June 12, 2004, Summit of Mt. Hood
6/12/04
OR Mt Hood
3304
2
Arriving at Timberline Lodge on Friday night a few minutes before midnight, just enough time for me to make a short jaunt and get my bare minumum ten turns that I need to make to keep my ski streak alive, I did it but barely, that was too close! ;D Then it's a cold night car camping, the wind was blowing fairly briskly. I can't help take notice many other climbers getting that midnight start. I'ts 9:30 a.m Saturday when I start my climb to the summit. With groomed slopes the first two miles and a well established boot pack all the way to the summit, this makes for a fairly easy and enjoyable ski outing. The last 500 hundred feet posed no real danger. With about a foot on snow that had fallen of the last few days higher up, ice was minimal. The bergschrund is not too opened up. Once on the Summit I traversed skiers right where I found more opened and climber free skiing. Snow had a thin ice layer on top on the top few hundred vertical feet but was easy to punch through. Lower down corn snow and some wind drifted snow made for nice fast turns. The surface all the way down to the Palmer Snowfield was smooth as butter when you avoided the boot packed areas. The snow conditions were also fairly stable with only the ice crust sliding off as I skied across my fall lines. Once on the main ski area I opted for skiing some park and popped off a couple of booters. The snow below 7000 feet started to get a bit sticky but not bad. I say this makes for a good ski outing if you feel comfortable hiking on 30-35 degree snow and ice (mainly last 500 vertical feet) plus you get to summit a volcanoe. The majority of the run is more steep than the Muir Snowfield. You can ski all the back to the car without any ski carries. Figure on a 4-7 hour round trip depending on your climbing and ski pace.
So I am assuming that if you ventured skiers right that you ended up coming down the Mazama face. That is a pretty steep section that is usually 40 plus. Must have been a nice ski. I always get there too late in the season, by choice since things around here can be good till then, so the fumeroles, ice, falling rocks, and sandpapper snow (snow so dirty and gritty when your done you have a fresh base grind) become an issue.
Like you mentioned from the top of Palmer to at least mid station the pitch is continuous and steeper than most sections off Muir. By the way did you happen to see Windells or High Cascade Snowboard Camp yet? Can't remember if they start late June or not. Usually they are all gathered in the parks skiers left. It provides a good show on your way down. Also did you notice any uninhabited parks skiers right?
Like you mentioned from the top of Palmer to at least mid station the pitch is continuous and steeper than most sections off Muir. By the way did you happen to see Windells or High Cascade Snowboard Camp yet? Can't remember if they start late June or not. Usually they are all gathered in the parks skiers left. It provides a good show on your way down. Also did you notice any uninhabited parks skiers right?
:)I was down there yesterday too...
It was actually a very excellent day. We were down there mainly to ride the lifts and log some vertical. When we arrived at the parking lot at 6:50am, things looked good enough to go for the top. After a couple warm-up runs on Palmer, we grabbed our packs and cramponed up to the summit in about an hour and a half...passing literally dozens in the "donkey trail". Used only crampons and ski poles...
At about 10am we skied the Mazama face/west crater variation and then down next to Illumunation Rock before heading skier's left to the top of Palmer. We found the snow to be a good edgable crust with no breaking through. By the last pitch above the Palmer, the snow was softening up nicely! Palmer loads it's last chair at 1:30, so we had 4 hours to rip the sweet corn. The snowfield to the far skier's right of the Palmer lift, just outside the boundary line was AMAZING! The morning's crust had transformed to semi soft butter and I carved semicircles on my Pocket Rockets at blazing speed for the next 4 hours, logging almost 30,000vert for the day...oh so smooth! ;D
It was actually a very excellent day. We were down there mainly to ride the lifts and log some vertical. When we arrived at the parking lot at 6:50am, things looked good enough to go for the top. After a couple warm-up runs on Palmer, we grabbed our packs and cramponed up to the summit in about an hour and a half...passing literally dozens in the "donkey trail". Used only crampons and ski poles...
At about 10am we skied the Mazama face/west crater variation and then down next to Illumunation Rock before heading skier's left to the top of Palmer. We found the snow to be a good edgable crust with no breaking through. By the last pitch above the Palmer, the snow was softening up nicely! Palmer loads it's last chair at 1:30, so we had 4 hours to rip the sweet corn. The snowfield to the far skier's right of the Palmer lift, just outside the boundary line was AMAZING! The morning's crust had transformed to semi soft butter and I carved semicircles on my Pocket Rockets at blazing speed for the next 4 hours, logging almost 30,000vert for the day...oh so smooth! ;D
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