September 27, 2008 Timberline

Season passes at Timberline on Mt Hood are already in effect so I picked one up and started my season doing laps on their little patch of glacier.

It was a beautiful sunny day. I think I might go do it again tomorrow.

How is the coverage up there? Vague forecasts of falling snow levels this weekend are making me ponder lift skiing in early October. Maybe it's even good enough to skin up the Zigzag from the top of Palmer?

I was thinking the same thing, though the NOAA forecast calls for no new snow accumulations, but there's gotta be something with all this rain ???.......see below......

Tonight...Rain in the evening...turning to showers late. Breezy. Snow level above 8000 feet. Pass winds southwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph.

Saturday...Showers...breezy. Snow level 8000 feet lowering to 7000 feet in the afternoon. Pass winds southwest 15 to 25 mph.

Saturday Night...Showers likely. Colder. Snow level 6000 feet. No snow accumulation. Pass winds southwest 5 to 20 mph.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Snow level 6000 feet. Pass winds southwest 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday Night...Partly cloudy. Free air freezing level 9000 feet. Pass winds northwest 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.

The coverage was corn-like, one or two hundred yards across for the top half of Palmer chair, narrower down to the bottom of the chair. No question of hitting a rock that you weren't looking for.

Palmer chair runs from 7000 up to 8500 feet, snow level's coming down to 6000. The weather people say it may be a sunny Sunday...

I promise pics.

It looks like it dumped a lot of precipitation up there today, but the temps didn't drop much so I'm guessing it was rain or sleet below 8,000 ft. From the forecast below, it sounds like it could still pick up a couple inches tonight - too bad it wasn't a few degrees cooler today....

SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS WILL TAPER OFF THIS EVENING AS A
PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM SWINGS FURTHER INLAND. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO 4500 TO 5500 FEET BY LATE TONIGHT OR SUNDAY MORNING WITH SOME LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER CASCADES. DRIER CONDITIONS WILL RETURN ON SUNDAY ALTHOUGH A WEAKENING SYSTEM WILL BE MOVING INLAND.