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As hard as it was to believe, the spring was racing by and June was already here, which meant that it was time for Nuts & Bolts 2025 at Mt Hood. I was looking forward to this year, since it was likely the last official “patrol” days that I would have with Shaun since he was aging out of the SPY program. It was also our 3rd season together at Nuts & Bolts, and a good time for some father/son bonding. Like the year prior, we left our house in around 5:00 pm, and after a quick stop in Coburg to pick up Atticus, we headed north on I-5 towards Mt Hood.

We stopped on the way up to grab a quick bite at Chipotle, then made our way to Govy, arriving at our condo at Collins Lake  around 8:00 pm. Ian and James were getting a bite to eat at the Mt Hood brew pub, so we unloaded our gear and grabbed a bunk. A bit later, Ian and James showed up at the condo, and a few others trickled in a well, including jenn, Mark, and Dan. A few hours later we headed for bed, ready for a fun day of turns and clinics on the mountain.

We woke early, and after eating my usual breakfast of two eggs and a bagel, I hit the road with Shaun and Atticus in tow. About 10 minutes later, we were gearing up in the Timberline parking lot, and checking in with other patrollers from around the northwest and beyond. The morning meeting was filled with the usual announcements and banter, and before long we organized into groups and headed out. Ian and I were on the same track for the weekend, with most of our clinics being instructor/toboggan related.

We took a ride up the Mile chair and then skated down to the Palmer, and zipped up to the top and were greeted with great views under blue skies. We skated over to the middle of the top of the run, and met up with our Toboggan Trainers group to discuss some optimal training exercises for new sled candidates. We dropped in for a few runs with the sleds, taking turns in the handles and on the tail rope. I snapped a few photos of the action before jumping in to the handles myself.

After spinning a couple of laps, Heather from Mt Hood snapped a photo of several of us in the instructor clinic, including Andy and I from the Pass. When she gave me the camera back, I offered to shoot a picture of her and Rich (who’s a National board member), and she was happy to accept.

After snapping a few pics and enjoying a break for lunch, we spun one more lap with the sleds before calling it a day around 1:00. Right about that time, Shaun met up with me at the top of the Palmer and we were able to ski a couple of laps together. It was nice skiing with him, since we didn’t get too many runs together all season since our regular patrol schedule was so busy.

Once we made our way back to the top of the Palmer, we met up with James, Ian jenn and Mark to spin a few laps before closing. A few more pictures followed, and Ian snapped a few photos of James, Shaun and I, as well as just Shaun and I. They turned out nice, and the second shot below is my favorite patrol shot of the season of Shaun and I.

We enjoyed a couple of laps on the upper Palmer before calling it a day and heading down through the lower Palmer, to the Mile and then into the public park. I snapped several photos of the crew as we descended. As usual, the halfpipe was in perfect condition, and a few of us enjoyed riding the walls (no air unfortunately) on the way down.

The further down we skied the stickier the snow became, but it was nice to slide all the way back to the parking lot. After changing out of ski boots and ski gear, we ditched the gear and headed to the Ram’s Head at the lodge to enjoy a cold beer. With the weather being conducive, we opted to sit outside on the patio in the front of the lodge with a great view south towards Mt Jefferson and beyond.

A little later, we headed back to the car and then down to Govy to get ready for the evening. The plan was to meet up around 6:00 pm or so at the Ratskellar, eat pizza with the crew, and take part in the raffle. We did just that, with the added bonus of watching the 1st game of the Beaver baseball super regional against Florida State on the big screen. It turned out to be a great night. Not only did Shaun win a Leatherman tool and enjoy a whole lot of pizza, but we got to watch the beavers win game 1 in the most dramatic comeback I’ve maybe ever seen. Down 4-1 entering the bottom of the 9th inning, they scored one run on a past ball, and then tied it up on a two-out, two-strike pitch that Jacob Kreig took into the outfield. The whole bar went absolutely berserk and did so again in extra innings when they walked it off. It was definitely a night I will never forget. To top it off, I played a few games of cornhole with Shaun, before heading out for a walk around Govy with both him and Atticus.

After our walk, we headed back to the Ratskellar to find the rest of the crew, and then made the short walk back to the condo to hit the sack and get ready for day number 2. Day 2 dawned clear and warm, and after breakfast we headed back up to the hill. This was going to be Shaun’s last day, since he was heading home in the evening for a planned get together with friends. We headed up to the check-in, got our skis hot waxed, and then headed out for another day of clinics in the sun on the Palmer.

Shaun was in a ski enhancement seminar, and I was back in the instructor series for toboggan enhancement. Like the day before, we broke into groups, and my lead for the day was Jim O’Conner, the current Outdoor Emergency Transportation director for NSP. He put on a great clinic, and had lots of good tips for skiers working with snowboarders and vice-versa. We started the morning off with some simple drills that became progressively more and more challenging.

We spent the better part of the morning running drills on the Palmer, and I learned several things I’m planning on taking back to the Pass for the upcoming season. Around 12:30 or so, the clinic wrapped up, and I caught up with Shaun for a few laps to free ski. Several others from the Pass joined in on the fun, and we spun a few laps on the groomed snow of the Palmer.

Like the day before, I pulled out the camera and shot a bunch of photos of the Willamette Pass crew harvesting the corn. We hung out on the upper Palmer for a couple of laps, and once the snow started getting sticky, we headed down to hit the lodge after an enjoyable day of clinics and turns.

The ride down the lower Palmer and the Mile was fun, and like the day before, we hit the halfpipe and popped off a few of the smaller hits in the public park, before riding it out back to the parking lot. 

Once back to the car, we ditched the ski boots and headed to the lodge for a deserved drink at the Ram’s Head. A few minutes later, Julie showed up to grab Shaun, and we enjoyed a few minutes at the lodge together. I walked them out to the car, and it was bittersweet to see them leave, knowing it was probably the last time I’d ski with Shaun in his SPY jacket.

After Julie and Shaun left, I headed back to the lodge and hung out with the crew for a few minutes, and then we headed down to Govy for the afternoon. I headed out for a run to get a workout in, and a bit later it was time for dinner outside the patrol area. The theme for dinner this year was Mexican food, and it the tacos hit the spot. As usual, the shot ski made an appearance, with money going to the Mt Hood ski patrol. And Matt (the Mt Hood patrol director), was busy blending up margaritas and passing them out to anyone who was thirsty, so it made for a fun evening.

Eventually, we all made our way back to the condo, and went to bed in anticipation of the final day of the 2025 Nuts & Bolts event. Sunday morning arrived early, and after a quick breakfast, we checked out of the condo and headed up to the mountain one final time. It was forecast to get warm, and it was already around 65 degrees in the parking lot when we arrived.

The crowd for the Sunday check-in was a bit smaller than the previous two days, but nevertheless it was a good representation of folks from across the northwest and beyond. After the morning announcements, everyone headed out and we made our way to the top of the Palmer.

I was in an instructor clinic led by Joe Harwood, who I’ve worked with a ton at the Pass and who was also my sled instructor during my candidate year, and Andy and Matt also took part. As was typical, we had to wait for Harwood for about 15 minutes at the top of the Palmer…

Once Joe showed up, we set to work running drills on the Palmer. It was fun discussing how to best work with new and experienced sled candidates back at our local hills, and we spent a few hours working the hill. As usual, I snapped several photos, as well as a few of Ian and jenn once we made our way back to the top of the Palmer – they were working a similar clinic.

Joe’s clinic wrapped up around noon, and wanting to play a little more with the sleds, I headed over to work with Whit, Ian, Amber and jenn. They were working with the edge, and practicing wheel-barrowing (how to handle the sled in the event it breaks away from the skier in the handles). I jumped in and gave jenn a few tips on the snowboard, and soon she had it down!

After a couple of runs, I was able to convince jenn to take the sled up for one more and let me sit as ballast and shoot a couple of photos from the patient view. It worked out well and I got a few shots as well as a good run. 

We ditched the sled at the mid-station, and headed back up to enjoy the last few free ski, lift served runs of the season. I snapped a few shots of Ian enjoying the action before we met back up with the group to head down.

For our final lap, I grabbed sled carrier that needed to be taken down, and Ian took the Edge, and we headed off. Someone took a cell phone shot (below) of our crew on the way down, and I snapped several shots of Ian running the Edge…

We milked the snow right down to the parking lot, and after depositing the sled and carrier where they need to be, headed to the car to strip off the ski gear and enjoy some snacks and cold beverage. I was excited to have a super tasty Log Splitter pale ale from Great Notion that I’d tried a few weeks earlier on a trip to Portland with Julie, and it definitely hit the spot on the warm afternoon.

A bit later, the crew all took off for home. I headed down to Govy – with a glimmer of hope that my original thought of spending the night and riding one more day on the upper mountain via either the south side or the Wy’East face might pan out. When I made it to town though, I knew that wasn’t going to work. It was 87 in Govy and supposed to be just as warm or warmer on Monday. So, I made a pit stop at the Mt Hood brew pub and picked up a 6-pack of Cloud Cap amber ale for later in the season, and hit the road home (it hit 101 in Estacada on my drive home!). A couple of hours later, Nuts & Bolts 2025 was a memory, but it’s one I’ll hold onto forever. I’m already looking forward to a return trip in 2026. Until then, hHere’s a parting shot of our Willamette Pass crew from this year!