July 5, 6 -- Adams (92%), Hood (80%)
7/15/08
OR Mt Hood
4861
11
[Joy-o-meter stats and trail specifics at the bottom]
After putting off our Thursday departure by a day in hopes of getting the better weekend weather window, Anastasia, Andy, Mica and I arrived (to our delight) at Cold Springs campground around five p.m. Last week's hot weather cleared the road nicely and the new grading from a couple years back is holding up well. We bedded down with Adams clear and looming behind the trees and the SW Chutes looking like ripe fruit, waiting to be picked.
As with any ripe fruit, it's a good idea to wash it. Thoroughly.
We were on the trail at 5:30 in a cloud, with occasional misting and periods of light rain. It would burn off by 2200 meters, said Andy. Steady progress up yielded thickening cloud and continued occasional rain, with increasing wind. We ran into two skiers on their way down who, after leaving the trailhead at 10 p.m., got socked in around 3 a.m. and wandered around by Piker's Peak in freezing rain before heading down. That was a little foreshadowing, turns out.
We were in rain gear from about 8k up, running through dry gloves quickly. For a while, we continued out of vague hope in Andy's optimism (it was now scheduled to burn off as soon as we hit the top), and then eventually we were continuing out of habit, knowing that the way back down the south climb was straightforward even in cloud cover.
We hit Piker's, drenched through, at 11:30 and hunkered out of the wind for a quick snack before ripping the skins and running for the car. After the first thousand feet had restored blood flow to most extremities, we were able to appreciate the rain-soaked corn, which made for great skiing. I'm hesitant to say, but it's quite possible that there were a few hoots of joy and perhaps even a holler. We linked up snow patches far longer than most probably would, because it was just a game (and a free base grind) by that time. Hit the trail for the last 200 vf and 1/4 mile to the car.
6100 up, 5850 on skis down Joy-o-Meter 95%, continuous snow at 6300 feet
After sun breaks to dry our gear, we drove to Hood for round 2.
Andy was kind enough to put us up at Timberline in a last minute cancellation, so we all had a luxurious night of dry sleep and awoke at 6 a.m. to discover absolute bluebird skies on Hood. I was less exuberant than I might have been because I wasn't sure my legs had that much climbing in them, but we packed up our gear and started skinning up from the lot at 7:30. We made good time and made the base of the Hogsback our target, arriving at 11:30 in continued hot sun and light winds. Fantastic.
On the suggestion of Rodney, from The Mountain Shop in Portland, we skied straight down the upper White River Glacier to start. Absolutely perfect corn and we scooted out above the broken lower White River to gain the snowfields above the area to continue the harvest. Hoots, whoops and hollers abounded, ending at Timberline with time to enjoy grilled sausages at a campground on the way home and an 8 p.m. return to Seattle, following nasty traffic in Olympia.
4100 up, 4100 on skis down Joy-o-Meter 100%
Joy-o-Meter for the weekend a soggy 97.5%. Great trip, with more character building than expected. :)
After putting off our Thursday departure by a day in hopes of getting the better weekend weather window, Anastasia, Andy, Mica and I arrived (to our delight) at Cold Springs campground around five p.m. Last week's hot weather cleared the road nicely and the new grading from a couple years back is holding up well. We bedded down with Adams clear and looming behind the trees and the SW Chutes looking like ripe fruit, waiting to be picked.
As with any ripe fruit, it's a good idea to wash it. Thoroughly.
We were on the trail at 5:30 in a cloud, with occasional misting and periods of light rain. It would burn off by 2200 meters, said Andy. Steady progress up yielded thickening cloud and continued occasional rain, with increasing wind. We ran into two skiers on their way down who, after leaving the trailhead at 10 p.m., got socked in around 3 a.m. and wandered around by Piker's Peak in freezing rain before heading down. That was a little foreshadowing, turns out.
We were in rain gear from about 8k up, running through dry gloves quickly. For a while, we continued out of vague hope in Andy's optimism (it was now scheduled to burn off as soon as we hit the top), and then eventually we were continuing out of habit, knowing that the way back down the south climb was straightforward even in cloud cover.
We hit Piker's, drenched through, at 11:30 and hunkered out of the wind for a quick snack before ripping the skins and running for the car. After the first thousand feet had restored blood flow to most extremities, we were able to appreciate the rain-soaked corn, which made for great skiing. I'm hesitant to say, but it's quite possible that there were a few hoots of joy and perhaps even a holler. We linked up snow patches far longer than most probably would, because it was just a game (and a free base grind) by that time. Hit the trail for the last 200 vf and 1/4 mile to the car.
6100 up, 5850 on skis down Joy-o-Meter 95%, continuous snow at 6300 feet
After sun breaks to dry our gear, we drove to Hood for round 2.
Andy was kind enough to put us up at Timberline in a last minute cancellation, so we all had a luxurious night of dry sleep and awoke at 6 a.m. to discover absolute bluebird skies on Hood. I was less exuberant than I might have been because I wasn't sure my legs had that much climbing in them, but we packed up our gear and started skinning up from the lot at 7:30. We made good time and made the base of the Hogsback our target, arriving at 11:30 in continued hot sun and light winds. Fantastic.
On the suggestion of Rodney, from The Mountain Shop in Portland, we skied straight down the upper White River Glacier to start. Absolutely perfect corn and we scooted out above the broken lower White River to gain the snowfields above the area to continue the harvest. Hoots, whoops and hollers abounded, ending at Timberline with time to enjoy grilled sausages at a campground on the way home and an 8 p.m. return to Seattle, following nasty traffic in Olympia.
4100 up, 4100 on skis down Joy-o-Meter 100%
Joy-o-Meter for the weekend a soggy 97.5%. Great trip, with more character building than expected. :)
2 big days in a row. Just to be clear: Can you now drive to Cold Springs CG on Adams?
author=telemack link=topic=10587.msg42942#msg42942 date=1215448075]
2 big days in a row. Just to be clear: Can you now drive to Cold Springs CG on Adams?
Absolutely, without a problem. Road's 100% clear.
Nice! Way to push through in the drizzle!! We on the other hand, not wanting to hump our skis up the El Dorado trail and sit on the Inspiration Glacier in a cloud for three days, took our skis for a day hike up to Cascade Pass on Friday where we achieved a Joy-o-Meter rating of approximately 12%. However if you add in the number of cute marmots we saw, then my personal Joy-o-Meter goes up to at least 50%. :) Glad you guys got in so many turns!
Nice work Marcus and gang
Nice work you guys! Way to push through on Adams and rally for Hood. It's great that Adams still managed to pull off a high rating after such a wet climb. I guess 6,000' of corn can offset quite a few negatives.
Cool trip.
Great report, good info.
Thanks, Marcus and crew.
Great report, good info.
Thanks, Marcus and crew.
Nice job guys! The sunshine on Hood must have felt soooo good after skiing in the rain on Saturday -- what a nice reward. :) Can't wait to see pics and/or viddy.
Oh, and I like this, " It would burn off by 2200 meters, said Andy." He, he .... ;)
Q
Oh, and I like this, " It would burn off by 2200 meters, said Andy." He, he .... ;)
Q
Heh -- yeah, that was a theme for the day.
He was right about Sunday morning though, to our great surprise.
He was right about Sunday morning though, to our great surprise.
In my defense, the sun did peek out on Mt. Adams near 2200m. It disappeared shortly thereafter but that wasn't stipulated in said proclamation.
And Becky, we saw an artic fox so that probably contributed to the 95% rating. But then again, Anastasia emptying out her ski boot was probably a more significant contributor the other way.
But the upper White River Glacier section on Mt. Hood definitely had the goods. That was about as perfect corn conditions as one could ask for ... factor in the sausagefest and I'd say, definitely a 100% JOM.
Trying to attach some pictures below ...
And Becky, we saw an artic fox so that probably contributed to the 95% rating. But then again, Anastasia emptying out her ski boot was probably a more significant contributor the other way.
But the upper White River Glacier section on Mt. Hood definitely had the goods. That was about as perfect corn conditions as one could ask for ... factor in the sausagefest and I'd say, definitely a 100% JOM.
Trying to attach some pictures below ...
author=Andy link=topic=10587.msg42970#msg42970 date=1215462151]And Becky, we saw an artic fox so that probably contributed to the 95% rating. But then again, Anastasia emptying out her ski boot was probably a more significant contributor the other way.
In brief explanation and with a nod to Kam, Kelvin, Cass, Allyson et al..., the J-o-M is a purely mathematical expression of feet climbed vs. feet skied. All in all, certainly a 100% Joy Factor for the weekend, but that's a more subjective measurement.
Nice pics Andy! Captures both days well...
Looked like an interesting weekend.
Way to work the weather, sorry there was not better weather on Adams.
Good job, it looked like fun, I was looking at the Snow Dome on Hood and that looks ripe for the picking.
Way to work the weather, sorry there was not better weather on Adams.
Good job, it looked like fun, I was looking at the Snow Dome on Hood and that looks ripe for the picking.
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