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October 18, 2020 – Fall cutting at the Pass
It looked like the fair weather was going to be sticking around, so Joe, John, Dan and I made plans to head to the Pass to get some saw work done in hopes that it would pay dividends later in the season. We met at Dan’s in the morning, loaded gear into Joe’s truck, and headed up Highway 58. A hour or so later, we arrived at the Pass, unlocked the gate, and headed in.
Joe and I waited at the base area for Dan & John, who were a few minutes behind us, and checked out some of the earthwork being done around the septic tank that will hopefully lead to significant improvements this season. Once Dan & John showed up, we headed up the hill, with Dan leading the way in his Tesla.
At the intersection of the haul road and Swoosh, Dan parked the Tesla, and we headed up in the truck from there, with the goal of doing some work on RTS and vicinity for the day. Joe drove the truck up Amber’s, and we walked up while he found our favorite place to park…
Once the truck was parked, we donned our chaps, packs and other gear, and headed out. RTS always seems a bit steeper and more difficult to climb when walking up in hiking shoes and packing a chainsaw…
We spent a few hours working over what was left on RTS, which included a thick patch of trees on skiers right that we hadn’t cut in years past. Feeling pretty satisfied with our work, we decided to cut a few small trees in White Russian to open up a few lanes that had grown up some in the recent years.
Dan and I worked our way back down to the truck, and then headed out to the RTS runout for a final hour of work. By the time we quit, all of us were pretty beat, and it sure felt good to head back to the truck and enjoy a cold beer. My beer of choice for the day was a tasty Profuse Juice hazy IPA from 10 Barrel Brewing.
Sitting around the truck, it was nice to relax with good company, and enjoy some of the season’s bounty, including a spicy onion and habanero salsa I made, as well as a tasty tomato salsa John brought. Dan supplied the grill and fuel, and Joe brought the ‘brats with all the fixings. Putting in a good day’s effort with the saws, we’d all worked up quite an appetite, and the food definitely hit the spot.
Eventually, the food was gone, and it was time to head back down. We made our way back to the base, and hit the highway for the drive home. Not knowing if the weather would allow us back for another day of cutting or not (and hoping it wouldn’t so we could ski pow), I was definitely thankful to get a good day of cutting in. Only time will tell how this season turns out, but one thing’s for sure, when the snow flies, I’ll be making my way to a few special stashes at the Pass!
Protected: October 6, 2020 – Mt Bachelor
September 5, 2020 – Mt Hood, Zigzag & Palmer Glaciers
Labor Day weekend was on the late side this year, so Dan, Joe and I made plans to meet up on Saturday to get our September turns in. Dan met me at my house early, and we cruised up I-5 in his Tesla, stopping for a quick charge in Sandy, before arriving at the mountain to meet Joe, who’d been up there for the past couple of days. The parking lot was a zoo, but fortunately Joe had saved us a spot to park. We set about getting our gear organized, and I walked over to my usual spot to take a picture of the mountain.
The mountain looked somewhat typical for September, although it appeared the Palmer was somewhat narrower than in past years. With the area closed to skiing as of August 31st, we shouldered packs and headed up the road to Silcox instead of our usual September hike along the White River Glacier.
Hiking up the road went quickly, and before long we reached Silcox Hut, which served as a nice spot to take a quick break, grab and snack, and drink a bit of water. From the hut, we headed up and under the Palmer lift, and worked our way up the hiking trail towards the top of the lift.
Near the top of the Palmer, we split left, and headed across the rocks towards the Zigzag. It always is a bit further to the Zigzag then I remember, and a bit harder hiking as well across the loose rocks and boulders. Eventually we made our way to the last rock ridge before the snow, which afforded good views back to the south of Mt Jefferson and the Lionshead Fire burning on it’s eastern flank.
When we reached the glacier, I was a bit surprised at the lack of snow compared with years past. The snow surface looked like it would ski ok, but the glacier itself was quit a bit narrower than in previous years, and there was a significant amount of exposed ice and dirt showing. Nevertheless, we switched over to ski boots and worked our way up to near the top, finding a suitable place to drop in. We didn’t make it quite as high as in years past, due to the fact that the snow surface was just glacial ice covered in dirt and sand.
We switched over to ride mode at the top of the glacier, and snapped a few photos. I took a picture looking down the Zigzag, and then we started down. I dropped in first, and made a few fun turns down a hundred feet or so, and then snapped some pictures as the skiers descended.
The snow surface was in ok shape up top, but became much better as we traveled further down. The lower half of the glacier skied much better, and we made some fun turns down it’s lower half. Dan grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos of me as we cruised down the mid-section…
We continued working our way down, and stopped below the bottom a few hundred feet to admire the Lionshead Fire on Mt Jefferson which appeared to be blowing up as the day went on (a few days later it would really blow up as much of western Oregon would burn in the worst fire season ever recorded).
Finally, we skied the last section to the bottom of the glacier, milking turns all the way as we normally do. I caught a few pictures of Dan coming down with the mountain in the background, and then he got one of me at the very end of the snow…
At the bottom, we loaded the skis onto our packs, and started out on the slog back up to where we’d stashed our beers, approach shoes and a few other items. I snapped a few pictures on the lower half of the snowfield, and then put the camera away until we made it back to our gear…
By the time we had worked our way back up to our gear, the Lionshead Fire to the south on Jefferson had started getting even more aggressive, so I pulled out my telephoto lens and snapped a picture. It was also a good time to snap a few pictures of my beer of choice for the day — a large Mindhaze IPA from Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Rather than drink it on the Zigzag, I elected to take it with me to enjoy at the top of the Palmer.
The hike back across the rocks and scree to the Palmer is always easier and faster on the way back (or at least it seems that way), and soon we were sitting at the top of the snowfield, enjoying the view along with our cold beers, taking in a beautiful September day. The snow on the Palmer was looking pretty good, and soon we decided it was time to drop in and see just how good it was. I dropped in first, and there was no doubt — the turns were pretty nice. Joe and Dan came down after me, and we worked our way down towards the bottom at the mid-station below..
A little bit above the mid-station, we stopped and stashed a little gear, and headed back up for one more lap. The skiers left their packs as well, and in about 20 minutes we were back on top and ready to drop in again. This time, Dan snapped a few pictures of me coming down as well…
We skied down to our gear, loaded it up, and headed down the road towards the mid-station until we ran out of snow. From there, it was a short hike into the canyon, where we enjoyed more turns down towards the Silcox…
The turns in the Palmer Canyon were really nice, and it’s always fun ripping from side to side, throwing snow on the rocks, etc. I snapped a few pictures of the skiers, and then put the camera away for the rest of the ride down to the Silcox.
At the Silcox, we crossed the road and milked the snow in the Mile canyon quite a ways down, and though it was dirty, it still made for fun turns. We skied down close to where the snow cats are normally parked and the snow ended, and made the hike back to the parking lot from there.
Back at the car, it was super nice to change into shorts and flip flops, and enjoy a cold drink. We got the brats and grill out, and cooked ’em up while we enjoyed some fresh garden salads I’d made up the night before, as well as some fresh chips and salsa.
Hanging out at the car, enjoying good food, drinks and friends is one of the best parts of September ski days, and this day was no exception. The brats . definitely hit the spot, and with bodies full from good food and our spirits high from good turns, it was time to hit the road. Dan and I bid Joe farwell, and pulled out in his Tesla for the road home. With September in the books, that usually means summer is coming to a close, with fall and the first storms of the season not far way. Winter will be here before we know it, and I can’t wait!
July 30-August 1, 2020 – Middle/North Sister Environs
It had been three years to the day since Joe, Dan and I had been into Middle Sister for and end of July/start of August ski, and we were feeling pretty fortunate to be holding a permit this season. As an added bonus, it looked like the weather window was going to work out perfectly for our ski — not too hot, and no rain in the forecast. We met at Dan’s house around 6:30 in the morning, loaded gear into my Subaru, and headed up Highway 126. We arrived to a somewhat deserted trailhead, found a great parking spot, and started loading skis onto packs.
As usual, our packs were too heavy, but nevertheless we headed down the trail in good spirits, looking forward to what the next three days would offer. We worked our way though the forest, and through the burn which had occurred since the last time we were there. On the way, we met a ranger who checked our permit, then continued on through the lava flow and down to the creek below. From there it was up the hill to the small falls, which is always a welcome place to take a break in the shade.
After our rest, we pushed on up the trail, and got an excellent view of the mountain and what we’d be skiing the next several days at the junction of the PCT. The snow conditions looked pretty nice — white, not too cupped, and they extended down to where we were hoping. Continuing up the trail, we worked our way up the draw, onto the ridge, and out to our campsite near the lake. Everything looked pretty much like it did 3 years prior, and soon we had camp setup and were ready to head out for some afternoon turns.
We headed up the trail, and switched over to ski boots at the start of the snow. The hike up the snowfields was refreshing with light packs (after ditching all the heavy gear back at camp), and we made it to the top around 5:00pm. As usual, the view from the top of what we call the Interglacier (between the Renfrew and Collier glaciers) out over the McKenzie Valley was stunning. After a few minutes enjoying the view and changing over to ski mode, it was time to drop in for our first run of the trip….
I dropped in first, and the turns off the top were perfect corn courtesy of the late afternoon sun. I made a few turns once past the rollover, and setup to shoot some shots of the skiers coming down. I captured a cool shot of Joe skiing with the clouds behind him, and then a few shots as they headed on down.
We skied down to the bottom of the slope, and the turns on the lower half were equally as enjoyable as up top. At the bottom, we made the short boot up the snow to the left side of the top of the moraine, and continued on down.
We worked our way down the middle section of the slope, enjoying the corn on the way. I continued looking for opportunities to shoot pictures of the skiers as they headed down, and soon we worked our way towards the draw…
As we entered the snow in the draw, Dan grabbed the camera and shot a few pics of me heading down. We skied down to the first rock crossing, and I grabbed the camera back and took a few shots of “skiing” to the next patch below.
We connected the patches with a couple of carries, and were able to ski down to the trail where Joe and Dan had stashed their approach shoes. I went on ahead of the skiers as they changed back into shoes from ski boots, and arrived at camp a short time later. The first priority was to make an ice cold backcounty margarita, and then get camp in order.
With a margarita in hand, it was time to take my boots off, kick back and relax. There was only one problem — or rather several hundred problems — a few minutes after getting back to camp, hordes of mosquitoes were feasting on any piece of exposed skin I had. In the previous two trips to Middle Sister, there had only been a few mosquitoes here and there, but this evening they were out in full force. Head nets and gloves were mandatory, and it looked like an early bedtime would be too to find any relief. I did manage to walk around the lake and snap a few shots from the rim before hitting the sack however.
Dan and Joe joined me, and we watched the sunset from the rim, with bugs all around us. They were actually so bad I could barely operate my tripod, camera and neutral density filter. Nevertheless I was able to get a couple of decent shots, but had to endure several bites in the process…
Eventually the bugs proved to be too much, and we retreated to camp and into our tents. I had planned to take a few shots of Middle Sister under the stars later that night, and left my camera and tripod setup outside the tent before hitting the sack. A couple hours after retiring to the tent, I woke to see what conditions looked like. Some clouds had moved in and the moon was super bright, but I decided to try a few shots anyway to see how they might come out, and was pleased with the results.
We woke the next morning around 6 am, with the goal of heading out for the day around 7:30 am or so. The mosquitoes were still eager for a blood meal, so it was back to head nets for the morning. I cooked up a tasty freeze dried breakfast with the jetboil, then walked over to the lake to snap a few photos in the early morning light…
After the photo shoot and a little time tidying up camp, we headed out for the day. The plan was for a three glacier day, with a hike up the Renfrew, and then a ski down the Hayden and Collier. Our approach up followed our path from the day before, but we skirted south once we gained the middle snowfield, and worked our way over to the Renfrew. The mosquitoes chased us up to well beyond the snowline before they finally abated, and I was thankful to leave them behind.
The Renfrew was in decent shape, and made for easy traveling. We worked our way up the glacier (really just a permanent snowfield at this point in time), and eventually up to Prouty Saddle. Once at the saddle, we were afforded the commanding views to the east with Broken Top in the distance.
We hiked over to the northernmost point of the saddle, and enjoyed a well deserved break while soaking in the views. Sitting at the saddle reminded us of the last time we were there 3 years prior, enjoying millions and millions of California tortoiseshell butterflies on their migration to wherever they were heading. After eating some food and reminiscing for a bit, it was time to strap in and see how good the Hayden really was.
Turns out, the snow was in tip top shape, and we ripped the corn from the saddle all the way to the bottom. The upper section was pretty good, and then from the rollover onto the glacier proper the snow was absolute money. I shot pictures of the skiers as they came down, and Dan grabbed the camera from me and returned the favor as well….
We milked the glacier for all it was worth, skiing down lower than in previous summer trips. It was good right to the end, and then it was time for the long boot back up to the saddle under the warm sun.
We worked our way back up past Prouty Point, which always amazes with it’s unique rock patterns, and up to our gear where a well deserved cold beer was waiting. My beer of choice for the day was an excellent raspberry porter from Silver Moon Brewing. Sitting there enjoying a cold beer with a view, I thought to myself “it doesn’t get much better than this.” Once we’d had a good break and were refueled, it was time to head over the saddle to check out conditions on the Collier.
The hike over the rocks was short, and within a couple of minutes we plopped skis down and were enjoying turns on the upper low-angle snowfields on the Collier. The snow was in really nice shape, so we continued down, staying to skiers left to avoid any crevasses we couldn’t see below us…
As we continued down, Dan grabbed the camera and shot a few photos of me below the rollover with the big crevasses. The turns were really nice, and I was more than happy to continue on down the glacier to the toe below…
We skied down over the second rollover, stopped briefly to talk it over, and then decided it was indeed worth it to ski the glacier out to the toe. My thinking was “who knows when we’ll be back here, and we might as well get it since it’s good.” All it all, I think it was definitely worth it!
At the bottom, it was time again to put the boards on our packs and start the long bootpack back up the glacier. The view back to the north however of the glacier and the volcano line up made the hike out pretty enjoyable.
We made it back to the top of the Collier, and then over across the rocks to the top of the Interglacier around 3:30 pm. Sitting at the top, we were excited to drop in for our third run of the day — our only concern was how bad would the mosquitoes be back at camp haha? Dan snapped some pics as I dropped in over the rollover to enjoy the perfect corn.
After the rollover, I took the camera and snapped some shots of Dan and Joe heading down, including the one below. At the bottom of the Interglacier, we hiked up to the right side of the moraine and then continued skiing down towards camp.
The ski down the middle and lower snowfields was good fun, and like the day before, we worked our way down the draw and skied the patches back down to the trail. Once the skiing was over, we made the short hike back to camp and got ready for dinner.
Dan made some Cadillac margaritas that hit the spot, and I cooked up some tasty Thai Curry from Good-To-Go meals to make one of the best backcountry dinners I’d had in awhile. As a bonus, the mosquitoes weren’t quite as bad as the night before, so we headed out to the rim to take in another sunset.
After walking the length of the rim behind camp, we retreated back to our tents for the evening. I got a excellent night’s sleep after our big day, and we woke in the morning to cloudy skies and cooler temps than the two days previous. After breakfast, we headed out in search of August turns, with the goal of working our way up towards the Interglacier depending on how the conditions looked.
The booting went quickly, as the snow was quite a bit firmer than the previous two days. We had our concerns that the steep pitch off the top might be too firm, but we were able to make our way to the top with crampons. I had my lightweight Camp ice axe as well, and was thankful to have it. Though the booting was a bit on the sketchy side, we finally crested the steep rollover and made our way to the top…
We hung around up top for a half hour or so, and finally the sun came out and started to warm the snow. Given that we had to head back to camp and pack up and make the long hike out, we dropped in a little after 10:00 am. I dropped in first, and made a few test turns on the steep rollover, and knew it was going to ski better than it climbed. I motioned for Joe and Dan to come on down, and then took a few photos as they skied by me…
We skied down to the lower section of the slope, and stopped to regroup for a bit before heading on down. At the bottom, we made the hike to the top of the moraine and then paused to look back up at the slope and our work from the previous three days…
At the top of the moraine, it seemed like an opportune time to take a deserved break and drink the last beer that we’d been packing around. My beer of choice was a Stash Panda hazy IPA from Hop Valley Brewing, and it was definitely refreshing. After our break, we headed out, and enjoyed some smooth corn on our way back to camp…
Down towards the bottom, it was amazing to see how much the snow in the draw had melted out since we arrived only a few days earlier. The snow patches we were skiing that were once only separated by a couple feet were not 15 to 20 feet apart.
Once back to camp, we set about breaking down our tents and getting gear organized and into our packs. I enjoyed a tasty freeze dried meal for lunch while packing up, and we broke camp around 12:30 pm. I know my pack was lighter on the way out than on the way in, but I’ll be damned if I could tell the difference as we headed off down the trail.
The hike out was mostly uneventful. We ended up getting checked again by a ranger just before the lava flow, but other than that it was just lugging heavy packs for 5 miles back to the car. The last mile is always the longest, but eventually we made it back to the trailhead, where some (mostly) cold beer was waiting. After changing into flip flops and shorts, Joe and I fired up the grill and threw a few brats on. Dan joined us a few minutes later, and it sure felt good to laze around the car and enjoy a cold beverage. The grilled brats definitely hit the spot, and capped off another great trip to Middle Sister. With that, we called it a trip, and loaded gear into the car and headed on down the road. Although I’m not sure when I’ll be back for more summer turns on the beautiful glaciers on the Middle and North Sisters, I can say with certainty that I’m already missing the scenic views and smooth turns in one of the most special spots in all of the Oregon cascades.
