Splitboard Oregon

November 29, 2024 – EPA Opener & Peak 2 Prep

A day after eating too much turkey at Thanksgiving dinner, and two days removed from a sweet powder day on Redtop, I was stoked to be heading up to the Pass for a day of patrolling before heading on to Mt Thielsen to get some backcountry turns on Saturday. With my truck loaded down with gear, I headed out and made good time up the highway to the Pass, pulling into the parking area under clear skies. A few minutes later, I was gearing up with members of Patrol 4, along with Dan, Shannon and Brian who were also up for the day.

I knew that Patrol 4 needed some help, and with this being the first day that EPA was spinning for the public and with Peak 2 planned to open the following day, there were plenty of tasks that needed attention. The first order of business was getting gear up the lift that needed to go to Peak 2, so we dragged out several sleds, the evacuation gear, and various other equipment to the base of EPA. While we waited for the lift to spin a complete rotation, I snapped a few photos of our crew…

A few minutes later, we loaded the chair and headed up to the top under bright sunshine and beautiful blue skies. Brian and I had the first official EPA chair of the season, and took up the evacuation gear along with some carabiner boo.

At the top, we unloaded gear and readied to open the mountain. I wasn’t unhappy at all when I drew the assignment of opening RTS, and with the other runs covered, Dan joined me which afforded the opportunity to snap a few pictures as we skied down.

We skied the top safely, making a couple of ski cuts, and then I headed down to setup to snap a few photos of Dan. The conditions were excellent, and the both the snow quality and the coverage were excellent. It was hard to believe how good it was, especially considering it was still November!

First official opening of RTS for the season

After we opened RTS, we stopped at Twilight and did a gear inventory for opening before heading down to the base to get a role of duct tape that was needed back up top. That led to one more run on RTS before heading to the lodge to pull out a bunch of tower pads that needed to go to Peak 2.

Dan organizing tower pads at the base of EPA

We lugged all the pads to the base of EPA, and then recruited some additional patrollers to get them to the top of the lift where we staged them for mountain crew to take them to the top of EPA via snowmobile. Once we had all the pads up top, Brian, Dave and I headed over to Peak 2 to run the first avalanche route of the season.

Heading to Peak 2 on a gorgeous afternoon

At the top, we checked in with the lift ops and decided to each grab a tower pad and get 4 pads on the top towers prior to running the route. After stashing our packs up top, we headed down and started the work…

The snow was surprisingly good, and after getting the pads on the top towers, we enjoyed some sweet turns down the lift line to the bottom. Turns out getting a lap in before working the avalanche route was a good choice.

Hanging with the lift ops at the base of Peak 2

At the base of Peak 2, we had to wait a few minutes while one of the lift ops retrieved a couple of seats via snowmobile from the top of Peak 2, and then we enjoyed a slow chair to the top where our avalanche gear was waiting.

We quickly donned the packs, did a beacon check, and headed out on Waldo, regrouping on the ridge above June’s Run. We spent a little time showing Dave the ropes, literally, since he hadn’t run the route before, and after cutting a few cornices on the ridge, we set up the belay on the Nose. Brian belayed Dan while I snapped a few photos…

For the second belay, we had Dave on the sharp end of the rope, and he worked all the way to the end of the meadow without getting anything to go. After that, Brian and I headed down to continue working on tower pads, while Dan and Dave headed down after us to go back up and run the lower route to be sure it was controlled. At the bottom, we had to wait a few more minutes until our chair with a seat spun back around, and then we loaded the chair and headed back up.

Catching a little air after control work

The rest of the afternoon (about an hour and a half) was spent getting tower pads on the remaining towers, and right about 3:30 we got the last one on. Riding up the final Peak 2 chair of the afternoon, it felt good to get a significant amount of work done while at the same time enjoying some good snow with the backside all to ourselves.

As we arrived at the top of Peak 2, Brian really wanted to drop into SDN and enjoy an out of the area run back to the base, and thought we could do so in time to catch the last chair up EPA to help with upper mountain sweep. Since we were on Peak 2 with no one around, we stashed our patrol coats in our packs, climbed up to the top of the ridge, and dropped in. The upper turns on SDN were fun, the down in the trees there was a pretty good crust, and by the time we got to the bottom we were all second guessing our decision. After getting stuck and having to hike a short bit since there wasn’t an out track yet, we finally made it to the bottom of RTS and then down to the base just in time to catch the lift to head up for sweep.

Patrol 4 ready to sweep on a gorgeous evening

Once sweep began, I decided to take advantage of the setting sun and shoot a picture of the beer I planned on enjoying a little later after we were done for the day, which was a tasty Crux Stout from the Crux Fermentation Project. Additionally, it was just Joey and I remaining up top, so I asked him for a favor and he obliged, and took a shot of me with the sun setting over Diamond Peak from the top of EPA. It turned out great….

A gorgeous sunset over Diamond Peak from the top of EPA

After the quick photo shoot, I headed down Success and cleared the run, and then down By George when lower mountain sweep started. While waiting to meet up with the crew coming down KP, I snapped one more picture of my beer.

Ready to enjoy my Crux Stout after sweep

A few minutes later, it felt great to get out of snowboard and ski boots and enjoy a cold beverage in the company of fellow patrollers. I hung around for a half hour or so, and then headed out. At the exit, I was stoked to be turning left instead of right as normal, and made my way towards Mt Thielsen in anticipation of a great day of turns the following morning. All in all, this was a great day at the Pass, and by far my best ever patrol day in November! Here’s a parting shot from the day of our crew in the morning.

Parting shot of Patrol ready for a great day!

Protected: November 27, 2024 – Redtop

November 23, 2024 – Opening Weekend at the Pass!

Early and heavy snowfall throughout the first half November led to the earliest opening weekend at the Pass in 21 years, and I was excited to be able to head to the mountain on Saturday to experience the stoke. After some shuffling and juggling related to patrol duties, we worked out a solution where I would be hill chief on Saturday with a small crew of patrollers while the rest of the patrol attended our in-town OEC refresher. After attending our instructor refresher on Wednesday evening, I was ready to go on Saturday and met Jan, Richard and Atticus a few minutes after 6:00 am at LCC. We made the drive up highway 58 without incident and arrived to a beautiful snowy scene at the Pass.

There were a total of about 6-7 of us for the day, with 2 alpine patrollers, 2 patrollers, 2 hosts and 1 SPY. After a quick morning meeting, we headed out to open runs and greet the public. The plan for the weekend was to run Twilight only, with the rest of the mountain likely opening the following weekend. We headed out, and I was stoked to try out my new board, the Amplid Singular, both on the groom and in the fresh snow. A few minutes later, after a short walk and lift ride, we were ready to open runs at the top of Twilight.

Opening went smoothly, and after a couple of runs I made a brief stop at the patrol room before heading back up. At the top, I found Richard and Jenn hanging out, and snapped a few photos of them including the shot below.

We hung out up top for awhile, with at least one patroller staying up top all the time. For whatever reason, folks were having a difficult time with the ramp at the top of Twilight, with approximately 50% of the people flat out wrecking as they unloaded. The temperature was hovering right around 32 degrees F, which caused the snow to be quite slick, contributing to the overall carnage. Hoping to improve the conditions, I worked with one of the lifties and mountain hosts Michael and Jan for over an hour and we improved conditions on the ramp considerably. The temperature dropped as well which also served as in improvement.

After the ramp work, I headed to the patrol room to check the RTS rope and get it ready for deployment for the season, before getting a call for a courtesy ride for 3 skiers at the top of Twilight that couldn’t ski down safely. I dispatched Jenn to survey the scene, and made my way to the lift to join her. We ended up putting all three in the sled, for a combined weight that must have been somewhere around 300 pounds, but it worked out well and we skied the sled to the base area safely. It was my first sled ride of the season, and I’d be lying if I said driving in the handles didn’t burn my quads a little bit.

An hour or so and several runs later, it was time for closing and we all met at the top of the lift. One of the lift ops took a photo of our crew, and then we headed out to sweep the lower mountain. I swept Sally’s Way, and then met up with the rest of the crew in the patrol room, where we held a brief evening meeting, before enjoying some chips and hummus, along with some cold sodas and beer. My beer of choice for the evening was a smooth-drinking Space Sailor IPA from SeaQuake Brewing, and it was just what I needed after a good day of patrolling.

A bit later, it was time to hit the road, so we closed up the patrol room, gathered our gear, and made the drive back to the valley, fully satisfied with a great day of patrolling on opening weekend in November! Here’s to hoping the rest of the season is as good as the start, and to more opening days in future Novembers!

November 1, 2024 – Mt Bachelor

With a flight scheduled for first thing in the morning out of Portland on November 2nd for a trip with the family to Maui, I didn’t want to chance waiting until we got back to get November turns in, so I made plans to head out on the 1st and see what I could find. The weather forecast that had looked so promising earlier in the week for dropping a load of snow at the Pass didn’t pan out, so I decided to head over to Mt Bachelor to see what I could find. I took the Cascade Lakes Highway and then cutoff Road 40, enjoying some good music and nice morning colors before pulling into the parking lot a few minutes before 8:00 am.

Approximately 24 to 28 inches of snow greeted me, and I wasn’t surprised to see a hundred other cars in the parking lot. Not having a lot of time to kill since I needed to get back to head to Portland in the evening, I donned skins quickly and started out towards the Cone, before deciding to head off towards Pine to leave the crowds behind.

The skinning was taxing and the snow was deep, but soon I worked my way over towards Old Skyliner and headed up from there. When I reached the bench about halfway up, I snapped a picture, sent it to Dan, and then called him with a report before continuing up. A couple of other folks came down as I continued up, and eventually I stopped near the top of Pine. After switching over from skins to ride mode, I pulled out the tripod, fired off a few shots, and then stepped into bindings to enjoy some soft and fresh November turns.

The turns down were fun, and the snow was great. It wasn’t that epic 20 degree blower powder, but it wasn’t too heavy either and it was pretty damn fine for the first of November. I enjoyed turns all the way down to the bottom and back to the truck. After checking my watch, I figured I had time for one more lap so I headed out again with the goal of exploring some of the snow beneath the Red Chair.

I skinned up towards the Cone like the first lap, and then cut off again part way up and worked a few hundred feed higher to a suitable point where I could enjoy a cold beer while pulling the skins. My offering for the day was a tasty Mooncrusher Porter from the Obelisk Beer Co. and it hit the spot. I always look forward to that first porter or stout to start the season that marks the beginning of the powder season!

A cold Mooncrusher Porter from Obelisk Brewing

After getting my board halves back together and downing the rest of my beer, it was time to enjoy some more turns and that’s exactly what I did. After making my way back down to the truck, I wasted little time before heading out, super stoked to have November turns in the book. The road home was a bit dicey, since it had snowed about 2-3 inches on Road 40 since the morning, but I made it back to Highway 58 unscathed and the rest of the drive was easy.

A few hours after getting home, we had the car loaded with our travel gear for Hawaii, and made it to the hotel later that evening. Our flight left at 8:00 am the following morning, and by 11:15 (Hawaiian time), we were enjoying beautiful Maui. It was definitely a trip to remember, with our trip to Hana being one of the many highlights. I’m already looking forward to heading back! Below are a couple of shots from the trip…

October 1, 2024 – Mt Hood, Palmer Patches

After enduring a long, hot summer, I was happy to see the calendar approaching October, which is one of my favorite months of the year. The transition to fall is something I look forward to each year, along with getting October turns in early in the month. This year was no exception, and Dan and I made plans to head up to Mt Hood and ski on what was left of the Palmer patch. I’d been watching the Timberline webcam for the past couple of weeks, and the snow was going fast, but it looked like it would hold out for turns in the first few days of the month.

We met early along the freeway at the Harrisburg exit, and made good time to Sandy, where we got a quick charge for the Tesla and a coffee for ourselves before heading up to the mountain. Pulling into the parking lot revealed a much different scene than a month prior, and there were only a few other cars around. After getting our gear organized and packs loaded, we headed up, and made good time up to Silcox.

Just above the Silcox, we found snow in the Palmer canyon, which allowed for some easy hiking, but the quality of the snow was just a notch below hideous. Neither of us were too stoked on the extremely bumpy and filthy snow, but held higher hopes for the Palmer above.

We worked our way up to the mid-station, and after negotiating a mix of scree, glacial till and dirt, we were able to don skins a couple hundred feet higher and skin the to within about 50 feet from the Palmer top shack. Once at the top, it was time to get a my beer on ice (after the obligatory photo). My first offering for the day was a tasty Big Juicy IPA from No-Li Brewery that I’d picked up in Washington a bit earlier in the summer on a trip with the family to Mt Rainier.

We sat around up top for awhile, enjoying the views while the snow softened some. A bit later, we got ready to head down for a first lap, and Dan snapped a “sponsor shot” picture of me before we clicked and strapped into our bindings and headed down.

I headed down first, and setup to shoot a few pictures of Dan as he came down, before he grabbed the camera to return the favor for me. The first hundred feet or so was “ok” snow, but after that both of us were surprised by how smooth and fun the turns were. Several pics are below…

Working through rock islands on the Palmer patch

Enjoying some October corn on the Palmer

We skied down a finger of snow on skier’s left, milking it until it ran out, and then donned skins to head back up for a second lap.

A short stint on the skins brought us back up to the top, and we ran into a fellow turns-all-year enthusiast and ski patroller from Utah named Darrell. As it turned out, Darrell had a one-month longer streak than Dan, at 349 months. The three of us chatted for awhile, and then Dan and I headed down for a second ski.

The snow on the second run was nice enough to warrant heading back up one more time, so we decided to make one more climb. As we were getting ready, Darrell came down and I snapped a few pics of him enjoying the turns, including the shot below.

Before we headed out, I pulled out my second (and final) beer of the day and snapped a picture of it, before placing it into a snow hole to make sure it would be chilled and ready when we returned after skiing a third lap. I’m generally not a big fan of pilsner’s, but I have to say the Phil’s Pilsner from Wild Ride Brewing was a beer that I would go for again.

For our third climb, we elected to forgo packs and skins, and booted up to a couple hundred feet below the top of the Palmer with the intent of enjoying the smoothest snow on the patch. A few minutes later, we did just that…

Enjoying some “packless” turns on the Palmer patch

We skied back down to our packs and gear, and after loading our gear and approach shoes, made a couple of final turns down to the end of the snow. I caught a picture of Dan making the final slide on the Palmer patch, as well as a picture looking to the south towards Mt Jefferson. The Bingham fire, which had blown up in the last few hours, created an all-too familiar scene

At the bottom of the Palmer, we elected to head down and ski some of the smoother looking snow in the canyon below us, rather than returning immediately to the Palmer Canyon with it’s rough and dirty snow. A long carry through scree and till brought us to a couple of dirty but smooth patches of snow, and we made some enjoyable turns.

At the second, longer patch, we found some really dirty snow. A short section of it proved to be too difficult to slide on, so we booted across it. Dan snapped a couple of pictures of me showing just how filthy it was…

Looking down at the rest of the good “skiing”

Below our dirty snow, we managed to eek out another hundred feet of turns before calling it and making the traverse across the scree to the Palmer canyon. We both agreed that the final couple hundred feet of snow in the Palmer canyon was some of the most unenjoyable turns we ever made in our lives, but we managed to get down without injury or wipe out.

Hiking out the Palmer canyon just above Silcox

A short hike brought us out to the Silcox, and from there it was an easy stroll back down the road to the parking lot. As usual, it felt good to get the packs off our backs, and get the brats on the grill. While we waited for the meat to cook, I pulled out some of the season’s offerings from my garden, including some hot salsa as well as a new batch of tomatillo sauce made fresh a few days earlier. Both were great, but the tomatillo sauce was excellent and might become a new staple on the menu for fall ski trips.

Grillin’ and chillin’ in the parking lot

A bit later the brats were ready, and we enjoyed them after a fun day of burning calories and making turns, before packing up and making the long drive back home to the southern Willamette Valley. All in all, it was another great day on Mt Hood, and it felt good to have October turns in the books. Below are a couple of parting shots from the day…