Home > Trip Reports > May 11, 2012, - Mt McLoughlin, Southeast Face

May 11, 2012, - Mt McLoughlin, Southeast Face

5/11/12
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Posted by stoudema on 5/12/12 5:32am
I headed down to southern Oregon with rong to explore some terrain I hadn't been to yet.  For the past couple of seasons I've been meaning to ride Mt McLoughlin, but for one reason or another I just didn't get around to making the trip.  After riding the mountain on Friday, I think I've been missing out.

After a long drive down I-5 on Thursday, we spent the night at the summit snowpark where only a few snow patches were remaining.  The next morning we hit the trail around 7:00 and found continuous snow after about a mile of hiking near 5700 feet.  After several hours of climbing, we gained the southeast ridge...



We were able to skin to within about 300 feet of the summit before switching to boots.  Crampons and ice axes weren't needed, but would have come in handy had it not corned on the approach.  Here's a shot of Ron on the summit



The northeast and north bowls were super enticing, but will have to wait for another trip.  I definitely think they rank up there with some of the best the cascades have to offer.  Here's a shot looking down the north bowl from the top.....



We lingered around the summit for a half hour or so enjoying the sunshine.  Surprisingly, there was little to no wind.  The snow on the south side of the summit was corn, and a few inches away on the north side was a combo of hardpack/packed powder.  Shasta was visible to the south, and to the north we could barely make out the Sisters.



We descended the southeast bowl, and the corn turns were amazing!  The first couple thousand feet were some of the best corn I've had in recent memory.  The pitch off the top is very consistent and perfect for ripping big turns.  Here's Ron getting some...



We rode down the face and to the bottom of the avalanche runout, stopping at an elevation near 6100 feet, making for 3400 feet of turns.  Here's a zoom shot looking back at the upper mountain and our tracks in the sunshine...

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Heading back to the car proved a bit cumbersome, since we had a decent traverse to get back to the east side of the mountain.  Lots of lava flows in the area slowed our progress, as did hiking through and over intermittent snow.  The size of some of the trees in the forest kept our interest up through an otherwise mundane hike back to the car.....



Finally, after what seemed like a never ending slog, we arrived back at the snowpark and enjoyed a couple of hard earned cold beers!  I left for home later that evening, while Ron stayed for another day to check out some other options in the area.  Turns out FS road 3650 was plowed up towards Fourmile Lake (our beta from the ranger said it was snow covered), which would have saved us a couple of miles on the approach!  The mountain will probably be in good shape for turns for several more weeks, so get out and get some!  Parting shot of the mountain from Medford on Friday evening....




Wow, that looks like a really great run.  Nice to get an idea of what's down in Oregon.  Thanks for sharing.

Nice turns!!! How were the mosquitoes?  The CAN be horrendous...

author=rlsg link=topic=24766.msg104908#msg104908 date=1337387097]
Nice turns!!! How were the mosquitoes?  The CAN be horrendous...


None to be found on this trip!

that's sweet.  I've stared at McLouglin several times on long road trips, it's very enticing.  Let's go get that north side sometime!

Stoudema,  I am looking forward to getting back there next year for those north side bowls.  Perhaps early enough to avoid the boot pack bushwhack through lava and chinquapin. I skied Brown Mt on the south side of Lake of the Woods hwy the following morning on thin cover, with plenty of lava to make it interesting, but the views to McLoughlin were spectacular in brilliant sunshine.   

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stoudema
2012-05-12 12:32:49