December, 20, 2008, Mt. Tabor

Great day climbing Mt. Tabor.  I was nearly hit by a Prius on the way up, but managed to continue.  I took the North Route up.  I got a little thirsty halfway up and realized I might have made a mistake by leaving fluids at my base camp.

I really felt the burn on the fourth flight.

I summited around 3:30.  The winds were blowing hard from the east.

My first descent was down the West Face.  It was surprisingly nice.  I got some great turns in before I came hit some grass.

I ran into a fellow Oregonian about half way down and we both shared our excitement about being able to ski Tabor this time of year.

I went up for a second ascent and came down the North Face.  This was epic.  I got some delicious fresh turns and made a ridiculous drop off a retaining wall.  Surprisingly, the lower park was untouched and I was able to ride our of Tabor on a sweet note.

At the start of the climb when I took in the conditions, I didn't think I'd be able to ski all the way back to base camp.  However, Thorburn didn't present the challenge it originally appeared to be.

Just when I thought the day was about over, 70th opened up and I dropped in for some great kicks.  I did have to backtrack a bit up Burnside, but it was worth it because I got in a few final turns on 70th before packing it up.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sethdjohnson/ExtremeTabor?feat=directlink

(The first photo is at the summit.  I attempted to get a shot of the West Face, but wasn't comfortable digging through my pack since this was a solo trip.  The second photo in right before the retaining wall.)

Keep on Rollin' Montavilla!