Category: Lift Served

Month 30 – May 25, 2008 – Mt Bachelor

Andy and I headed to Mt Bachelor for a final day of lift served riding and to get some turns in for the month of May. With so much snow this year, the Cascades Lakes Highway was yet to open, so the Three Sisters would have to wait until June. Access to Diamond Peak was also suspect, so we made the most of riding in-bounds. There weren’t too many people around, and the only lift that was operating was the Sunrise Express because the weather wasn’t cooperative to open the Summit Chair. We made lots of runs down lower through the trees and traversed out towards the Pine Marten Express and past the closed trail signs. I was ripping it up on my Burton Dominant 156, and it was really fun riding the runs jumping over little trees and rocks. We made several laps and left the hill around 1:00. I’m really looking forward to some improved weather and access to the higher peaks later this Spring/Summer.

May turns on Bachelor

 

September 1, 2007 – Timberline, Palmer Glacier

Todd and I headed back to Timberline for September turns and to make runs on the dwindling Palmer snowfield. The weather was sunny and nice, and I rode in a t-shirt after mid-morning. As usual, very few people were on the mountain. It’s always nice to get out in September for some riding, and it won’t be long until the snow starts flying again for the winter season. What a difference a year makes though. Last September we hiked and rode the White River Snowfield, but this year that wasn’t possible. The snow above the Palmer was minimal, and the White River Glacier was very exposed. Not to worry though, we made plenty of runs on the Palmer…..

Matt making September turns on Mt Hood

We headed down to the truck for a quick lunch after several runs, then headed out for more turns. I love getting lots of vertical in the late summer – it just seems so wrong!

Todd – September 2008

The views from the top of the Palmer Glacier are always beautiful, but the views in late summer/early fall have special meaning to me.

The view from 8500 feet – Mt Jefferson in the distance

After another dozen or so runs, we decided to ride down to the truck. We were able to ride within a few hundred yards of the lodge, though the snow in the Mile Canyon is melting fast. We loaded up and headed down to Govy for some grub, beer and to catch a college football game on the big screen. When it was all said and done, we had another month in the books and it was definitely worth it!

Hood in September

Here’s a parting shot from near the end of the snow……

Todd skiing the last bit of snow…

Month 16 – March 16, 2007, Mt Bachelor

Sunshine was in the forecast, so Andy, Todd and I headed over from the valley to make some spring turns on Mt. Bachelor. Most of our day was spent riding the terrain off the summit lift, with some good turns found on the mountain’s south side.

Andy enjoying turns on Bachelor’s southside

Fresh snow had fallen the night before, and the morning sunshine made the day very enjoyable. As usual, the backside of Bachelor didn’t disappoint, offering lots of turns in open bowls, glades, and trees. I found several nice cornices to play on as well…

Cornice drop on Bachelor

The base is holding up well on the mountain and should make for good turns this spring in the backcountry. Overall, it was another good day of riding on the mountain and well worth the long drive from the Willamette Valley!

Todd riding some Bachelor pow

 

Month 15 – February 18, 2007, Mt. Hood Meadows

Snow had been falling throughout the week and more was on the way for Saturday night. Conditions looked prime to head to Mt. Hood Meadows for a day of powder riding with my buddy Andy. We spent most of the day lapping powder runs in lower Heather Canyon since the upper mountain was closed due to low visibility. The glades and trees of the lower canyon made for excellent turns and the pitch on some of the runs (Absolute Magnitude for instance) is nice and steep! After a long day of fun, we headed back down Highway 26 en route to the southern Willamette Valley, but not before a stop for a warm cup of coffee in Rhododendron. Today was a great day, and marked my 15th month of consecutive snowboarding…..

February pow!

 

January 27, 2008 – Hoodoo Powder Fest!

Andy and I headed to Hoodoo for a little lift serviced riding, knowing that the backcountry would be unstable given all the recent snowfall in the past few days. It was snowing as we left the valley (elevation 400 feet), so we knew conditions on the hill would be good. We arrived in the parking lot and there was over a foot of fresh stuff.  Most of our day was spent riding the east face of the mountain, where the snow was super light and deep.  Very few people were at the hill, in part because an avalanche on Highway 20 closed the road for the better part of the day. The result was fresh runs all day long…..

Riding the deep powder I always dream about

 

Cold Blower!

The nice thing about Hoodoo’s east face is that when it’s windy, the tracks fill in by the time you head back and it’s like riding untracked lines all over again!  This happened to us for most of the day – every time we went back for more, our previous tracks were gone and fresh powder was waiting!

Andy getting some of the sweet stuff!

We finished our day making runs off of Chuck’s Backside. By the end of the day, my legs were pretty tired, but this day went down as one of the best lift-served powder days I’ve ever had!!!!

Surfing the super light!