February 14, 2015 – Mt Thielsen, SW Bowl+

Powder and corn on the same day —- I’ll take it! Making the most of what snow exists in the Oregon cascades this winter, I set out with Dan and Neil early Saturday morning in search of some corn snow in southern Oregon. We made good time to Diamond Lake, arriving at the trailhead about 2 hours and 15 minutes after leaving Springfield. Destry and Stratton were already in the parking lot, and a few minutes later Drew and Morgan arrived, completing our unusually large crew of 7. Once packs were loaded, we set out on the (bare) trail and hiked for a couple of miles before reaching snow. Working our way through a large blow down area, we eventually switched to skins and soon reached the ridge dividing the northwest and southwest bowls…..

The views from the ridge were excellent, and we decided to stop for a quick break to refuel, snap a few pictures, and soak in the views. To the north, Diamond Peak, Sawtooth Mountain, Cowhorn Peak, Maiden Peak and the Three Sisters were all visible. Continuing on up the ridge, we eventually switched to boot packing as the skinning became challenging. The snow on the north side of the ridge was soft, so we made a mental note to come back after riding the southwest bowl. As we worked our way up and left the ridge, we gained the southwest ridge proper, along with some sweet views….

The snow in the bowl was just starting to corn, and it was at this point I knew the long drive, hike, and climb was going to pay off. As we continued climbing, I snapped a few photos, including one of Neil climbing below a rimed pinnacle and Dan traversing the southwest bowl with Diamond Lake in the background…

The riming on the upper mountain gave an real alpine feel as we worked our way up towards the base of the summit pinnacle. Looking back to the south, several peaks dominated the skyline, including Applegate & Garfield Peaks at Crater Lake, Mt Scott, Mt McLoughlin, and in the far distance, Mt Shasta.

After a few final steps, we reached the base of the summit pinnacle and were rewarded with excellent views to the south and west. Looking to the east, the rocky crags and couloir’s of Thielsen’s east bowl dominated…..

We spent a few minutes admiring the scenery before getting ready to drop in and rip some corn. I dropped in first in order to snap photos of the others, and was stoked on the conditions. Drew dropped next and made nice turns with a scenic backdrop…..

Morgan came next, and after airing off a windlip, proceeded to shred down the southwest bowl while I fired off photos….

Halfway down the bowl, I stopped and waited for Neil, who grabbed my camera and was willing to play photographer so I could get a few shots of me in action. Below are a couple of shots Neil snapped of both me and Dan with Diamond Lake in the background…..

Once at the bottom of the bowl, everyone was stoked on the run, and so we celebrated with cold beer and a quick lunch break. Then, we bid the southwest bowl goodbye and traversed back to the northwest bowl for a second run. Dropping in, the snow was a consistent wind buffed pow, and rode damn nice. Dan dropped in first, and ripped a few nice pow turns…

Neil dropped second, and I followed. Morgan, Drew, Stratton and Destry dropped in at lower point and found some air getting into the bowl. I pulled out my camera, snapped a few pics of Niel (below), as well as Stratton airing off a cornice with Mt Bailey in the background (second photo below), before enjoying some really nice, consistent, wind buffed chalky powder.

After nice long run, we put in a bootpack back to the top of the ridge. While Drew and I were punching steps, Destry rode down and made few nice pow turns in the sun. I was able to capture the below photo of him ripping the goods…

Back up on top of the ridge, all of us were game for another half lap in the bowl, so we ditched the packs and proceeded to drop in. Drew dropped in first, followed by Morgan who threw down a sick method with Thielsen in the background….

By now it was about 2:00pm, but the snow was so good Dan, Drew and Destry wanted to do one more lap, so a few of us stayed up top and snapped photos while they dropped in. Dan dropped in, and at 60 years old, still has mad style. Destry proceeded to throw a sick Roast Beef air over an island of trees….

Once the photo session was over, we headed out, working our way down through the trees and along the snow covered trees as far as we could ski before switching to booting when the snow became too sparse to keep the skis on  A few miles later, we were back the car enjoying a well earned beer and sweet pickled salmon, caught this fall in the Pacific.

Driving home along highway 58 and looking at Willamette Pass, which was bare, I thought to myself, even in terrible snow year, Oregon continues to deliver. Given our expectations for the day starting out, I think it’s a safe bet to say they were exceeded!