October 8, 2011, - Zigzag Gl, Mt Hood
10/8/11
OR Mt Hood
3765
7
The weather forecast showed a window of sunshine for Saturday, so I planned to take advantage of it since my family and I were heading up to Gresham to visit family on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, I left early and headed up to Hood in hopes of riding some of the fresh snow that had fallen earlier in the week. The mountain was enshrouded in fog, but it soon burned off and turned sunny. Our objective for the day was Illumination Saddle and the Zigzag Glacier. The snow conditions looked good, with a couple feet of fresh from the last few days underneath a sastrugi layer on the upper mountain. We reached the saddle and enjoyed the views down onto the Reid Glacier...
At the saddle, we met another solo skier and chatted with him for a bit before making turns back down the hill. The initial turns off the saddle were nice...here's a photo of the solo skier descending off the saddle...
The upper Zigzag was very smooth due to the recent snowfall and rode much better than when I was there a month earlier. Here's a shot of Todd enjoying some early October turns....
After about 1000 feet of fall line skiing, we cut skiers left and continued to make turns down into the Little Zigzag canyon. Pretty much the riding was on the fresh stuff, but over the residual snow left over from last year. The snow in the Little Zigzag goes down to below 7000 feet and skied very smoothly.
When it was all said and done, I was back in Gresham visiting family by the mid-afternoon, having enjoyed a fine day of riding on the mountain. Here's a parting shot from Hwy 26...
At the saddle, we met another solo skier and chatted with him for a bit before making turns back down the hill. The initial turns off the saddle were nice...here's a photo of the solo skier descending off the saddle...
The upper Zigzag was very smooth due to the recent snowfall and rode much better than when I was there a month earlier. Here's a shot of Todd enjoying some early October turns....
After about 1000 feet of fall line skiing, we cut skiers left and continued to make turns down into the Little Zigzag canyon. Pretty much the riding was on the fresh stuff, but over the residual snow left over from last year. The snow in the Little Zigzag goes down to below 7000 feet and skied very smoothly.
When it was all said and done, I was back in Gresham visiting family by the mid-afternoon, having enjoyed a fine day of riding on the mountain. Here's a parting shot from Hwy 26...
That last picture makes me really miss Mt. Hood.
Good one!
What camera did you use to get those shots....Thanks in advance.
What camera did you use to get those shots....Thanks in advance.
Hi Mtraslin,
I used a Canon Rebel T2i with a 28-135 mm lens....
I used a Canon Rebel T2i with a 28-135 mm lens....
Wow - that looks awesome up there for October! I didn't know that the Little Zigzag held snow all through the summer, it must have been nice to be able to hit that up I bet. It looks like it was a great day for it - we were out surfing/boogie boarding at the coast and caught the sunshine there too. Really looking forward to the snow season on Hood...
Really nice run. Doesn't that sand / sharp rock / gravel hike back over to Mile canyon just suck?
Southside typically does melt out completely by late August / September, except for a small postage stamp snowfield that Timberline track-packs all winter and salts all summer. This year had a great winter snowpack and little to no summer here on Hood.
Timberline's back open for fall operations this year. Last year they had to wait for winter snow.
Picture below of Illumination Rock on September 29th, with the saddle exposed rock and sand. Been snow'n.
Cheers.
Southside typically does melt out completely by late August / September, except for a small postage stamp snowfield that Timberline track-packs all winter and salts all summer. This year had a great winter snowpack and little to no summer here on Hood.
Timberline's back open for fall operations this year. Last year they had to wait for winter snow.
Picture below of Illumination Rock on September 29th, with the saddle exposed rock and sand. Been snow'n.
Cheers.
Nice pictures as usual Stoudema.
I was up there on Saturday too, but on the White River side. Climbed up through the Ski area and along the White River Glacier to the base of Crater Rock. Great conditions for early October and one long run back to the parking lot. The weather was absolutely perfect too.
I was up there on Saturday too, but on the White River side. Climbed up through the Ski area and along the White River Glacier to the base of Crater Rock. Great conditions for early October and one long run back to the parking lot. The weather was absolutely perfect too.
Hey DG, the last couple of years the little Zigzag has been holding snow, but as mentioned it usually melts out or isn't worth riding in normal or low snow years.
oldhouseman - I like the White River route - it's usually fun this time of year and does make for a lot of continuous vertical (hard to beat 3000ft+ in late Sept/early Oct). I agree, a few more days of weather like Saturday wouldn't hurt my feelings either...
oldhouseman - I like the White River route - it's usually fun this time of year and does make for a lot of continuous vertical (hard to beat 3000ft+ in late Sept/early Oct). I agree, a few more days of weather like Saturday wouldn't hurt my feelings either...
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