Even though the brunt of the storm was tracking north into the Washington Cascades, Andy, Todd and I decided to head to Hoodoo to check out the conditions instead of driving further to Bachelor and the Cinder Cone. This would be our first outing of the year in search of the fresh stuff. Our local backcountry spots didn’t have enough snow have enough snow to ride safely yet, but the telemetry at Hoodoo showed 18 inches of new snow. Would there be enough to ride? We arrived at the gate to find it closed, but conditions looked good, so we loaded up the gear skinned towards the parking lot.
Gearing up at the truckFresh snow and a closed gate
We started skinning and it didn’t take long to realize that we were going to have a good time. The snowpack was about 20 inches deep, and it felt good to skin over the soft fresh early season powder. This was the second trip with my homemade Burton Custom split, and it performed great. Early season conditions are what I really made this board for!
Skinning through the season’s first powder
We skinned to the top of the Ed chair and decided to not proceed all the way up to the top of the mountain because the coverage in the bowl was a little sketch. After changing over to ride mode, we strapped in and made the first powder turns of the season!
Andy skiing downTodd enjoying some powder turns
We made several laps under the Ed chair and each run was really nice. The forecast for the coming week is for more snow, so it might continue to be good!
Since I had limited time available due to a vacation with family in central Oregon, a quick trip up to Mt Bachelor would be the ticket to some quick easy turns. I met Todd at the Sunrise gate at the ski area about 8:30 am, and it had snowed several inches overnight (it had even snowed in Sunriver where I was staying the day before!). The weather was beautifully sunny and about 29 degrees. We skinned up under the chair for a piece, then broke off onto one of the runs. I was amazed at the coverage of the mountain for this late date. When we hit the summit road, we had to take off the skis and downclimb onto the road since a plow had made a pretty big hole. It did make for a pretty picture though…
Snow crystals blowing on the plowed road
We continued skinning up below the summit lift, when Broken Top decided to make an appearance. The Crater Bowl was looking mighty tasty….
Broken Top from mid-mountain
It took about an hour and a half to make the 2600 vertical feet from the base to the summit, which was a pretty fast skin.
Skinning above the summit lift
There was quite a bit of rime ice on the lifts and around the summit, so I dug out my split crampons to aid in the final push.
Just a few more feet to the top
We lounged around the summit lift shack for a bit enjoying the view, and decided to traverse over to the westerly point of the summit crater. The views from the top of the mountain today were incredible. The snow coverage on the Sisters and Broken Top was amazing!
Summit view of the Three Sisters
After some discussion on conditions, we strapped into our gear for some freshies. The snow was deeper than expected, about a foot or so. Face shots in June – it kind of surprised me. As the cold smoke hit my face I got that sweet sensation of sheer surprise from how cold the snow was , followed by the large grin that replaces the shock! We shot video on the ride down, but I was able to pull a few stills out of video clips that turned out somewhat decent….
June pow turns off Mt Bachelor’s summit
The ride down the summit bowl was awesome, and we made long smooth turns all the way down through the Cirque bowl back to the summit lift at mid-mountain. After a careful crossing at the plowed summit road, we continued making turns all the way to the parking lot. Here’s a shot of the mountain from the end of our run…
Mt Bachelor from the base – June 2008
It was so good, I was tempted to go back for another lap, but common sense got the best of me again, so we loaded up the gear and I headed back to Sunriver for a fun filled day with the family. June is definitely off to a good start!
Looking back on the turns I made on the Fryingpan Glacier in July of 2009, I have to say they definitely rate up there as some of the best backcountry turns I’ve ever experienced……perfect texture, perfect weather & perfect scenery!
Lower Fryingpan Glacier, Mt Rainier
I had been dreaming of snowboarding on Mt Rainier for several seasons when I finally decided to make it happen. I met my old ski buddy Andrew at PDX mid-Sunday morning and we headed north on I-5 after a brief stop at REI and the Mountainshop in Portland. Andrew hadn’t been on skis in 5 years, but not to worry – he didn’t miss a beat. We camped near the mountain Sunday night after terrible traffic in Olympia. Early Monday morning, we headed into Mount Rainier National Park, got our permits from the White River Ranger Station, and parked at the Fryingpan trailhead at approximately 3900 feet. The weather was cloudy and misting, which made the 4 mile hike very pleasant. Our load was heavy carrying our boards and overnight gear, but we saw lots of wildlife and flowers in the 4 miles to Summerland, including a bull Elk and a coyote.
We made it to Summerland and pitched our bivy and tent. That afternoon, we set out to harvest some of the corn east of camp to get Andrew’s legs under him. A 35 degree pitch in the fog isn’t exactly a warm up run after not skiing for 5 years. We hiked about 500 vertical feet up the nice snowfield, dug a pit at the top of the moat to enable us to get skis and boards on, then made nice creamy turns down to the trail. I held my breath for the first few turns Andrew made, but after that I knew he would be all right, as he appeared to not miss a beat from 5 years ago. We made a couple more laps to round out the afternoon. There were several Marmots out along the trail on the way back to camp, and we lounged on our bivies for awhile before the weather finally cleared. Here’s a shot of our turns from our camp….
July turns above Summerland
The forecast for Tuesday was mostly sunny, so we hit the bivy sack shortly after dark to prepare for the next days adventure. Tuesday morning dawned clear and we left camp at about 6 am. The views of the mountain were excellent.
Andrew booting towards Goat Bowl
Hiking up through the first bowl outside of camp we saw a bunch of mountain goats. I counted 35. They happened to be near our line of ascent, so we hiked somewhat close to a few of them, including this one behind me……..
A mountain goat in goat bowl!
We spend considerable time pondering how to get out of the bowl and up onto the glacier above. The only good route appeared to be a steep snow chute directly in front of us, which we were able to climb with crampons and ice axes. Once through the chute, we traversed over to the bottom of a big snow finger coming down off the Fryingpan Glacier. From this vantage point, we could see Adams, Hood & St Helens to the south.
Hiking on the lower Fryingpan
We stopped for a rest to soak in the views and power up with some gatorade and Gu. There weren’t any crevasses showing on the Fryingpan Glacier, and the snow was surprisingly smooth. We topped out at Whitman Crest at an elevation of approximately 9150 feet, after scrambling the last 50 feet over bare loose rock.
Little Tahoma from Whitman Crest
The views were well worth the effort, and we soaked them in for a bit before heading down for the corn harvest. Here’s a shot looking down canyon over the Fryingpan Glacier to the east and ultimately to the trailhead way below.
Fryingpan Glacier from Whitman Crest
The turns down the Fryingpan were fast and smooth, and we shot quite a bit of video. Andrew was racing along like he’d never stopped skiing and it was pure fun. Rolling over to rider’s right, we descended the way we climbed, carving every inch of the perfect corn. Here’s several shots of the good stuff below the rollover off the main Fryingpan proper……
Andrew carving turnsCorn turns on the Fryingpan
We were able to connect snowfields all the way down through the Goat Bowl to within 1/4 mile of the trail. Overall, this was one of the finest rides of the year, and definitely one of the most scenic.
Turns in the lower Goat BowlCreek crossing on the return to Summerland
Back at camp, we packed up after some freeze dried lunch, and hit the trail out so we could try the Muir snowfield on Wednesday. The slog out was brutal with the heavy packs, but very scenic.
Headin’ outAndrew with Mt Rainier & Little Tahoma
We were definitely happy to be back at the truck to some fresh food and ice cold beer.
Overall, the snow quality rocked, and the trip exceeded my expectations. I can’t wait to check out a different aspect of the mountain soon – the potential for late season splitting is endless.
