Hello, We are heading up to Portland on thurs for our annual quest for glorious turns on Cascade volcanoes. Hoping to ski on Jefferson (southwest or Jefferson gl), Middle/North Sisters from the east, and north side of Hood this time and haven't seen much recent reporting. Wondering if anyone has an recent info or recommendations for these or others? We hope to minimize hiking/maximize sliding and my partner prefers early starts and long days to bivys. Thanks!
The largest factor for you will be the
weather
, so I'd keep a close eye on it and have contingency plans for days when the weather is poor. Current weather pattern consists of rain\cloudy weather every few days through the long-term forecast period.
For Mt Jeff, as long as you're looking for a descent more than a tour, I'd recommend the Southwest side from Pamelia Lake over JPG. Southwest side provides the most direct skiing access. JPG is good if you're okay with a long hike and want to tour on mellower slopes. The most recent Southwest Mt Jeff reports are these:
alpenglowsports.wordpress.com/2012/05/07...erson-or-10497-feet/
blog.spyder.com/post/22967101845/volcanotourday8
For Middle\North Sis you'll want to access from Pole Creek TH, which per
this CascadeClimbers thread
you can drive all the way to now. Here's a recent report of Middle Sister that was linked to on CC:
www.loomisadventures.com/blog/ski-mounta...middle-sister-oregon
Note that on the south-side of the Sisters range, Cascade Lakes Highway is still currently
closed
and ODOT hasn't set an opening date. Once this opens it provides direct access to South Sister.
For Northside of Mt Hood, you'll have to start at the Tilly Jane Snowpark. From there I'd estimate 1.5 to 2 miles to snow.
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