I was visiting family in Gresham over the weekend, and got a hall pass from my wife to head up to the mountain for some turns. My original plans to climb the Wy’East face didn’t come to pass, so I headed up to the Palmer snowfield and rode the lifts for several hours while the snow above corned. Once conditions were to my liking, I grabbed my Voile Mojo splitboard and skinned up the White River Snowfield to about 9200 feet, where I switched to boots and ‘pons. I reached the Hogsback ridge about 12:30 and was treated to this view….
I contemplated heading up to the summit, but decided against it due to several climbing parties clogging up the old chute. So, I headed out to the end of the ridge for some nice views and relaxation at 10,400 feet. Here’s a shot of my board, with Mt Jefferson in the background…..
After eating a Clif bar and a Gu, it was time to strap into the bindings for the long ride back to the truck. The snow on the upper pitches of Crater Rock and the Hogsback was great corn. The turns were fast! Here’s the view looking back up towards my first several dozen turns…..
I rode out onto the Zigzag Glacier to check things out. Nobody had really been out there and the snow was in very nice shape. I rode down the Glacier quite a ways, then traversed over back towards the ski area around 7000 feet. I ended up making a few portages over rock bands to get back to the Mile run, and was able to link turns all the way down to the lodge. This line will still be good for a few weeks, but the snow is going fast. In my assessment, the summit pitch isn’t really worth riding anymore, though it would still be “doable” for a few weeks. I missed the beer at Govy on the way down, but had a few Terminator Stouts at McMenamin’s later in the evening with the family to make up for it. Overall it was a great day, the weather was perfect. Get some while it lasts! Here’s the parting shot from the Timberline parking lot….
