble from the ridge…..
White River Glacier
Once to the top of the Palmer, I had a Gu and some water, then proceeded up the upper White River Snowfield. The snow above the Palmer was quite hard and I wished I would have brought my crampons. I climbed up to about 9300 feet and decided to stop as the snow surface started to deteriorate and wasn’t in good riding shape. I snapped a few photos from my high point before strapping in to enjoy the ride down.
Looking down on the lower White River Glacier
The ride down the snowfield was pretty good. The first couple of turns were a bit sketch and kind of icy, but after that it was soft enough to get an edge in and enjoy the snow without fear of sliding into a crevasse:) I descended down to the bottom of the snowfield and snapped a few photos of my board and the upper mountain before heading over to the Palmer.
At the bottom of the upper snowfield
The ride down the Palmer was very enjoyable and the snow was perfect. Riding down the upper snowfield by myself in perfect corn I was tempted to head up for another lap, but pretty tuckered out from the early morning drive and climb. I made turns down to 7000 feet, and the canyon below that was completely bare, so I walked the rest of the way out with a couple from Indiana who were out trail hiking and inquiring about my setup, etc. They couldn’t believe people make turns-all-year, and when I told them that this was month 59 for me, they thought that must be some kind of record. I assured them that many people in the northwest have streaks that are way longer than mine.
Tracks on the lower Palmer in the canyon
Back at the truck at 12:45, I hit the Mt Hood Brew Pub for a nice cold pint of Cloud Cap Amber in Govy prior to heading down to Gresham to visit my Uncle before heading home. Another October in the books, and it was an excellent way to spend the day!
The Lewis Glacier is located on the south side of the South Sister, separated from the Clark Glacier by a scree ridge. It covers an area of approximately 0.3 square kilometers, and was named after Captain Meriwether Lewis from the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804-1806). The glacier’s upper reaches are at an elevation of approximately 9600 feet, and it extends down the mountain to roughly 8600 feet, where a small lake forms at the terminal moraine during the summer months. The below photo, courtesy of John Scurlock, was taken on August 29th, 2007, and shows the glacier without it’s usual coat of winter snow.
Lewis Glacier, photo courtesy of John Scurlock
Besides the south side glaciers on Mt Hood, the Lewis Glacier is probably one of the most frequently visited glaciers in Oregon due to it’s relatively easy access. Skiing and snowboarding is best during the Spring and early Summer, with the easiest access from the Devils Lake trailhead. The glacier does pose some crevasse hazard, and should be evaluated before riding. Riding the glacier is best combined with a trip from the Green Lakes region however, which eliminates the need to traverse back over to the standard climbing route.
My first Patrol day of 2011 couldn’t have started much better, with blue sunny skies, good snow and cold temps!
Running sleds with Diamond Peak above the fog
After a quick morning meeting in the patrol room, we headed out to open the mountain. I grabbed my camera, noting earlier that the light would probably be excellent for taking a few morning shots. The views upon arrival at the top of the Eagle Peak Accelerator didn’t disappoint….
Looking east from the summit of EPADiamond Peak
I made an opening run down Good Time Charlie, and the bumps were pretty soft and nice. There still was a bit of fresh snow in the trees down lower on the run. Back at the base, I loaded the EPA chair and headed back up for another run. After the mountain was opened, we were able to do some sled running. High Lead was the run of choice for running the sleds, and Todd, Ken and I formed a 3 man team for the task. Ken and Todd started out running the sled while I sat in it. Once we all had a turn in the handles and on tail rope, we worked over to By George for some fun running the sleds without any weight.
Sled practiceRich running the Cascade 100
We did a few sled drills, reached the base of EPA, then headed back up. Todd and I headed to the backside to check out the Dragon’s Back area on the advice from another patroller. The area was really filled in, and Gravity Chute was almost doable, but we decided against it since there were still a few rocks showing. The views to the north were excellent……
Todd skinning towards Dragon’s Back
The snow was pretty good lower down in the trees. At that point, I headed back to the EPA and the frontside for a chance to test out a couple of different sleds from a different manufacturer (Edge Clipper). The sleds ran pretty nicely, the most notable difference being that they were lighter than the Cascade 100’s. Again, High Lead was the run of choice, followed by By George.
More sled running
Before lunch, I snapped a few more photos before heading in for some food. Back on the hill, I was able to enjoy a few more runs before sitting bump on EPA. Here’s a shot of John I took earlier in the day…
The Fish
Sweep went off without a hitch, and the sunset on Diamond Peak was incredible! The snow was excellent all day long – one of the things I love about mid-winter on the ski hill. Overall, it was the perfect way to start 2011!
