Category: Ski Patrol

Sunday, April 17th was the final day of the season at Willamette Pass and the final patrol day of the year as well.  It had rained hard the day before, so expectations weren’t high for the day, but there was a fresh dusting of snow around the base when we pulled into the parking lot.  At our morning meeting, we got the official word that this would be the final day of the season, so we headed out to open the mountain one last time. On the way up, Todd found an interesting use for some of the rime that had formed overnight on the chair….

Unloading EPA, we were greeted to about 4 inches of fresh wet snow that fell the night before.  My first run down High Lead was quite nice and I was looking forward to checking out the backside to see what the conditions were like.

Peak 2 wasn’t epic, but there was six inches of fresh snow which made for some good runs all morning long.  Below is a shot looking east across the backside of the Pass, with John Fischer riding the chairlift just after opening (photo taken from the ridge between June’s Run and Down Under)

After making several good runs in the trees between Northern and June’s, I headed over to Dragon’s Back to check out the conditions.  The snow was pretty warm, and I actually was able to get some of it to run in wet slide fashion down off the ridge.  The below shot was taken beneath Dragon’s, and shows natural snow release which happened overnight due to the added weight on the snowpack from the rain and snow….

Upon leaving the Dragon’s Back area, I came upon several spooned tracks on the lower portion of Down Under.  I knew it must have been Fischer, who’d been farming tracks all morning, so I waited a bit and sure enough, he showed up with his beard leading the way…..

Here’s a zoomed shot of Fischer farming the snow on what appears to be his eighth run…

After snapping a few photos, John and I made six or seven runs together on the backside, chatting about potential backcountry trips we’d like to make in the upcoming months.  Steens Mountain is high on both of our lists.

Soon, it was time to get the mountain ready for closing, and we loaded up sleds with all sorts of gear (chairlift evacuation gear, bamboo, backboards, etc.).  I took a Cascade 100 down from Peak 2 around 3:00 pm, and by that time the snow on the front side was super sticky.  I had to walk the sled across the flat spot on Upper Rosary, and then it took quite a long time going down KP to get to the Patrol shack.  By the time I reached the bottom, my legs were burning from going so dang slow!  After dropping the sled, I headed up for the last bump slot of the year at the top of EPA, and helped load a few of the remaining sleds with gear.  I was able to run closing for the last day, and was the last patroller left up top while everyone else was sweeping runs.

Once all the upper mountain runs were swept clear, I vacated via RTS and it was in excellent condition.  Lower mountain sweep went quickly and after all the gear was put away in the patrol room, we had a quick evening meeting before calling it a year.  Overall, it was an excellent snow year and great year of patrolling.  I am ready for patrol season to be over however, so I can focus on the backcountry season, which is just beginning!

 

“Throw in the powder boards tomorrow – it’s deep out there!” The forecast was calling for some fresh snow, and I knew it was going to be a decent day for patroling, but when Todd called from the Pass on Saturday afternoon and said those words, I was stoked.  I awoke early on Sunday morning, gathered my gear and hit the road, picking up Andy on the way.  There appeared to be plenty of fresh snow when we arrived in the parking lot and it was snowing hard.  We had our morning patrol meeting and then headed out to open the mountain.  Todd went off to do some Avy control on Peak 2, and I coordinated opening of EPA.  We had to wait at the bottom of EPA for a few minutes before the lift was ready, which gave me an opportunity to snap a few photos of patrollers waiting to head up the hill….

Up top, there was about 12 inches of new snow and I set to work digging out the area where the sleds are stored and assigning people runs to open.  After the hill was opened, I rode down Success to meet Andy at the bottom of the EPA lift.  The ride down was sweet, and I could tell we were in store for a great powder day.  After we unloaded the EPA, the first run we took was down Timbur.  The snow was awesome – very light and deep.  Face shots were had with every turn and as we ripped down the hill, the snow stayed suspended in the air for several seconds.

We stayed on the frontside for several more runs, as Peak 2 wasn’t open yet due to the avalanche control work.  After a few more runs and continued face shots on High Lead and Good Time Charlie, we headed to the backside around 10:30 when it opened.

The snow depth on the back was a little deeper, probably 12-15 inches of new and it was still snowing hard.  The first run down Destiny was excellent, and we were able to find fresh snow on the back all day long given the fact that the total skier count for the day was around 650 people.  At one point riding the chair, it snowed so hard that visibility was only about 15 feet.  Total accumulation for the day was around 10 inches, and it’s been awhile since I’d boarded in such good storm conditions during the day.  After hitting most of the runs on the back, we made a few on RTS, which had some of the best snow of the season by far, even though it was bumped out.  I sat bump from 1:00 to 2:00, then finished the day riding with Todd and Andy on Peak 2 before sweep at 3:30.  Andy helped up sweep both Peak 2 and EPA, along with lower mountain.  Everyone agreed at the evening meeting that this was one of the best powder days of the season, and I’m hopeful there are one or two more before it’s all said and done for this year.

 

 

Search and rescue practice was on the agenda today as I headed up to the Pass for a day of Patrolling. This activity is fun because it affords the opportunity to head out of bounds with the splitboard to practice GPS and compass skills, with the added bonus of getting untracked turns outside the area.  The reason for the practice is that generally a few times every year people become lost or stranded outside the area, requiring help from Patrol and sometimes Lane Co Search & Rescue.  After opening the mountain in the morning, I met up with Laurie and Todd in the patrol base area for a quick breakfast and to study a map of the area.  Laurie gave us some coordinates of a “lost” party, and finding them would be our objective for the morning.  The area they were lost in just happened to be in one of the better areas for riding back to the resort – the high point on Cherokee Ridge.

After putting the coordinates in our GPS’s, we loaded the EPA lift with our overnight packs and rode down to Boundary Pass, where we switched to skinning.  We set a track around the ridge, following our compass bearings and occasionally looking at the GPS.  Within about 30 minutes, we located the lost party (several pieces of pink surveyor’s tape), heated some water with our Jet Boil stoves and talked over how to warm a cold patient and other possible scenarios.  After running through another mock scenario, we skinned to the top of Cherokee Ridge and dropped in to some excellent fresh powder.

There is actually more vertical from the top of Cherokee back to the ski area than you think, and we made turn after turn through the gladed trees in the untracked powder.  It’s always nice to earn turns and make tracks, but today was nice because it was a patrol day and the snow was great.

Back at the bottom of Peak 2, we loaded the lift and went back to work with regular patrol duties.  I met up with Andy and made a few runs in pretty good snow before we closed Peak 2 at 3:30.  I’m thinking I’ll have to acquaint myself with a few more of the areas outside the resort boundaries in the future and get a few more earned turns while on patrol (while learning the spots people become lost in of course:)

Andrew was visiting from Hawaii, and I had patrol duty on Saturday, so we headed up to the Pass for a few runs prior to our trip into Tam McArthur Rim.  After a quick stop at McDonald’s in Oakridge (for old time’s sake) we pulled into the parking lot at the pass and it was cold, with a base temperature of -2 degrees.  We had our morning meeting, then I headed out to open the hill.  The first run down Eagle’s Flight was excellent, and I knew we’d be in for a good day.  There wasn’t tons of untracked powder around, but there were some stashes to be had and the groomers were screamin’ fast.  At 9:00, I met up with Andrew, after making a few runs on the backside, and we enjoyed several runs on the front side.

Around 10:00 or so, we met up with Andy, who had come up for the day and was on his snow blades.  Andrew found a few little play features in the trees between High Lead and Timbur, and Andy grabbed the camera to take a few shots of us making turns.  It wasn’t difficult to really make the smoke fly – just one hard turn and the snow was suspended above our heads for several seconds…..

I went in for a quick breakfast while Andy and Andrew made a few more runs, checking out the terrain park off of George.  The temperature by mid-day had warmed a bit, to a balmy 14 degrees or so.  Here’s a shot Andy took of Andrew in the terrain park…..

After a few more runs, we took a break in the patrol room for lunch, then headed out to the back side, making numerous runs in the trees around June’s and Destiny.

We did some looking around the Dragon’s Back, but there wasn’t quite enough snow to ride the Gravity Chute.  Here’s a picture of Andrew on the rocks below the meadow at Dragon’s Back….

We were able to find a nice drop off the small cliff between lower June’s Run and Down Under, and hit that feature several times over the course of the next hour or so.  Andrew thought it would be cool to take some pictures of himself and Andy reflecting in my goggles on the lift ride up.  The results are shown below:

The shot below is a reflection of Andrew and Andy, with Maiden Peak also making an appearance in the background of my goggle lens….

After the fun on the backside, I went to sit bump at EPA from 2:00 – 3:00, while Andrew and Andy made runs on RTS and in SDN.  At the end of the bump shift, we made a few more runs on the backside and Andy bid us farewell to head back to town.  Andrew helped patrol sweep the hill, and we closed Destiny.  The run was clear, so while we were waiting, I snapped a few photos of the trees in the relative silence after everyone else had headed off the mountain…..

When Peak 2 sweep was over, we hiked to the EPA for closing of the upper mountain.  Andrew and closed High Lead to the glades, and I finished sweeping that run while he made one last lap in the terrain park.  Back in the patrol room, we had our evening meeting, cracked some excellent tasting Oakshire beers, and then headed for home, after an excellent day of skiing and riding at the Pass.

After a week of mid-winter rain, I headed up to the Pass for a day of patrolling with the forecast calling for sunny skies. Arriving around 7:45 am to partly cloudy conditions, I could tell the snowpack had taken a beating from the previous rainfall. After the morning meeting, we ventured out onto the lifts to open the mountain. The morning was calm and beautiful.

The snow was pretty hard for the morning runs from the freeze the night before. After making a few runs on the backside, I ventured over to check out the sled training. I saw the red coats down below, and rode up to find Andy and Joe instructing the candidates.

The candidates were working on running loaded 100’s, and switching out with time in both the handles and the tail rope. I snapped a few pictures of the work, including the shots below….

I met up with Andy who was up for the day, and we headed to the backside for some runs on June’s and through the trees. The snow softened up just enough to make it playful. On the frontside, the snow softened up quite nicely and we were able to make lots of runs on Eagle’s Flight and others.

We made a few more runs off the front side, and I sat bump on EPA for an hour. After bump, we made a few runs with some of the local telemarkers and then worked to close Peak 2. Since I ran sweep, I stayed up top while the others closed the runs. After I put away the bamboo and signs, I snapped a few photos.

After getting everything put away, I waited for the rest of the patrol to arrive back at the top, and while doing so noticed the light on the ramp was really nice. A few moments later, I captured a few shots of patrol as they unloaded the Peak 2 chair….

Once the backside was closed, I headed over to the front to begin closing the rest of the hill. The sun was starting to head down in the sky, and I was able to catch this picture of Carolyn standing at the top of the EPA…..

I helped close Timburr, then headed over to the Twilight lift and helped close Swoosh. The run down Swoosh is always fun, and probably my favorite Twilight run. Between closing calls, I was able to snap the below photo of the sun setting w/Diamond Peak in the background……

After the mountain was closed, everyone headed into the patrol room for the evening debrief before parting ways and heading home. Today was another good day at the Pass, but it needs to snow again soon in a bad way. Here’s a parting shot of some sled training from the day…