After an amazing year, the last day of the “regular” season at the Pass had finally arrived, and Patrol 2 was on the schedule to close things out before we headed into two weekends of operation for the month of May. As we’d done several times throughout the season, Shaun and I woke up early and this time we convinced Carson to come along with us for a fun day of turns at the Pass. We arrived at the patrol room early, and got situated before heading out after the morning meeting to open the hill.
Patrollers ready to open the hill early in the morningEdward bringing a sled to the base of EPA
The sun was out and it was looking like the corn was going to be good. As a patrol, we were a bit early to the base of EPA, so I caught a couple of photos while waiting to load, including the shots below of the groomer heading in for the day as well as a few patrollers hanging out at the base of lift.
The groomer finishing the morning workPatrol ready to load up EPA
A few minutes later, we loaded the chair and arrived at the top of EPA. The weather was beautiful, and I caught a picture of Shaun before we headed out to open runs. After my first run, I stopped in to check on Carson, who was geared up and ready to head out with Stone, the son of another patroller. We agreed that he would ski a few runs with Stone in the morning and then we’d ski together in the afternoon.
Shaun at the top of EPA on a beautiful morningJon and Joe enjoying the sun
Around 10:00 am, I met up with Andy who was up for the day, and we caught several laps together. It was fun to ride down RTS and some of the other frontside runs in good corn and brought back memories of the old days. Dan showed up about 10:00 am as well, and was skiing really well after his recent shoulder surgery.
Andy and I at the top of EPADan skiing RTS
The skiing on RTS was excellent, so we spun several laps on it in a row. Laurie joined us, and it was nice to see her having fun without her patrol coat on…
Laurie in a rare moment without her patrol coatSkiing down RTS
Around noon, the snow started to soften quite a bit, and Andy, Laurie and Dan all headed home. I went in for a quick lunch, and then Carson and I headed out to ski the rest of the afternoon together. Carson made a lot of progress skiing, and was excited to ski Good Time, Escalator, June’s and Destiny.
Carson skiing Good TimeCarson heading down Escalator
We had a lot of fun on Peak 2, and soon it was time for last chair and sweep. Carson decided he was ready to head down once Peak 2 sweep began, so I sent him off and went to check on Shaun who I’d assigned to close Kris-Kross. I helped Shaun set up the closure and then swept the backside before heading up to EPA for upper mountain sweep.
Riding the Peak 2 chairClosing crew up top on EPA
Upper mountain sweep went off without a hitch, and I swept KP so I could ski part of the run down with Shaun, who was closing Upper and Lower Rosary. We had a couple of slow skiers heading down Rosary, but eventually worked our way down to the base, where a cold beer was calling my name. My beverage of choice for the afternoon was what has since become one of my new favorites, a smooth and refreshing Cosmic Creatures IPA from Deschutes Brewery.
Shaun closing RosaryCosmic Creatures IPA from Deschutes
Our evening meeting was quick, and just like that the regular season at the Pass was over and done. I was looking forward to at least one more day of patrolling at the Pass in May, but still it was bittersweet to have our season end. Here’s a parting shot from the day of Dan, Joe and Jon enjoying the sun from atop EPA!
It was shaping up to be a fun weekend, and I took Friday off from work to take Shaun to Mt Hood Meadows for a day of turns prior to patrolling at the Pass on Saturday. We had a great day at Meadows, and it was hard to believe it’d been more than a decade since my last visit. We spent the day running laps on the Shooting Star, Hood River and Mt Hood Express lifts, and even made it out to Private Reserve. We’re already making plans to get back next year. I capped the day off with a tasty Hazy in the Gorge IPA from Backwoods Brewing Co, and we hit the road home to prepare for patrol the following morning.
Hazy in the Gorge IPA from Backwoods Brewing
The next morning, we hit the road early and made our way to Pass. Shaun was planning on staying overnight for the SPY sleepover, so we had a bit of extra gear with us when we unloaded. The SPY got to work early by digging out some steps outside the patrol room, and I readied the patrol room for the day.
SPY working on the steps outside the patrol roomPatrick and Amy prior to opening
A little later, it was time for the morning meeting, and shortly thereafter we headed out to open the hill. The day looked to be sunny, and corn was on the menu. I headed to the top of EPA to help open the upper mountain, and snapped a few pictures of the crew before folks headed out.
The crew up top on EPALooking out to Diamond
Before I shoved off to open Timburr, which was “unbelievable” to borrow a term from Fischer, I took some shots with my telephotos lens of Diamond and Lakeview, which were basking in the sun…
Telephoto shot of DiamondLakeview from the top of EPA
Then, it was time to slide down and check out Timburr, which was breakable crust. The turns were nothing to write home about, but the views down to Odell Lake didn’t disappoint. It was nice to see that the ice on the lake was still holding…
Ice on OdellJames at the top of EPA
After heading down to the base, I spun back around to the top of EPA and made a lap down RTS with Patrick. The snow wasn’t too bad, having not iced up as much as the big 4 on the south face…
Patrick after skiing RTS
By the time we worked our way down to the bottom via George, we caught the SPY heading out after completing the morning duties and run reports….
The SPY crew loading EPASPY heading up the EPA lift
After one more lap, I got on the radio and announced to the rest of patrol that I was heading down to base to check out the vacuum splints. The patrol had purchased a couple sets of vacuum splints to test out to determine whether or not we would like to include them in our lineup of medical supplies. Having not used them much in the past, I found them to be fairly intuitive with application for several types of possibilities.
Gretchen working the vacuum splintKen and James working the vacuum splint
Several of us took a turn in the whole body splint, and it was quite rigid when all the air was vacuumed out. A few concerns were expressed, but in general I think folks were pretty happy with the idea of including them as another tool in the tool kit for our work.
My view from the vacuum splint
After the splint session, the rest of the day was spent running laps on EPA after lunch. We had a couple of incidents, but nothing serious. I even had the opportunity to photograph a little of the local wildlife as a marmot (I think) came out to play on Success and a few Red Crossbills were working up at the top of EPA.
Marmot?A Red Crossbill at the top of EPA
The day wrapped up with a little tower pad work (lowering tower pads is always lame; I’d much rather raise them instead!), and a few more runs before we finished for the day to enjoy some excellent bean dip and cold beverages after our evening meeting. My beer of choice for the evening was a tasty Mogul Madness from Rogue brewing.
Mogul Madness from Rogue Brewing
An hour or so later, after the patrol room duties were taken care of, I bid Shaun farewell for the night. He was looking forward to a night of fun with the SPY for the SPY sleepover, and they had plans to watch ski movies, build a jump and head out with the grooming crew early in the morning for a ride on the snow cat.
Ready to head out after a fun day
The drive home went smoothly, and I was happy to complete another fun day of patrolling at the Pass.
After a pretty epic April Fool’s day at the Pass a few days earlier, I was stoked to get out for a mid-week dusk patrol with Dan, who spent most of the last three months nursing his shoulder back to health after surgery in early January. Starting in April, the Pass was on a Friday/Saturday/Sunday only schedule, so we were hoping to see if we could score some fresh snow after yet another storm had rolled in.
Gold Lake shelter buried
We headed up highway 58, making good time to the Gold Lake sno-park, where we found the Gold Lake Sno-park shelter absolutely buried. Wasting little time, we geared up at the sno-park, and donned the skins on the skis. I took a shot of a beer I was planning on drinking later in the evening (a tasty For the Win IPA from Old 99 Brewing Co.), and then we headed up the road to find a place to park.
Dan skinning up at the snow parkA tasty IPA from Old 99 Brewing
To our amazement, the lot near the PCT had been plowed, and there were a couple of cars parked there. We parked next to Jensen’s truck, and headed up the road. Near the ODOT building, we ran into Jensen and Hilliary and they both said the snow was pretty good. Stoked, we headed up the skin track, working our way up Sleepy and then KP. By the time we reached Eagle’s Flight, it was deep!
Walking up the highwayLooking up Eagle’s
The skin track continued up KP, and with 30+ inches of snow off-piste, we decided to continue to head up the track. By the time we got to the Big Corner however, the track continued up the road and out into the trees beyond. Not sure exactly what was going on there, we busted trail up KP and worked our way towards the top of EPA. The going was slow and the snow was deep, but eventually we topped out after stopping to fix a trails merge sign lower down…
Dan at the big cornerAdjusting some signage
The amount of snow on top was staggering. Looking at the Patrol bump shack, it was nearly buried! Heading on up to Peak 2, the size of the cornices looming above Southbound were also quite impressive.
The bump shack buried!Heading up to Peak 2
When we reached to top of Peak 2, both of us were impressed with the total snow depth at the snow stake. It was about 3 inches from the bottom of the sign, and we later measured that to be an few inches shy of 144 inches! We cleared some of the snow off the ramp at the top to help the area out for later in the week, and then took a break to enjoy a beer.
12 feet of snow at the stake!Clearing snow from the ramp
Everything in the shack was looking good, and we enjoyed a few minutes in the warm shack while it continued to snow outside. My beer of choice for the afternoon was a tasty Hazy Crazy IPA from Newport Brewing Co., and I captured it with the Peak 2 chair in the background in the photo below.
Enjoying a break in the top shackHazy Crazy IPA from Newport Brewing
A few minutes later, it was time to head back to the front and get ready to make turns. Dan was a bit worried about his shoulder, so we decided against dropping in on Peak 2 and skinned back to the top of EPA instead.
Ready to shove off from the topAt the top of EPA
We took a couple of obligatory summit pics, and then decided on skiing Good Time Charlie based on Dan’s assessment that it would be steep enough to provide good turns but also mellow enough that Dan wasn’t worried about falling on his shoulder. Shoving off, we worked our way down to the run and had to ski in the skin track because it was so deep.
Dan dropping inMatt dropping into Charlie
Once we got to the run, we did a quick assessment and then dropped in. The snow was absolutely deep as could be, and the turns were excellent. Dan had the camera for the first half of the run, and snapped several shots of me, including the two shot sequence below…
Neck deep on Good TimeWhite room turns at the Pass
We worked our way down the run, and I snapped some shots of Dan who was ripping with his “improved” shoulder. The snow was so good I wished we had time for another lap, but the hour was getting late so we decided it would be best to ski through the trees and catch the haul road over to George. That proved to be an interesting choice, as the snow was 60+ inches deep on the haul road since no public had skied it the weekend prior. It took some time, but we skinned our way over to George after a bunch of effort.
Dan on Good TimeReady to ski down George
The turns down George were nice, and reminded me of some of the fun dusk patrol outings from a few years prior during the pandemic. We milked it all the way to the bottom, and were able to ski out to the parking lot.
Down at baseHeading out from the Pass exit
The hike down the road went quickly, and it continued to puke snow as we walked. Even though it was April, it really felt like a mid-winter day.
Hiking back to the car
When we got to the parking lot, Dan’s truck was the only vehicle there. Although it was getting dark, we decided there was still time to cook up some brats, and that was definitely a great choice. The hot brats took the sting out of an otherwise cold evening, and we enjoyed them with a cold beverage.
Brats on the grillEnjoying beers and brats at the truck
Soon, with the beers and brats gone, it was time to hit the road. Both of us wished we could come back in the morning, but worked beckoned, and we’d have to settle for turns later on the weekend. Even so, this dusk patrol was easily one of the deepest ever, and one that won’t soon be forgotten!
Somehow the winter of 2022-23 kept flying by, and before I knew it April was upon us. Patrol 2 was on the schedule for April fool’s day, so Shaun and I headed up early to prepare for what was shaping up to be a good day. The forecast was calling for several inches of new snow overnight, and by the time we arrived it was looking deep!
A powder morning outside the patrol room
There was a least a foot of new, and it continued to snow all through our morning meeting. We headed out the door to the patrol room a few minutes after 8:00 am, and it was clear it was going to be a bit before EPA started spinning. Patrollers were lined up at the bottom of the lift, and I snapped a few pictures before walking up to the race shack to help Brian and Tyler with the fencing.
Some of the crew at the base of EPAWrestling the Race Shack fencing before opening
Walking up to the snack, I knew it was going to be a great day, and with each step we post-holed up to our knees in fresh powder. Tyler took one side and Brian grabbed the other, and we rolled out the fencing and worked to get it setup. I snapped a few pictures of the action, and it was hilarious watching Brian wallowing in the snow.
Brian taking a breakSetting up the fencing
Brian started on one end and I worked up from the other, and soon we had it setup. We strapped in and made some fun turns back down to the lift, and it sounded like it would only be a few minutes until we were able to load.
Fencing up!Waiting to load EPA
The liftline was growing, and once we got the go-ahead for patrol to load, I made sure we let the lift ops know that we wanted to get to the top of EPA to start our avalanche work on RTS before public loaded the chair. 10 minutes later at the top of the hill, I radioed down to dispatch that we had shoved off and that public could load.
The lineup ahead of openingAnna opening RTS
I took Anna and Patrick over to RTS with the goal of showing them how we ski cut the slope during avalanche conditions, and Brian, Tyler and Jon headed over to Peak 2 to start on the avy routes on the backside. We eased our way into RTS and were able to get a little snow to slide on the cornice above Success, and one by one ski cut the slope. The snow was surprisingly stable, and after a few traverses across the run we were halfway down and able to ski the side of the run out.
Anna ripping pow on RTSPatrick enjoying the pow after controlling RTS
The snow was super nice, and easily one of my top three runs down RTS all season. I snapped several pictures of Anna and Patrick as they headed down, and everyone had a huge grin on their faces at the bottom.
April pow at the Pass
After opening RTS and Ambers, we headed down to the base, rode the chair back to the top, and headed over to Peak 2 to work on getting the backside open. Anna and Patrick hiked to the top to take the lower avy route above Gravity Chute, and I hiked with them with the goal of helping Tyler and Jon on the upper route.
Heading up to Peak 2Anna taking a quick break at the topTyler working on the end of the rope
Once at the top of Peak 2, I worked my way over to the upper route and found Tyler on the end of the rope with Jon belaying. I was hoping we would get to see some big slides, but the snow was surprisingly stable given the significant depth, and we mostly got a few larger sloughs to run but no major slabs.
Jon on the belayTyler dropping in to cut the slope
The first belay went quickly, and Tyler and Jon worked to get the second anchor setup quickly to start the second belay. A few minutes later, Tyler was on the rope again and working on the lower half of the route…
Bringing in the rope for the 2nd belayHeading down for the lower part of the route
We finished the route rather quickly, and radioed to Anna and Patrick that we’d down in the meadow shortly and that they could begin their control work on Gravity.
Jon running the belayBrian overseeing the operations
Once our control work was over, it was time to make some fresh turns in the meadow, one of my favorite parts about doing the avy route. I dropped in first and then setup to shoot a few shots of the guys as they came down. Below is a sample of a few of the primo turns we encountered….
Blasting through the treesBrian ripping a turn in the meadowJon’s enjoying the cold smokeWaist deep snow on April fool’s day
At the bottom of the meadow, I radioed to dispatch that we were ready for the backside to open, and I knew it was only a matter of a few minutes before the masses would descend on Peak 2 en masse. We took a brief minute at the bottom of the chair to catch our breath, help make sure everything was in order with the fencing, and then loaded up for the top.
The buried Peak 2 chairJohn and the Peak 2 crew
About the time we reached tower 3 or so, the public came over the roll on Escalator and we could hear the whooping from the top.
The masses descending on Peak 2
At the top, Brian and I met up with Shannon, and we decided to take a run in the trees between Down Under and June’s. It was a great decision, as the photos below show….
Brian catching some air in the gladesShannon entering the white roomShannon in the white roomShannon exiting the white room
We made a couple of more laps on the backside, and then took the avalanche gear back to the aid room. We got busy with a few incidents in the mid-morning, and then I managed to find time for a quick lunch around 1:00 pm before heading out to finish out the day. Brian switched out of his patrol coat since he wasn’t technically on duty for the day, and we decided it was worth riding the trees between Success and Timburr. It was another good decision…
Airing it out in the Success-Timburr treesShannon calling Brian on the radio
We momentarily lost Brian, and as usual he was already down at the base by the time we decided to call him on the radio to find out his whereabouts. Shannon and I rode down and caught up with him, and then I spun another lap up to the top and headed to Peak 2 to check out the snowcat that was broke down near the top of Escalator.
A broken snowcat at the top of Escalator
I finished the day by working tower pads on EPA with Gretchen, and between our work and a few others, we had the whole place looking good by the end of the day.
Gretchen working on tower pads
The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch, including sweep on Peak 2, upper mountain and lower mountain, and everyone was in a joyful mood for the evening meeting. I pulled out my now famous bean dip from the microwave, and we enjoyed some good food and beers after a great day. My beer of choice for the evening was a very tasty Magnetic Fields from Fort George Brewery.
Magnetic Fields from Fort George BreweryAmber and Greg after a great day
After a half hour or so of visiting and hanging out with patrol, it was time to close up the patrol room and make sure all the incident reports were in order. When those tasks were completed, I grabbed Shaun and we loaded up the truck. It was still snowing when we left, and was a fitting end to probably my best April fool’s day of turns ever!
Shaun at the end of the day
Here’s a parting shot of Anna skiing RTS in some perfect powder!
The weekend of March 11-12 started out like many others on patrol, with some fresh snow and expectations of a good day on the hill. As usual, I made the drive up early to the Pass with Shaun, and arrived before 7:30 am to get the patrol room unlocked and ready to go. A short time later, the rest of the crew arrived, and soon after we kicked the day off with our morning meeting.
Patrick running the ridge
The plan for the morning was to get a couple of our patrollers who were avalanche certified but hadn’t spent much time on our avalanche route out for some training, and we did just that after opening the front side of the hill. With the saddle closed while we worked to get the route done and the runs open, Tyler, Patrick and I headed out run the route, making the short hike to the top of Peak 2 and then ski cutting our way down one at a time to the ridge above June’s Run.
Controlling the nose with Tyler
After working our way along the ridge cutting cornices and getting some snow to run, we arrived at the Nose and pulled out the rope to setup the anchor and ski cut the slope while on belay. Tyler volunteered to go on the sharp end while I belayed, and Patrick took my camera and snapped a few pictures of the action.
Belaying Tyler on the avy routeHeading out the ridge on belay
After controlling the Nose, Tyler headed on out the ridge and made a few ski cuts, and then we pulled the rope and anchor and headed down to the second anchor point. From there, it was a quick discussion about setting up the anchor system again, and then we skied into the Meadow, following safe protocols on our way to the rendezvous point at the treeline skier’s right at the bottom of the meadow.
Scoring the goods after control work
At the bottom of the Meadow, we discussed the route, and then headed down to the lift to hitch a ride back to the top. As we were departing, Ian came down through the Meadow, so I snapped a couple of pics as he descended.
Ian enjoying the Meadow
At the top of Peak 2, I ran into Silas, Edward and Shaun, and was able to convince them to pose for a picture before I headed down to the base with the avy pack and gear.
Silas, Edward and Shaun at the top of Peak 2
While on the way down, near the bottom, a call came over the radio that no patroller wants to hear — a report of an unresponsive skier who collapsed in the lift line at the base. Being that I was just at the Race Shack, I was the closest patroller in the vicinity, so I let the crew know that I would respond, but as Hill Chief I wanted to have another patroller be first on as soon as they could relieve me. Chris radioed that he was near the top of Twilight and would be right down, so I headed down and found one of our Mountain Hosts near the patient in the middle of the lift line on what turned out to be our busiest day of the year. Without getting into details, the patient wasn’t breathing and had a faint pulse (that went to no pulse a couple of minutes later), so I immediately made the call to dispatch and asked for an ambulance and LifeFlight. Long story short, over the next 45 minutes to an hour, a team of patrollers led by Shannon and Chris, as well as a couple of bystanders, provided CPR and much other care and support for the patient before they ultimately left the area via LifeFlight. The rest of the day was spent cleaning up the scene and restocking our BLS packs, documenting what happened, rehashing and debriefing the incident, and getting the hill closed for the day. Needless to say, the incident weighed heavily on everyone who was involved, but all things considered, I was incredibly proud of how our our team handled the situation. From the patrollers involved to the Mountain Hosts that provided assistance to the SPY that closed Sleepy and helped prepare the LZ, everyone did their part. Several days later, we learned our patient would make a full recovery, which is nothing short of remarkable.
Shaun ready to close Waldo
The last couple of hours of the day were somewhat of a blur, but we managed to get the hill closed and then had a larger debrief meeting after our regular routine evening meeting. After such a difficult day, I was definitely in the mood for a cold one, and a tasty Shred Kindly hazy IPA from Oakshire Brewing helped take the edge off.
A tasty hazy IPA from Oakshire
Eventually, it was time to close the patrol room up for the afternoon, and after reviewing the incident reports and documentation, Shaun and I headed down to the valley, exhausted from a long day. The following morning, Shaun was eager to head back to the Pass with a couple of his friends. After the heavy day the day before, I can’t say I shared his desire, but nevertheless we headed up. When we arrived at the patrol room, Patrol 3 was discussing the previous day’s incident and getting ready to open the hill.
Meghan outside the patrol room on a nice morning
With Shaun skiing with his friends, I wasn’t super stoked on heading out immediately, and instead opted to work with Laurie and the toboggan crew who were up for RTS belay training. It was a great way to take my mind off the previous day’s incident, and a good refresher since it had been a few years since I last ran through it. We started off with the anchor setup and belay device in the aid room, then moved up to the top of the hill to practice there.
Running through the RTS Belay setupTrial run-through near the top of EPA
It was a good refresher, and I was enjoying just being around patrol. A few minutes before we headed back to the top to get ready for the real thing on RTS, I saw Shaun unload the chair with Jesse and Henry, and skied a lap with them down Good Time…
Jesse, Shaun and Henry on Good Time
After our run, we spun back around to the top of EPA and I was just in time to catch the group as they were ready to depart with the sled down to RTS. Ian grabbed the handles and Jenn was on the tail rope, and we headed off to the belay tree.
Ian running the sled down to the belay treeHolding the sled on RTS
A few moments later, we had the run closed and the crew had the sled staged, the anchor setup and the belay on.
Jenn holding the tailropeThe RTS Belay Sled anchored upTyler and Ian on RTSLaurie surveying the anchor setup
Once the anchor was setup and the belay was on, folks took turns in the handles as well as running the belay system. Tyler headed down first, and the others followed. Eventually everyone had a turn and Gretchen brought the sled to the bottom of RTS after the belay was taken off.
Belaying the sled down RTSIan and Gretchen near the bottom
We pulled the rope down, flaked it back into the pack, and headed down to the base with the pack and sled in tow. I went in to eat lunch, then spent the rest of the day making turns with Shaun, Henry and Jesse. It got pretty wet towards the end of the day, so we left a few minutes ahead of closing. On the drive down, I reflected on the weekend, and although it was a challenging one, I was happy with how the events unfolded, as well as the great people on patrol that I was fortunate enough to share them with.