August was quickly approaching, and given the meager snow conditions in central Oregon, Dan, Joe and I opted to bail on our scheduled trip into the Middle Sister and instead head to Mt Hood for a couple of days of riding. Dan arrived at my house at noon, and we loaded up gear and headed out shortly thereafter. Traffic was decent on I5 with only one major slowdown, and we arrived in the climber’s lot a little after 3:00 pm, where Joe was waiting. To all of our surprise, it started to rain as we got out of the car, but it quickly turned to a mist and then stopped a few minutes later.
Hood from the Climber’s LotHeading up the trail
We shouldered our packs, carried our skis, and made the short walk up the trail to the snow’s end. Given the hot summer, I was pretty stoked at how far down the snow went in the canyon —- it would only be a couple hundred yard walk to the parking lot.
At the snow’s edge
We started skinning up the Mile Canyon, and made it about half way up before getting hassled by ski patrol who told us we weren’t allowed to skin in the area even though it 4:00 pm and well after they were closed. It looked like they were taking down the last camp, and had quite a few cats running. We agreed to skin to the side and avoid the cats and headed on up, working our way into the Palmer Canyon, then onto the Palmer proper before making our way to the top around 6:00 pm.
Skinning up the Palmer CanyonThe boys up top
Although it was quite a different experience than sitting at the Prouty Saddle on July 31st like we’ve been accustomed to, we all knew the turns would be better here on this day. We put our beer on ice, then set about removing skins and getting ready to ski down. My beer of choice for our run was a tasty Hazy IPA from Full Sail Brewing Co.
A tasty Full Sail Hazy IPAThe standard shot up top
After enjoying our beers and a quick snack, it was time to drop in. I headed down first, and made some pretty sweet turns on the upper Palmer before setting up to shoot some shots of Dan and Joe as they came down…
Dan & Joe ripping the PalmerJoe all grins harvesting the evening corn
Halfway down the Palmer, Dan grabbed the camera and returned the favor, shooting several shots of me harvesting the evening corn, including the ones below…
July turns on the PalmerMatt heading down
At the mid-station, we were stoked to see a groomer coming up with his tiller down, laying a nice track of corduroy behind him. We waited for him to pass, and then it was game on!
Joe ripping the fresh groomDan and Joe skiing the corduroy
We skied down to the intersection of the Palmer and Mile canyons, and enjoyed the grooming all the way down. Unfortunately, the Mile wasn’t groomed, but it still skied really nicely in the soft snow and cat tracks.
Slaying the corduroy in the Palmer CanyonThe skiers coming down
We waited at the top of the Mile for a few minutes for one of the many cats to pass, then headed down, skiing all the way back to the end of the snow a few hundred yards from the lodge.
One of the many catsHeading down thru the park
At the bottom of the snow, we made the short walk back to the cars, and celebrated by enjoying a cold beer in the parking lot. My second offering was a Summer Honey seasonal ale from Big Sky Brewing Company.
Heading to the carSummer Honey Ale
By the time we had the gear loaded in the cars and our beer drank, it was time to think about a spot to camp for the evening. After looking around, we settled on the White River Snowpark, which I like due to the really nice view of the mountain. Once we had our camp setup, we cooked up some tasty brats for dinner, before hitting the sack in anticipation of getting August turns in the morning. After bidding the skiers goodnight, I crawled into my Outback and fell asleep shortly after my head hit the pillow, stoked from a great day of turns on the last day of July.
After a lackluster June, Dan and I were looking forward to getting our turns in early in July. We agreed that Hood sounded like a good bet, and Dan was game to drive, so we met at my house early and headed up I5 in his Tesla. To ensure we had more than enough power to get back, we stopped off in Sandy for a few minutes to hit the supercharger, and then made our way to the mountain.
Charging the Tesla in Sandy
We pulled into the climbers lot around 8:30 am, and got our gear organized, including loading skis and boots on packs. Around 9:00 am, we set out on foot up the climber’s trail, which later proved to be a mistake due to how dusty and soft the trail was. The wildflowers along the way were a small consolation to the slow trail hiking, and definitely made for a few scenic photos…
Hood from the climbers lotThe view from the trail
It took two hours to get to the White River overlook due to the heat and extremely slow going, but it was nice to get a good view of the glacier again. It was looking pretty small for July, but at least the snow was mostly white and smooth.
The White River GlacierCracks in the White River
We took turns snapping a few pictures at the overlook, then finished climbing up the trail to the top of the Palmer. From the top of the Palmer, we traversed over to and under the lifts, then made the hike out to the Zigzag to check out the conditions. I always enjoy setting eyes on the Zigzag for the first time of the summer, and this year was no exception…
Dan at the White River overlookLooking down the Zigzag
We worked our way down to the snow on the Ziggy, and it felt nice to take the approach shoes off and put the snowboard boots on. We skinned up the Zigzag until the snow became too bumpy for fun skiing, and called it just below the snow finger that comes down from Crater Rock. Once at our high point, we enjoyed a well deserved lunch, as put our beers on ice. My beer of choice for the day was a very tasty hazy King Sunny IPA from Pacifica Brewery. Although I took a few pictures of it, including the one below, I decided to have a couple swigs of Dan’s Ninkasi and save the Pacifica for later in the day at the top of the Palmer….
Dan near our high pointKing Sunny IPA
After finishing off Dan’s beer, as well as our lunch, we took a few more photos, including the one below of me, before we stepped into our bindings to enjoy some hard earned turns…
Looking out over Illumination Rock
I dropped in first, and enjoyed some really smooth creamed corn down for several hundred feet before stopping to shoot a few photos of Dan skiing down. As usual, Dan slayed the corn and looked good doing it in front of the camera…
Dan skiing under the West CraterHeaded down the Zigzag
Partway down, the Zigzag, the snowfield split into two lobes. We decided the western lobe looked smoother, and headed that way. Dan grabbed the camera and snapped several shots of me as I came down, including the ones below….
July turns on the west lobeMatt headed down
Before we got to the bottom of the west lobe, I took the camera back from Dan and skied down towards the bottom on perfect corn, then found a suitable spot to shoot some shots of Dan as he came down….
Dan harvesting some July cornTurns in front of Illumination Rock
Once we were both at the bottom of the west lobe, we made a short hike across the rocks and dirt and strapped back into our gear and continued on down. The snow remained really smooth, and we enjoyed each and every turn as we descended….
Headed down the ZigzagRiding the smooth corn
The turns on the middle of the Zigzag were probably the smoothest on the snowfield, and we ripped big sweeping turns down, enjoying each and every turn.
Summer turns on the ZiggyDan skiing below Illumination Rock
We continued on down to the lower snowfield, skiing by a very large rock that has served as an gauge for us over the years with respect to snow level on the snowfield. The rock was just becoming totally exposed, and both of us were a bit concerned since it was definitely early for the snow to be at this level…
Dan enjoying turns on the lower snowfieldHeading down towards the bottom
We worked our way down to about 7200 feet or so, then decided to call it since the snow was getting soft, even though we could have skied down a bit further. Our transition to skins was quick, and soon we were headed back up the Ziggy…
Skinning back up the Zigzag
We made it back up to our gear about an hour later or so, and then made a beeline for the top of the Palmer to enjoy some fun skiing on the Palmer snowfield. Our hope was that we might even get lucky and score a groomer on the way down. Once at the top of the Palmer, we put our beers on ice, and I enjoyed my King Sunny IPA while both of us enjoyed the views. A little bit later, it was time to strap into the bindings and enjoy some really nice corn turns….
Dropping in on the PalmerDan shredding the upper Palmer
The snow on the Palmer was equally as nice as that on the Zigzag, and we thoroughly enjoyed the fun turns down to the mid-station. Both Dan and I took turns shooting photos of one another, and were pretty stoked by the time we made it to the lower Palmer…
Dan skiing the PalmerHeading down below the mid-station
We headed on down below the mid-station and were stoked as we saw the cat coming up, laying down a single groomer track behind him. We stood out of the way and let him pass, and then enjoyed some of the best corduroy this side of Deer Valley.
Matt slaying the groomerAll smiles in the Palmer Canyon
The groomer was so good, both of us couldn’t help but have big shit eating grins on our faces as we headed down. As far as July turns go, we both agreed it doesn’t get a whole lot better than this!
Matt heading on downDan getting some groomer action
We cruised on down and into the Mile Canyon, and once we got over towards the half pipe the grooming stopped, but we still enjoyed some really nice turns on down the canyon below Silcox Hut…
Turns by the halfpipeDan skiing through the Terrain Park
We worked our way through the terrain park, and down below the cats, and skied to within a few feet of the parking lot. Both of us were stoked on skiing back to the lot, as well as the quality of the snow, and decided to celebrate with a beer in the parking lot.
Dan below the cats
We made the short walk to the car, and it felt great to change into shorts and flip flops. I pulled a tasty Kick Step IPA from Ghostfish Brewing out of the cooler, also pulled out some fresh garden salads I made up the night before. Sitting in the sun, enjoying our beer and fresh food, we both agreed it doesn’t get much better.
A cold Kick Step IPAApres’ ski in the parking lot
We enjoyed the food and beer until they were gone, and then loaded our gear in the Tesla and headed out, capping off another great day of summer skiing at Mt Hood.
With the calendar showing June already, I was looking forward to getting out and scoring some turns. The problem was, the snow conditions weren’t looking really hot anywhere in the mountains. It hadn’t really precipitated since the first of March across most of Oregon, and reports from others as well as my own observations indicated the snow conditions weren’t really great. Even so, Dan and I made plans to head to Mt Bachelor to see if we could find some smooth snow to slide on. I met at his house early, and we headed up and over highway 58.
Mt Bachelor from Sparks LakeParked along Cascade Lake Hwy
Temperatures were pretty cool on the drive over, and we stopped at Sparks Lake for a quick break. The forecast was calling for sun and mild temps, and we were hopeful of getting some good corn. By the time we pulled off at the area however, it looked like the forecast wasn’t going to come to pass. A dark cloud was forming over the mountain, and it remained cold. Nevertheless, we set out on skins and headed up.
Skinning up an icy track
The skin track was firm and icy, and by the time we neared the top of Sunrise, it started to snow. The weather was also moving in around the Sisters, and visibility became limited. If we didn’t know better, I would have though it was April and not June. Once we made it to the top of Sunrise, we decided to call it and head back down, not wanting to ski the upper mountain in firm, icy conditions with little to no visibility.
Dan topping out at SunriseMatt before dropping in
We sat around for a bit at the top of Sunrise, waiting to see if weather would give us a window to head down, but it didn’t appear it would. We decided to hit the east facing aspects as much as we could, thinking they would be most likely to be soft. I dropped in first, then snapped a few shots of Dan as we skied down. The first few turns were indeed soft, but after that it was pretty much firm conditions all the way back down.
The only soft turns on SunriseSkiing down in the snowstorm
We skied back down to the bottom as the snowfall picked up in intensity. By the time we made it to the parking lot, it was coming down pretty good, and it was staying cold.
Near the bottom of SunriseHeading back to the car
We made the short hike across the parking lot, and headed for the warmth of the car. Just before we reached the road, Dan snapped the below shot of me as the snow came down…
Matt at the road
Back at the car, we threw our gear in the back and headed over to the main parking lot, hopeful that we might find some soft snow on the Cone. We took a circuitous route to the top from the north side, which was a little longer than we’d anticipated, but soon we were standing on top of the Cone, enjoying a cold beer. My beer of choice for the day was a Spring IPA from Coldfire Brewing, and it was really tasty.
Skinning the ConeSpring IPA from Coldfire Brewing
After enjoying a few sips of cold beer, we strapped in for the first of several runs down the Cone. After the first few turns, I knew we were going to be in for some much better conditions, as the snow was soft corn on the perfect eastern exposure…
Headed down the ConeDan harvesting corn on the Cone
We harvested the corn down to the treeline, then put in a boot pack back up to do it again. Once back at the top, we enjoyed some more of our beers, then laid some tracks down for our second run….
Matt harvesting lap 2 cornDan slashing a second lap turn
The turns on the second lap were as good as the first, so we headed back for a third run. It was nice re-utilizing the boot pack, and once we were back on top we took a few minutes to finish our beers and enjoy the view, such as it was. The visibility improved slightly, and both of us were somewhat in awe at the lack of snow around the base compared to a normal snow year. Before long, it was time to head down, and we enjoyed the turns back down to our packs at treeline on our third lap.
Third lap turns on the ConeDan enjoying a final lap on the Cone
Once back at treeline, we shouldered our packs and “skied” back down through the trees on some really heinous snow to the parking lot below. Back at the car, it was pretty cold, so we decided to load up and head out, and delay our grilling session to later in the day. As we departed, I snapped the below shot looking back at the Cone…
Looking back at the Cone
On the way home, we pulled into the Gold Lake snowpark, but it was still cold, so we decided to just grill in Dan’s backyard. Once we got to Dan’s, both of us figured it was time to enjoy a second cold beverage, so I pulled out one of my favorite Pale Ales — a Bone-A-Fide pale ale from Boneyard Beer.
Bone-A-Fide Pale Ale from Boneyard Brewing
A few minutes later, the brats were done, and we enjoyed them with fresh garden onions and chips and salsa. A bit late, with the food and beer gone, the day was over, and that ended what turned out to be a decent day of June turns in the Oregon cascades.
A day after a great trip to Southern Oregon, I found myself at work early for a monthly public meeting. My plan was to put in two-thirds of a day, and then head out for an annual dusk patrol ski at Hoodoo, something I look forward to all year long. The forecast was calling for sun, and the weather looked to continue to be provide for some good turns. Shortly after noon, Andy arrived at work and we loaded gear into my car and headed to Dan’s. With Dan in tow, we headed up the highway, with plans to meet Neil, Joe and John at Hoodoo. Driving up highway 126, spirits were high, but started to dampen a bit as we noticed some huge thunderheads building over right over Santiam Pass. As we pulled off the highway and approached the ski hill, conditions appeared to worsen. We met up with the others, and decided we’d skin up to mid-mountain, and make an assessment of the weather from there.
Andy & Neil heading outAndy next to some old bull wheels
Things didn’t really improve as we walked across the base area, and as soon as we set the skins on the snow and made our first strides up the hill, it started to drizzle. We worked our way up towards mid-mountain, and the drizzle became heavier, and by the time we reached the top or Ed’s Chair, everyone decided we would go no further.
Skiing up in the drizzleReassessing plans at mid-mountain
The skies were getting blacker, and all of us were worried about the potential for lightening, even though we hadn’t seen or heard anything yet. Before we shoved off, we snapped a few pictures, including the shot below of Andy, Niel and I.
Andy, Matt & Neil
I dropped in first, and in a rush to head down, left my poles at the top with the rest of the skiers. I setup to shoot some shots of the skiers as they came down, and proceeded to shoot some photos of Dan and Niel who came down first.
Dan heading downNeil and Dan getting out of Dodge
Andy and John came down next, and even though it was raining and the conditions were less than ideal, it still looked like they were having fun…
Andy coming downJohn’s turn on the descent
Joe came down last, and I was relieved to see he was “double poling.” I snapped a few shots of him as he approached, and thankfully accepted my poles from him when he made it down to me.
Joe “double poling”
We skied the run out and down to the parking lot, and everyone agreed it wasn’t worth another lap. Instead, we had a ton of food, and instead of grilling in the sun, decided it would be wise to head to the Ray Benson snow shelter to get out of the weather.
Back in the parking lotThe walk of shame in the rain:)
As we made our way back to the cars, we all agreed that though we didn’t get much vertical and the conditions weren’t great, this annual dusk patrol would be one we wouldn’t soon forget. A few minutes later, we were out of the elements and in the comfortable shelter at Ray Benson, and it was time to start grilling. Neil prepped the burgers, and I threw the brats on the grill, and before long we had a feast ready to go.
Niel prepping the burgersHanging out at the shelter
Even though we were all hoping to work up more of an appetite by burning lots of calories skinning and skiing multiple laps of great corn, our meal definitely hit the spot, and it was really nice to hang out with a bunch of fully vaccinated friends in what felt like a return to normal in the COVID-19 era.
Dan enjoying the grilled offerings
I pulled out my beer of choice for the afternoon, a tasty Bombay Bomber Pale Ale from McKenzie Brewing, and snapped a few photos of it before getting it on ice. After that, I enjoyed a super tasty burger as well as a brat, and definitely overate with respect to the amount of turns we made.
Bombay Bomber Pale Ale from McKenzie Brewing
After everyone had their fill of beer and burgers, it was time to hit the road and head for home. Before we headed out, I pulled out the tripod and snapped a picture of our group to commemorate a dusk patrol that probably will never be forgotten…
The full 2021 dusk patrol crew
Looking back on it now, having an out of the ordinary 2021 dusk patrol seems right in line with the past year we’ve all had with COVID-19, wildfires, and other out of the ordinary events. Nevertheless, I’m still counting it as a great trip with good friends, and you can bet I’m already looking forward to returning again next year!
