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!
