Category: Mt Hood

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!

“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…