Rain was in the forecast over Labor Day Weekend, but it looked like Sunday would be a decent day to get out for some September turns. Dan and Joe were game, so we agreed to head to Hood to check out the conditions. It was drizzling in Sandy when we made the usual stop at Joe’s Donut Shop, but the skies were partly cloudy skies by the time we left the climber’s lot and headed up the trail. There was even some frosting on the upper mountain from the previous day’s storm….
The trail was in good condition after the rain, and we made good time up to the White River Glacier as the clouds rolled in an out. The glacier looked to be in decent condition after one of the worst winter’s on record…
At the top of the Palmer, we made the decision to go higher, and explore the White River snowfield. As we were climbing up, the clouds rolled in and engulfed us in a sea of white. We climbed to about 9000 feet, and decided to head down. The turns were better than expected, with some fresh snow intermixed with the old.
Back at the top of the Palmer, the clouds rolled out again, so we decided to give the snowfield one more go. This time we climbed a bit higher, to a high point around 9100 feet.
Of course the clouds rolled in again, so there we were stuck in a white out again. Not to worry, about 5 minutes later we got a window and headed down for lap number two. This time I snapped a few photos of the skiers, and then Dan snapped a couple of me…
We enjoyed nice turns down to the top of the Palmer, then made the short hike over to the top of the lift terminal. The time was about 1:30, so we stepped into our sliding gear, and ripped a thousand feet of the best September turns I’ve enjoyed to date.
The turns were so good we definitely had to make another lap. 30 minutes later we were at the top of the Palmer again, and the lifts were done spinning for the season. Sitting atop the Palmer at the end of the season is always one of my favorite parts of summer.
We enjoyed turns down to the bottom of the Palmer Canyon, and eyed the Mile Canyon below Silcox Hut. It wasn’t open, but it looked like we could make some turns, and some turns are better than walking. So we skied. It wasn’t the best snow, but the turns were still fun.
We were able to link turns down through dirty snow to about halfway to where the snowcats are normally parked. Not as low as normal for September, but much better than last year. Below is a shot of Joe at the end of the snow…
We scrambled down the canyon, and made the quick hike back to Timberline and the climber’s lot. As has become usual for September, we enjoyed some bounty from the harvest season, including fresh garden salsa, grapes, and sweet pickled salmon. Some dark chocolate and salami completed our feast, along with the usual cold beverage. All things considered, this was one of, if not the best, September ski in my eleven seasons of making turns all year! I’m looking forward to what October brings.
