Todd and I headed back to Timberline for September turns and to make runs on the dwindling Palmer snowfield. The weather was sunny and nice, and I rode in a t-shirt after mid-morning. As usual, very few people were on the mountain. It’s always nice to get out in September for some riding, and it won’t be long until the snow starts flying again for the winter season. What a difference a year makes though. Last September we hiked and rode the White River Snowfield, but this year that wasn’t possible. The snow above the Palmer was minimal, and the White River Glacier was very exposed. Not to worry though, we made plenty of runs on the Palmer…..
We headed down to the truck for a quick lunch after several runs, then headed out for more turns. I love getting lots of vertical in the late summer – it just seems so wrong!
The views from the top of the Palmer Glacier are always beautiful, but the views in late summer/early fall have special meaning to me.
After another dozen or so runs, we decided to ride down to the truck. We were able to ride within a few hundred yards of the lodge, though the snow in the Mile Canyon is melting fast. We loaded up and headed down to Govy for some grub, beer and to catch a college football game on the big screen. When it was all said and done, we had another month in the books and it was definitely worth it!
Here’s a parting shot from near the end of the snow……
