Category: Mt Hood

“Sunday looks like the day” I said to Dan on the phone.  We were debating on whether to try for September turns on Thursday or Labor Day weekend.  We preferred Thursday, but the forecast for the weekend looked better, so we opted for Sunday.  Dan showed up at my house just after 5:00 am on Sunday, and we loaded the car and headed out.

Driving up I-5, we could see the mountain from Salem and things were looking good.  As we approached Portland, clouds were moving in and I could sense some unplanned weather might be headed our way.  The mountain was shrouded in clouds by the time we reached Sandy and stopped for a donut at Joe’s, and by the time we reached the parking lot it looked like it may actually rain.  Regardless, we packed up our gear and headed up the road to Silcox…

Silcox was visible as we left the parking area, but a few minutes later it was shrouded in clouds.  By the time we reached the top of the mile, it had started to rain.  Bummer.  We continued up and soon arrived at the mid-station of the Palmer, which had exactly zero snow…..

Pushing on, we eventually reached what was left of the snow on the Palmer “Glacier.”  The rain came down harder.  We found some fresh snow left over from the previous storm, mixed in with the residual dirty older snow.

We topped out just below the top lift shack, switched over to ski boots, and started down.  It was raining harder now.  The turns were actually pretty good.  Dan and I took turns snapping a few photos to document the event….

We managed about 500 feet on the first lap, and decided to head back for another.  At the top, we met fellow turns-all-year enthusiasts Jeff and Aaron, and enjoyed some brief conversation while enjoying a beer and continuing to get soaked.  At this point, both Dan and I had come to the realization the weather wasn’t going to improve (despite the forecast) and that we couldn’t get much wetter, so we just enjoyed what we had — a fun time skiing and boarding in September.  The second lap was even better than the first….

We decided to climb back up for a third lap, and milk the day for somewhere around 1500 vertical.  The last lap was great, and so, completely soaked, we headed down the hill for the long hike out over snowless terrain.  An hour or so later, it was sure nice to be in a set of dry clothes, siting in a warm car, and enjoying a cold beer and fresh chips and salsa.  Although it wasn’t epic riding, both Dan and I agreed, we’ll probably never forget these September turns!  Here’s a parting shot from the day…

 

Finding time for turns this summer has almost been as challenging as finding a place to make turns.  On the same weekend my family and I moved into a new house for the first time in 11 years, I headed out with Dan on Sunday the second day of August to try to find some skiable snow to keep the streak alive for another month.

Given the meager snowpack everywhere, we elected to head up to Mt Hood and ride the White River Snowfield.  I called the Timberline snow phone on the way up to the mountain, and it looked like this would be the last day of lift served riding for the season as well.  I didn’t know it at the time, but this would be Timberline’s earliest closing day in some time — maybe ever since they started summer operations.  In the poor snow year of 2005, closing day was August 18th.  Nevertheless, we arrived in the parking lot and found the mountain pretty naked with respect to snow…..

We set out on the trail from the climbers lot, and it was already warm.  I hiked in shorts and a t-shirt, one of only a few times I’ve hiked and made turns in shorts while snowboarding.  After an hour or so up the trail, we came to the overlook of the naked White River Glacier…

With the lack of snow, we were able to keep trail shoes on until we reached the White River Triangle, at which point it was easier to switch to snowboard boots for the climb.  The snow on the White River Snowfield looked fairly decent, but was starting cup out a bit.  Clouds had been forming all morning, and by the time we reached our high point at 9400 feet it started to drizzle.

We took a brief break, and the cloud that had been following us cleared enough that some sun broke through for the descent.  I dropped in first, then snapped photos of Dan as he skied down.

The best turns were on the east side of the snowfield, and we skied as close to the crevasses as we dared.  With all the stress of moving the past few days, it felt good to let my Lib Tech run and make fast turns on the dirty corn snow…..

We found a connector patch of snow and skied down to the dry road bed along the top of the Palmer, before hiking over to sit at the top of the lift shack and enjoy the view and a cold beer.

At the top of the lift, we me of a couple from Idaho who were at their first or second year of doing turns aanll year, and talked about volcano skiing for awhile.  Sitting at the top of the Palmer, eating lunch and enjoying a beer and the view, I reflected back on all the great seasons of riding at Timberline and enjoying the same view in September and October.  I was saddened briefly at the prospect that there might not be any snow on the mountain this year in September, but the thought only furthered my resolve to find snow in this leanest of years and continue the streak.

With lunch eaten and beers consumed, we dropped in and skied the Palmer to the mid-station.  The snow was really nice, so we headed back up for one more lap from the top.  Arriving at the top, it started drizzling on us — somewhat ironic given the fact that this has been one of the driest and warmest years on record.  Pushing off in the rain, we enjoyed great turns down to the mid-station, ducked the rope, and continued down to within about 300-400 feet from the top of Silcox Hut to where the snow turned to ice and then rock, and hiked the rest of the way back to the parking lot.

Sitting back at the car, eating chips and salsa and pickled herring, I was stoked just to get out for a good day of turns in the middle of summer.  Whatever September brings, what will be will be.  I just hope there’s a patch of snow left out there where a few friends and I can have fun and continue this crazy thing called snowboarding year-round.

Fall has officially arrived in Oregon, and we’ve been enjoying a beautiful Indian summer during the first part of October. Unlike last year, when a big storm blanketed the cascades in a fresh coat of new snow, the mountains are nearly bare right now. Rather than chance waiting on a storm for October turns, Dan, Joe, Cindy and I elected to head to Mt Hood on what would turn out to be an unusually warm fall day. After the usual stop at Joe’s Donut Shop for a quick coffee refill, we pulled into the parking lot at Timberline. Stepping out of the car, it was rather warm and hadn’t even approached freezing the night before.

We quickly sorted gear, strapped on skis and boards, and headed up the climbers trail towards the White River Canyon. The wind was non-existent, and even though I was wearing light pants and a light long sleeved shirt I felt overdressed. We made quick time to the base of the White River glacier…

Down below a group of 4 folks were ice climbing on some cool features at the foot of the east side of the glacier. I made a mental note that late September/early October would be a good time to come back for an ice climbing session. We climbed up to somewhere around 8000 feet and stopped for a quick break to re-hydrate and snap a few photos….

We continued climbing, now with a good view of both the glacier and the Palmer snowfield. I was surprised the lifts were running, as it appeared people had to not only upload to get to the top of the Palmer, but they had to take skis off on each run because there wasn’t enough snow on the mid-station ramp. Near the top of the Palmer, Joe snapped a picture of Dan and I with the glacier in the background…..

Our plan was to just run a few laps on the Palmer, but as usual we got suckered into the White River triangle above the Palmer because the snow “looked so good.” Joe and Dan switched from hiking to skiing boots, and we started up. A few hundred vertical feet later, the snow didn’t look so hot. In fact, we did a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to see if we should continue up or not. I won, which meant we continued climbing, so we did. The snow got more cupped, so a few hundred feet from the top of the Triangle we called it. Below is a picture looking back down from our high point.

While we were taking a break and getting ready to head down, we heard a huge rumble and looked up to see a substantial portion of the Steel Cliffs crumble away in a landslide. The three of us stared in awe, and my initial thought was I may need to run if this gets any bigger. Fortunately, it didn’t, but this was by far and away the biggest slide/rockfall any of us had seen on Hood. I can still see rocks the size of cars hurtling off the face as the slope slid on itself.

After the rock show, we headed down the triangle, and it actually skied better than it appeared. The snow was soft and actually quite nice. I dropped in first and setup to snap a few pictures of Joe as he followed. Dan came down last, and I got a few pics of him as well….

Along part of the triangle there was a small patch of fresh snow left over from the few inches of snow that had fallen a week earlier, and I left it open for Joe and Dan to rip, knowing they’d be stoked on it. Clearly they were, as the smile on Joe’s face below indicates…..

We were able to “ski” to the top of the Palmer, but the road along the top of the Palmer had melted out and the skiable snow was a few hundred feet below us. As we hiked along the road to the lift shack, we met Chris with ski patrol and chatted him up for awhile. He indicated the rockfall/slide on the Steel Cliffs had been felt with the area’s instruments, and was possibly triggered by a tremor. After trading a few stories, Chris headed out towards the White River and we got ready to rip the Palmer. As usual, the snow was creamy and sweet on the snowfield….

At the mid-station, we stashed a couple of beers in the snow and hiked back up under the chair, making good time. Roughly 25 minutes later there we were again at the top of the Palmer. Dan grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos of me while I ripped some sweet October turns…..

At the bottom of the snowfield, we met up with Cindy, who likes to hike up from below at her own pace, and took a rest while drinking our ice cold beers. Riding down the Palmer canyon was a blast, but I was surprised at how little snow there was. We made turns to the top of the Mile canyon, but that was all as the lower canyon was melted out. So, the boards went back on our packs and we hiked down the road in temperatures that approached 80 degrees.

Back at the parking lot, it felt damn good to change into shorts and flip flops, and sip on a cold beverage, eat some pickled salmon, and feast on fresh chips and garden salsa. All in all it was an excellent day with better than expected snow, and all of us were glad we got out early for October turns. Now let it snow!

Where to go for August turns? Seems like that’s the question every year. After spring and summer adventures during the volcano season, August can sometimes feel like a let down. That is, until I head out to Mt Hood. This year, like the last, Dan was game to head north for some turns, so we met in Albany and carpooled up to Timberline. After a quick stop at Joe’s Donuts for breakfast, we arrived in the lot about 8:45, and were hiking up the climbers trail adjacent to the White River drainage about 9:15. We met a skier from Vancouver, WA who kept up company to the top of the Palmer. Hiking up the trail, numerous wildflowers were in bloom from the recent rain, and the White River Glacier was making it’s summer retreat….

While watching the glacier, we heard a rather loud rumbling at the bottom, and turned to see a huge outburst of rock, mud, ice and water flow from the bottom of the glacier. The slurry ran down the bottom of the canyon for several thousand feet, pouring over the remaining snowfields in the bottom. Though there was no reason to be down there, it was a good reminder of the mountain’s power and why the bottom of the canyon is no place to be in the summer.

At the top of the Palmer, Dan and I continued on while our skier friend headed down to lap the public park on the Mile run. We climbed up the While River Snowfield, which was surprisingly well filled in given the below average snow year, an eventually worked our way up to the base of the White River Headwall.

Our original plan had been to ski from around 9500 feet, but once we were there it looked like the snow higher up would be decent, so we continued on. Crossing the rock ridge near the base of the White River headwall, I could tell the snow on the Zigzag and upper mountain looked really nice, so our decision to descend the White River snowfield was trumped by the Zigzag Glacier and higher snow around Crater Rock.

As we worked our way up to the Devil’s Kitchen, a large cloud started to form quickly. Both Dan and I watched, as it hung around and looked menacing. Lightening was on both our minds, as it was humid, but not too warm given the slight breeze.

We crossed over and around a few crevasses near the Devil’s Kitchen, and worked our way up the slope towards the Hogsback. The snow above Devil’s Kitchen and below Hogsback was somewhat inconsistent, and as we continued climbing the cloud looked more and more menacing. Given the hour, the snow conditions, and the weather, we opted to turn around a few hundred feet from the Hogsback and head down. Once we were back down on the flat below Devil’s Kitchen, we stopped for a few quick pictures before strapping in for some August turns….

I headed down first, and the turns were pretty decent on the snowfield above the White River Headwall. Dan followed, and I snapped shots of him as he skied down to and then past met…..

 

At the top of the White River Headwall, we elected to traverse over to a connecting snow finger well above the Zigzag Glacier, which dropped several hundred feet down to the Ziggy. Dan skied down in front of me with my camera, and shot a few pictures as I made turns above Illumination Rock…..

The snow finger skied well, but once we were onto the Zigzag proper was when the snow went from good to great. Unlike the year prior, the Ziggy was perfectly smooth with no suncups. We both opened it up and descended down for another thousand feet of smooth, excellent August corn….

It’s easy to forget that Hood is a big mountain, and the below shot puts that into perspective — in the photo I’m snowboarding on the upper Zigzag below the connecting snow finger (upper right) that nearly connects to the White River headwall.

Midway down the Zigzag Glacier, Dan and I traversed skier’s left and continued to make turns down while angling back towards the Palmer snowfield. After riding as far as we could, we gauged the weather, which seemed to be holding, and climbed over and up to the top of the Palmer…..

Once to the top of the Palmer, it was time for a well deserved beer and a break. 15 minutes later, we were ready to ride the fresh corduroy laid down by the Timberline cats, and dropped in just after Patrol swept off the hill…….

We skied down the 2500 vertical feet of the Palmer and Magic Mile canyons to within a few hundred feet of the lodge, one of my favorite things about summer turns at Mt Hood. On the brief hike down to the lodge, I snapped a few pictures of Timberline with an orange filter and the below picture was the result….

Back at the car, Dan and I enjoyed another beer, along with some summer favorites including fresh chips and salsa made from the garden, as well as fresh cucumbers and dip. On the drive home, we were fortunate to make good time heading south (I5 north had three separate wrecks), and enjoyed reliving the day as well as planning for September turns to come. One thing about August turns — they never seem to be a letdown, even after a great spring/summer volcano season! Here’s a parting shot from the day…..