June 5, 2008, Mt. Hood- White River- Margarita Bowl

Corn Flakes and Grits

I woke early after a restless night, anxious and excited for another day on the mountain.  The last forecast was disappointing, calling for precipitation by mid-day.  Yesterday, blue skies above clouds promised good conditions, but by evening the forecast was ominous with record cold and snow in the forecast.

Arriving at Timberline Lodge, I was greeted by a dismayed Timberline employee with a skunk trapped in an upside down garbage can in the entry.  I helped him by placing another one on top of the can so we could get out of there!  My first close encounter with a skunk!  Luckily I only got the odor but I smelled for hours!

The weather was starting to smell of disappointment also, so I drove around to Mt. Hood Meadows for some treeline skiing thanks to the cool conditions.  I hiked to the treeline on the east side of White River Canyon.  In the last month I had skied many lines in White Riverbut had missed one I hadn€™t skied in many years, Margarita Bowl- named for a memorable afternoon there.  It starts off gentle off the ridge, with a curving and dropping fall line through the middle where it narrows into the bottom of the canyon.  The southwest aspect usually assures good corn and minimal new snow accumulation in spring.  This is the best exit route out of the canyon (about 30 minutes hike) if you ski from above.

By the time I got to ski, the overcast had dropped below 8,000€™ and it was starting to snow.  The corn snow was an inch deep, with a dusting of sand and new snow.  My tracks painted white snakes down the dark hillside.  Halfway down, the steep section had melted out and the narrows below appeared to be melted out in areas, so I decided to hike back up and repeat the top section.  After my second run, it started to rain, so I called it a day.