Category: Mt Hood

After enduring countless days of smoke filled air in one of Oregon’s worst fire season’s on record, I was happy to be heading to the mountains with Dan and Joe for some September turns.  A recent rain event had cleared the air, and we pulled into the climbers lot around 8:30 am.  The mountain looked good, as did the coverage…

The air was crisp, and it felt like Fall.  After going through the gear, we shouldered packs and headed up towards Timberline Lodge, opting to take Mile Canyon approach rather than the White River since the lifts had quit spinning the previous weekend…

I was pleasantly surprised to see snow all the way down below the spot where the snowcats normally park, which meant turns all the way back in the Mile Canyon would be possible for the first time in September since 2014.  We started skinning at the first snow, and before long had made our way up to the Palmer Canyon…

At the top of the Palmer, we made the decision to head up the White River Snowfield, which was looking to be pretty smooth.  Dan and Joe had skied it a few weeks earlier, and it appeared the rain had smoothed it out quite a bit.  A short bit later, and we made it to Beer Rock at around 9300 feet.  Sitting there enjoying the views, we could look out to the south and see the Whitewater Fire still burning in the Mt Jefferson area.

Sitting at the rock, a few butterflies flew by, and reminded me of the epic California Tortoiseshell migration a month earlier on the Middle Sister.  Soon, after enjoying the views and eating a snack, we prepared to enjoy some of those September turns we’d come to get.  Before we set out, Joe snapped the below picture of me looking to the south…

To gain access to the good snow, we had to negotiate through a finger of snow that was less than stellar.  Once in though, the quality was excellent.  I rode down first and found a suitable spot to snap a few pictures of Dan and Joe enjoying some turns….

We worked our way down the snowfield, taking care not to ski too closely to the open crevasses, and eventually made our way down to just below the top of the Palmer.  A short carry brought us up to the top shack on the Palmer snowfield, where we took a quick break to enjoy a beer and snap a few pics….

The Palmer was in excellent shape, even though it hadn’t been groomed in a week since closing day on Labor Day.  This time, I dropped in while Joe snapped a few photos of me as I ripped the perfect September corn….

Partway down the snowfield, I grabbed the camera back and returned the favor, snapping some pics of Joe.  I had my telephoto lens on, and it works great for getting in close to the action.  The grin on Joe’s face says it all about how good the snow was….

We skied down to the mid-station, and it was so good we had to head back up for another lap.  20 minutes later, we were back on top enjoying the rest of our beer and readying for another round of turns.  As expected, the snow didn’t disappoint….

The exit ski out the Palmer Canyon was superb.  As Dan put it, it was probably one of the best September ski’s ever.  The snow was perfectly corned, and the coverage was excellent.

The Mile Canyon skied nicely as well.  There were a couple of “crux” spots, but overall, we found smooth but dirty snow all the way down to below the snowcats.

At the bottom, we were all stoked on the day, and looking forward to a cold beer and an assortment of the season’s offerings to grub on.  The hike down the trail went quickly, and soon we were back at the climbers lot.

Sitting there in the warm sun enjoying a cold beer, eating fresh salsa (both an onion salsa and regular garden salsa) along with pickled Chinook salmon caught on the Pacific, I must admit that life really doesn’t get much better…

As we loaded up the car and got ready to make the drive back to the southern valley, we all agreed, this September’s ski was one that would not soon be forgotten!

Rain was in the forecast over Labor Day Weekend, but it looked like Sunday would be a decent day to get out for some September turns.  Dan and Joe were game, so we agreed to head to Hood to check out the conditions.  It was drizzling in Sandy when we made the usual stop at Joe’s Donut Shop, but the skies were partly cloudy skies by the time we left the climber’s lot and headed up the trail.  There was even some frosting on the upper mountain from the previous day’s storm….

The trail was in good condition after the rain, and we made good time up to the White River Glacier as the clouds rolled in an out.  The glacier looked to be in decent condition after one of the worst winter’s on record…

At the top of the Palmer, we made the decision to go higher, and explore the White River snowfield.  As we were climbing up, the clouds rolled in and engulfed us in a sea of white.  We climbed to about 9000 feet, and decided to head down.  The turns were better than expected, with some fresh snow intermixed with  the old.

Back at the top of the Palmer, the clouds rolled out again, so we decided to give the snowfield one more go.  This time we climbed a bit higher, to a high point around 9100 feet.

Of course the clouds rolled in again, so there we were stuck in a white out again.  Not to worry, about 5 minutes later we got a window and headed down for lap number two.  This time I snapped a few photos of the skiers, and then Dan snapped a couple of me…

We enjoyed nice turns down to the top of the Palmer, then made the short hike over to the top of the lift terminal.  The time was about 1:30, so we stepped into our sliding gear, and ripped a thousand feet of the best September turns I’ve enjoyed to date.

The turns were so good we definitely had to make another lap.  30 minutes later we were at the top of the Palmer again, and the lifts were done spinning for the season.  Sitting atop the Palmer at the end of the season is always one of my favorite parts of summer.

We enjoyed turns down to the bottom of the Palmer Canyon, and eyed the Mile Canyon below Silcox Hut.  It wasn’t open, but it looked like we could make some turns, and some turns are better than walking.  So we skied.  It wasn’t the best snow, but the turns were still fun.

We were able to link turns down through dirty snow to about halfway to where the snowcats are normally parked.  Not as low as normal for September, but much better than last year.  Below is a shot of Joe at the end of the snow…

We scrambled down the canyon, and made the quick hike back to Timberline and the climber’s lot.  As has become usual for September, we enjoyed some bounty from the harvest season, including fresh garden salsa, grapes, and sweet pickled salmon.  Some dark chocolate and salami completed our feast, along with the usual cold beverage.  All things considered, this was one of, if not the best, September ski in my eleven seasons of making turns all year!  I’m looking forward to what October brings.

The weekend weather forecast looked good, so Dan and I made plans to head to Hood for some easy south side turns in mid-July. From the webcams, it looked like the snowpack was holding up nice, and we weren’t disappointed when we pulled into the climbers lot and got a view of the mountain…

The cloud deck was hovering just below Timberline all day, and we even had drizzle in Sandy, but above treeline the mountain was basking in the summer sun. We hiked the climbers trail up towards the Palmer, and the summer wildflowers were in full effect…

Above the Palmer, we took a break on the White River Snowfield to eat a quick bite and re-hydrate, when some snowboarders started descending our way. I recognized Jeff Steele as he rode down to us, and it was good to catch up with him and his wife Kelley. Seems like we always meet up somewhere on the side of a volcano! After a good chat, we continued booting up the White River, and traversed over towards the base of Crater Rock. Illumination Rock looked pretty nice against the cloud bank to the west….

At the base of Crater, we made the decision to head up higher, but agreed to pay close attention to the clouds that were starting to pose a threat to visibility as morning shifted to afternoon. Here’s a view looking south from below Devil’s Kitchen….

We punched steps in the final slopes to the Hogsback ridge, skirting a crevasse or two. The east facing snow below the ridge was pretty ripe. Upon reaching the ridge, we worked our way up towards the bergschrund, which at 10,7000 was what we decided to call our high point for the day. The upper slopes looked nice, but the clouds below and the perfect snow were more than enough to persuade us to make some sweet turns….

After soaking in the views, it was time to make turns, and I dropped in first while Dan snapped a few photos of me with my camera. I returned the favor with a few shots of my own from my cell phone, which actually turned out pretty decent…

The snow below the bergschrund was excellent, and each of us had mile wide smiles on our faces when we regrouped above Devils Kitchen. After working our way past the crux point between a couple of crevasses and over a snow bridge, we had to work our way around a group of gumby climbers who had no business being that high on the mountain (basically if downclimbing a 30 degree slope in corn snow conditions is a problem you have no business being on the mountian, but hey it’s Mt Hood, right?).

The snow above the White River Headwall was the only poor snow of the day, and was pretty hideous. Thankfully it only lasted a few hundred vertical, and then we were back to the smooth snow we came for. Here’s a few shots of Dan ripping on the Zigzag snowfield…

We skied down quite a ways on the Zigzag, and stopped to have a beer and eat some food. Unfortunately, my beer decided to blow up in my pack, so I had the good fortune of getting to drink no beer, but still pack the weight and smell like a brewery. Oh well, it was hardly a damper on an excellent day. After our quick break, we made big, high speed sweeping turns down the Zigzag before traversing over to the top of the Palmer….

Gaining access to the top of the Palmer required a very short hike, and then we were able t enjoy the views from 8500 feet. Since the lifts had quit spinning, it was just us and the ravens on the mountain….

At the top of the Palmer, we soaked in the views for a few minutes before heading down for 2400 feet of excellent July turns. I always love riding the Palmer in the summer and fall after the public has gone home for the day…..

It’s such a treat to ski out the Mile Canyon as well. This option hasn’t been available late in the year for the last couple of years, and it sure was nice to ride almost all the way back to the lodge.

Back at the car, we enjoyed some fresh garden salsa, as well as a fatty garden salad. Summer in Oregon is the best.

Wednesday looked like the perfect weather window for November turns, provided enough snow fell at Mt Hood from the recent storm that passed over the Oregon cascades.  I decided it was worth the gamble to take a day off work, and met Joe at park and ride on I-5 early in the morning.  We cruised up the Interstate and soon found ourselves staring at a refreshing sight —- a snow covered Mt Hood.

Stepping out of the car, the temps were cold, and it was nice to experience the winter environment again.  We got our gear in order, donned skins, and started climbing up the road towards Silcox Hut, which was nicely tracked from a snowcat earlier in the morning.  The snow was around 8 inches deep at the lodge, and held that depth up to Silcox Hut…

I always enjoy skinning up to Silcox so much more than hiking, and especially enjoy seeing the rime ice on the roof of the old building after the first real snowfall of the season.  Below is a shot of Silcox under winter’s first coat of snow in black and white….

Once above Silcox, we found skinning on lookers left of the Palmer to be the easiest, and worked our way up the snow filled gullies to the top lift shack.  At the top of the Palmer, we took a quick break for lunch, then continued up under beautiful blue skies.  By the time we reached 9000 feet, the snow depth was somewhere on the order of 18-20 inches, and we were pretty stoked…

The snow between Crater Rock and Illumination Rock looked best, so we headed that way, following the smooth gullies and staying clear of the rime covered ridges.  The snow on the upper mountain was soft wind packed powder, which made breaking trail easy….

The rime on the rocks of the upper mountain on Hood is always impressive in the early season, and such a welcome sight after the long dry months of summer.  Joe and I snapped a few pictures below the Steel Cliffs, but the pictures don’t do justice actually being there in person….

At the base of Crater Rock, somewhere near 10,000 feet, we decided to call it.  Clouds had been rolling in and out of the crater for the past hour, and it looked like the sun was starting to lose the battle for good on the upper reaches.  We hiked over a few feet to the ridge to get a look down into the White River before strapping in for November turns…..

After soaking in the views for a few minutes, it was time to drop in.  I was extra stoked, as the coming turns would mark a turns all year milestone for me — 120 months (10 years) of consecutive riding.  Joe dropped in first with my camera, and made sweeping turns down the smooth snow.  A few moments later, it was my turn…..

We skied the middle of the smooth snow down, working our way down adjacent to our skin track.  I snapped a few pictures of Joe as well, enjoying the November pow…

The snow was good all the way down to the Palmer.  We passed one other skier a few hundred feet above the Palmer, but for the most part nobody else was around on the upper mountain.  It certainly was nice to ride some fresh snow again after months of corn and firn….

At the top of the Palmer we stopped to enjoy a beer and some lunch.  Soaking in the view from the top of the Palmer is always nice, but even with the fresh snow, it was shocking to look out and see how little residual snow made it through the summer — definitely a different look than normal.  After our quick break, it was time to shred another 2500 feet back to the car.  Following our skin track down the Palmer worked best, and the snow quality remained good…..

Once we made it back to Silcox, we followed the road back down to the parking lot.  Riding the road was fast and fun, and allowed us the ability to catch a pow turn or two off the track where there weren’t too many rock sharks lurking.  I captured a few shots of Joe heading down, including the one below….

Back at the car, we enjoyed a well earned beer, as well as some other snacks, including my personal apres ski favorites — fresh homemade salsa from the garden and pickled halibut caught in the Pacific earlier this spring.  Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better day, nor a better way to log 120 months of turns all year!