May 30, 2011, Pelican Butte

We were heading down to Ashland and looking for a place to ski on the way.  The weather looked bad most everywhere but slightly better to the east.  Pelican Butte, east of Mt McLoughlin fit the bill.  The east side access point, above Upper Klamath Lake, is closed at the roadhead and looked like a long hike.  We were able to drive almost 5 miles up road 3651 on the west side, before being stopped by snow.  Quickly on skis, we crossed the creek on the road, and worked our way up the west slopes through big openings.  We saw one set of 'biler tracks on the road but no evidence of them on the upper butte.  Full winter conditions and a spectacular view greeted us at the top.  The north ridges and bowl looked very tempting but time was short so we enjoyed a delightful, mellow ski back down the west side.  Snow at the top was wind-packed powder and this turned to pre-corn mush on the descent.