May 26, 2001, Moon Mountain, Three Sisters

Jill and I were in the Bend, OR area for the long weekend and thought a short tour to Moon Mtn. would be ideal. Drove through a few snow drifts to the Todd Lake trailhead and found 10 other vehicles crammend into the small lot. We started up the snowmobile trail towards Big Meadow and met a couple with nordic gear who were hiking out with their ski gear on their pack. The snow was too soft for them and they found it easier to hike. Our wide randonee gear surfed on top of the slush. The snowbile track followed the road and we had compact snow but we were not gaining much elevation. Bushwacking wasn't possible because of the numerous bare patches. We finally broke out onto the plateau and started climbing the northeast ridge of Moon Mtn. The views of Ball Butte, Broken Top, Bachelor Butte and The Sisters were incredible. Only two snowmobilers were in the area and no other skiers were seen. We ran out of time but Ball Butte has a 900' east ridge that looked great. We descended the steep north face of Moon and returned via our climbing route. Met a few locals who confirmed the low snowpack this year is limiting the spring tours.

Zap