Splitboard Oregon

December 2, 2012 – Willamette Pass

“There’s almost too much snow” Dan said as we headed up our well established skin track for our third run of the afternoon. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard him say that and wouldn’t be the last either – and for good reason. Earlier that morning, I’d met up with Joe, John and Dan and carpooled up Highway 58 with John’s vintage snowmobile’s in tow, hoping to use them for access to some remote terrain off the Waldo Lake road. The snomo’s hadn’t been used in several years, but the previous day’s work spent replacing parts and providing a little TLC appeared to pay off as they started right up in the snowpark. With all signs pointing to go, we headed up the road with fresh snow flying in our faces. However, the 5 inches of snow at the snowpark quickly turned into more than two feet, all of which was unconsolidated and quite heavy. After getting stuck a few times several miles in, we realized there was just too much fresh snow for these old machines. With a bit more elevation to gain and a few more miles to go, we cut our losses and head back to the car.

Time for plan B – cranking some turns at Willamette Pass, which had yet to open for the season. Finding a parking spot was a bit of a challenge since the snowpark on the southside of the highway hadn’t been plowed, but after about 30 minutes of shovel work we were good to go. Skinning up Sleepy Hollow there was only about 10 inches of snow at the base….

The weather was warm enough that I soon found myself skinning in just a base layer to keep from overheating. At the bottom of Eagle’s Flight, we ran into a couple of folks who’d made a few laps there. One of them was alpiner named Tim who joined up with us to head over to the backside. The snow depth at the base of Eagles was considerably deeper than at the base of the mountain…

Skinning up Eagle's Flight — Skinning up Eagle’s Flight

It was slow going from the top of Eagles to the summit ridge due to the large amount of unconsolidated snow, which made breaking trail difficult. The views from the top more than made up for it however. Being a patroller at Willamette, it’s easy to take the scenery for granted when you’re up there every weekend, but after being away from the hill for several months, it was nice to see some familiar landmarks like Maiden Peak and Odell Lake.

With the final push to Peak 2 complete, I was amazed to see a whopping 43 inches of snow at the snow stake. A quick guess was that over half that amount had fallen in the past couple of days. Before we ripped skins to drop into the backside runs, I pulled out my camera and snapped a few pictures, including the one below of Joe skinning up to Peak 2 with the EPA lift terminal in the background…

We headed straight down Northern for the first run, and though the snow was heavy, it was still plenty fun. Joe and Tim headed down first, and I followed looking for a decent place to setup and snap a few photos. When I stopped, I sank below my waist! Skinning back up was gonna’ suck. After taking a few photos, I continued down, finding several snow covered stumps to cruise off of. Below are a couple of shots of Dan and John making turns down Northern…..

We managed to put in a decent track back to the top, partly by using one of the tracks we made while cruising down. Standing back on top getting ready to drop in again, we refueled with food and frosty beverage. Our second run would be the best of the day, on the steepest pitch off the backside – the trees between Northern & Junes. I found some really nice turns and even managed a few face shots!

Skinning back up took less than half the time than that of the first run, and we tackled June’s Run next. The snow was good, but definitely not quite as nice as the previous run. With the hour getting late, we skinned over to the EPA summit and checked out the frontside runs for our exit. Thought they looked tempting, we made the call to ski Eagle’s out due to sketchy coverage. A crust had formed on the southside runs, and though the skiers in the group had a bit of trouble on it, I had a blast on Eagles. All that was needed to produce a face shot was to slightly weight the back of the board and whamo! Cruising down KP was fun jumping in and out of the skin track, and we even managed to ski Sleepy’s in the dismal coverage down low, making turns right to the pavement! After the interesting start to the day, everyone was more than pleased to have made 2500 feet of turns in the afternoon, even if the snow up top was almost “too deep.” Here’s a parting shot from the day….

Protected: November 21, 2012 – Early Season Pow Turns, Mt Hood

November 12, 2012 – Wet & Wild in the Mile/Palmer Canyons

In the game of year-round snowboarding, when you roll the dice, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t. Such was the case when Joe, Dan and I headed to Mt Hood in search of November pow turns. The weather forecast looked promising, with 10-16 inches of snow on Sunday night and 4-8 more during the day Monday. The snow level had been fluctuating between 5000-6000 feet all week, but was holding steady at 5000 feet according to NOAA based on Sunday’s forecast. Conditions looked promising.

After a leisurely start around 6:00 am, I soon met Joe in Albany and we carpooled up I-5 to meet Dan in Sandy. A wreck on I-205 set us back 30 minutes or so,but it just so happened that my uncle was stuck in the same traffic on his motorcycle heading to a Veteran’s event, so we got to chat with him for a few minutes on the Interstate. Finally in Sandy, we met Dan at Joe’s, scored some donuts and coffee, bought a season snowpark pass, and headed up Highway 26 to Timberline. Halfway to Govy, I got a call from Ron who was planning to meet up with us for a tour and was sitting in the parking lot. “It’s raining and the visibility is about 300 feet.” Great! Driving through Government Camp, it was apparent it was going to be a warm day. We pulled into the Timberline Parking lot to a light drizzle and found Ron waiting in his pickup. He chatted with us for a few before heading home, one of the benefits of living close to the mountain.

Sorting gear prior to heading up the hill

Since we’d driven up from the southern valley, Dan, Joe and I knew heading home was out of the question given the time and effort we’d already put nto the day, so we loaded our gear in the rain, donned hard shells, and started skinning from the parking lot. Quite a bit of snow had fallen overnight – somewhere in the vicinity of 12-14 inches. Even in the drizzle, it was nice to feel the soft snow underfoot while skinning along on my Option DIY Joni Makinen split. Looking back at the lodge, conditions looked wintery even if it was raining…

We followed a skin track up along the lower section of the Mile Canyon, having a hard time believing there were other people out in the inclement weather. Though things were starting to fill in, it was obvious much more snow would be needed to hide the rocks and fill in the canyons. Here’s a shot of Dan and Joe skinning between Timberline Lodge and the top of the Mile canyon….

Below the top of the Mile we caught up with the folks responsible for the skin track as they were getting ready to head down. Confirming the obvious, they told us how good the snow was the night before while they had stayed at Timberline. Completely soaked, they decided going up further would be frivolous so we bid them farewell. Skinning higher, I kept thinking the rain would change to snow eventually, especially given the forecast snow level of 5000 feet. Near the top of the mile, a nice rain crust was developing, which made for quick skinning, but would prove to be poor for making nice turns on the way down. At the top of the Mile, I pulled out my camera, which was quickly becoming soaked in it’s bag, and wiped my lens with the last dry cloth I had before snapping a few shots of Silcox Hut. The below photo captures the mood of the day….

Continuing on past the bottom of the Palmer lift, I kept looking for the mid-station through the fog, thinking it would be close. One of the frustrating things about skinning in a fog/whiteout is it makes it very hard to gauge progress. Eventually we reached the mid-station, and after taking a look at the Palmer, decided to call it. The upper Palmer looked as if a bomb had been dropped on it. Mostly chunder and ice chunks, combined with low visibility – no thanks. During the time it took to transition from skins to ride mode at the mid-station, the rain turned to snow. Thoroughly soaked however, we had no intention of sticking around to enjoy it. The first turns off the mid-station ramp were basically blind, and each of us had difficulty navigating the rain crust, wind drifts, and low visibility. A few hundred feet down however the turns actually became decent. At the base of the Palmer, it took a bit of caution to find the entrance to the Mile canyon due to the fresh snow, low visibility and lurking rocks. Deciphering between residual snow and new snow with lots of rocks wasn’t easy, as demonstrated by Dan in the below photo (skiing cautiously due to rock danger)…

Once into the Mile, we actually made turns that resembled skiing and snowboarding. I snapped a few photos, but overall didn’t get too many since I couldn’t keep the rain off my lens nor dry it off since all my gear was soaked. Once at the bottom of the canyon, we exited and skied the road back down to the lodge, which provided some fun turns since the danger of striking a lurking rock was less than that in the canyon.

Enjoying one of the few "turns" of the day — Enjoying one of the few “turns” of the day

Back at the car cold and wet, it was agreed a warm up in Govy was in order over a nice fire and good beer. With the Ratskellar closed, we pulled into the Mt Hood Brew Pub and found some chairs and a coffee table right next to the fire – perfect! NW Steelhead chowder and Ice Ax IPA’s proved to be the perfect match, as we relived the day’s events and dried wet gear. All things considered, it was a fun day, as it usually is – a bad day riding is better than a good day at work as the saying goes! Yes, the day had four of the perfect ingredients to humble a rider……rain, rocks, breakable crust and low visibility. But, where’s the challenge in riding perfect snow all the time? Days like this are ones that will be remembered as fondly as good powder days, though hopefully repeated much less frequently!

October 7, 2012 – Palmer Snowfield, Mt Hood

Depending on the year, October can be the leanest of months for those looking to make turns all year. Such was the case this year as Dan, Cindy, Joe and I headed to Mt Hood after what may have been the driest fall on record for western Oregon. After a brief stop in Damascus for a quick McDonald’s breakfast, we cruised up Highway 26 towards the mountain, with hopes to hike the Palmer and see if the snow above the White River would go. When the mountain came into view however, it became obvious getting turns above the Palmer wouldn’t be happening this October…..it was really melted out and what snow was left was riddled with hideous suncups. At the parking lot, we packed up, met Ron who’d driven up to make turns with us, and started up the Mile Canyon…

The resort was closed, though the Palmer lift was spinning for a few private hard boot snowboard racers. Other than that, we didn’t see anyone around most of the day. The climb up was pleasant, with a slight breeze that kept it from getting too warm. We found a nice place for lunch a little bit beyond the top of the lift shack, and as usual, the views looking back to the south from 8500 feet were breathtaking. Mt Jefferson and the Three Sisters were visible through the smoke and haze…

Central Oregon volcanoes through the smoke and haze

I tended to a blister on my heel, the result of not hiking in my snowboard boots in over a month, while Joe and Dan checked out Ron’s ski’s which he handmade himself. Once the basic first aid on my foot was complete, I took the camera out for a few pictures, including the one below of Ron looking out over central Oregon…

Ron looking on from the top of the Palmer

After lunch, everyone stepped into their bindings for some well deserved turns. The snow on the Palmer was in really nice shape for early October, and I think we were all thankful the area had done some grooming in the previous few days, given the fact that in the few areas they hadn’t groomed there were some decent sized suncups. Partway down, I pulled out my camera and snapped a few photos of Dan and Ron ripping turns…..

For Dan, October marked 17 years of consecutive turns all year, while for Joe it made 8 years of skiing every month. At the bottom of the run, after some quick discussion, it was an easy decision to head back up for one more lap given how good the snow was. Ron decided to skin while Joe, Dan and I booted.

The lift stopped running just as we reached the top for our second run as the area closed down for the day. Standing atop the Palmer with absolutely nobody around, having a groomed ski area all to yourself at the end of a long summer is a pretty cool feeling! Run two was just as good as run one, as I dropped first making nice quick turns down the soft snow. Joe ripped by me next, while I attempted to snap a few photos….

Joe ripping turns at the top of the Palmer

Ron and Dan followed shortly, and this time we rode down into the canyon a few tours below the mid-station where we found Cindy waiting. After a short break there, we continued down the canyon, the snow continuing to hold up well and provide excellent turns. Dan grabbed the camera from me and snapped a few photos while I rode by…

Riding past Silcox Hut, we continued down into the Mile Canyon, finding soft snow with each turn. Near the bottom, the snow got a bit dirty, and I took my first spill of the summer season, finding a really filthy patch that caused me to go from 15 mph to 0 mph in about two feet. A bruised tailbone and nice raspberry on my forearm left me no worse for wear. Within a few minutes we were back at the parking lot, enjoying the sun and a cold one – there’s nothing quite like cold beer, shorts and flip flops at the end of an excellent ski day. To top it off, the beers were extra cold, since Dan packed some snow down in his jacket to stuff the cooler with!

The drive home down I-5 went quickly, as stories of previous ski trips were relived and new trips were planned. One thing everyone was super stoked on as we parted ways was that with a little luck, if we get out together in November, there’s a good chance there will be some powder to be had!

September 3, 2012 – Zigzag Glacier

Four thousand five hundred….a number I’d be thinking about in my mind all week after an excellent September ski day on Mt Hood. My morning started early, meeting Dan at the park and ride at the Corvallis exit off Interstate 5 and carpooling north as the sun began to rise over the Oregon cascades. After a few stops, we pulled into the parking lot at Timberline near 8:30 am, shouldered our packs and set out up the Magic Mile canyon shortly after 9:00 am. As usual, the views of Timberline Lodge and south towards Mt Jefferson were spectacular.

Not wanting to hike under the ski lifts, we headed west towards the Little Zigzag Canyon, finding snow around an elevation of 6800 feet, though it was pretty badly cupped, most likely from previous skier’s whose tracks affected the melting snow. Continuing up the snowfield and onto the Zigzag Glacier, we made good time to Illumination Saddle, arriving at noon. The saddle is always a nice spot to take a lunch break and soak in the views to the west overlooking Illumination Rock and the Reid Glacier.

Dan enjoying lunch at Illumination Saddle

The Reid Glacier is always fairly exposed this time of year, making for some cool picture opportunities of the crevasses and cracks. One particular set of crevasses near the top of the glacier caught my eye on this trip….

After lunch, it appeared the snow was just starting to corn, so we strapped into our sliding gear with the intention of heading to the east side of the Zigzag, which appeared to hold the smoothest snow. To get there however, we had to descend from the saddle on pretty hideous suncups and cross an large area of snow with significant rockfall. Here’s a shot of Dan skiing from the saddle…

Once on the east side of the Zigzag, we found a nice line which was mostly free of suncups and bumps. Heading down, the turns were pretty nice – not quite as nice as August, but pretty nice nonetheless. I snapped a few photos of Dan as he headed down towards me with the mountain in the background…..

We continued down the Zigzag to the point where the snow started to become discontinuous a few hundred feet above the Mississippi Head Cliffs. Given the work and effort to get to this point, both Dan and I agreed it was time for a break to enjoy a frosty beverage in the sunshine…..

After enjoying a cold one, we had about a thousand feet of work to do before putting ourselves in a position to head back towards the car. Opting to climb instead of skin, we made quick time to the snow finger linking the west side of the Zigzag Glacier to the east side snowfield. At this point, the boards went back on our feet for some more fun…

Enjoying summer turns on the Zigzag snowfield

Since the snow on the lower Zigzag snowfield looked iffy at best, we made the decision to descend only a few hundred feet, opting instead to traverse over and climb back up to the top of the Palmer snowfield inside the ski area, which proved to be an excellent decision. Arriving at the top of the Palmer around 3:30, the lifts had shut down for the day and we found ourselves staring down at at nearly 2500 vertical feet of perfect corn snow with not a soul in sight. Both Dan and I strapped in and started down on what proved to be the best snow of the day by far, hooping and hollering the whole way down. After several hundred feet, we felt the need to stop and rest our burning thighs.

Continuing down the Mile canyon and beyond, the snow was excellent the whole way down. Sweet turn after sweet turn, we able to descend to within a few hundred yards of the parking lot. Total vertical for the day was right around 4500 feet, by far the most I’ve ever made in September with the assistance of a lift. Sitting at home later that night and reflecting back on a perfect day, I know this trip will rate up there as one of my all time favorite September ski days! Here’s a parting shot from the Mile Canyon….