May 28-29, 2005, Middle Sister, Camp Lake
5/28/05
OR elsewhere
3799
2
Short version:
Our plan to ski the SE Ridge of Middle was thwarted by intense thunderstorms Saturday night, followed by rain and threats of more thunderstorms Sunday morning. We made one run above Camp Lake early Sun am in-between period of rain, we found the snow surprisingly well-consolidated and of excellent skiing quality. We hiked out in the rain Sun morning. The views and the experience of a new area more the made up for the lack of skiing and being soaked.
Long version:
Our objective for the weekend was the Southeast Ridge of Middle Sister. This route is regarded as one of the finest ski descents in Oregon. You can see our annotated , the .
We setup camp on the northeast corner of Camp Lake under this amazing view of the northeast side of South Sister:
Around 6pm the excitement started. With no warning our camp was rapidly . We descending around 6:30am, the snow was well consolidated and very pleasant to ski -- it was large-grain, intuitive summer corn. . Faint suncups were beginning to develop on these lower slopes.
Back at camp we packed quickly and right as we started to , here.
Our plan to ski the SE Ridge of Middle was thwarted by intense thunderstorms Saturday night, followed by rain and threats of more thunderstorms Sunday morning. We made one run above Camp Lake early Sun am in-between period of rain, we found the snow surprisingly well-consolidated and of excellent skiing quality. We hiked out in the rain Sun morning. The views and the experience of a new area more the made up for the lack of skiing and being soaked.
Long version:
Our objective for the weekend was the Southeast Ridge of Middle Sister. This route is regarded as one of the finest ski descents in Oregon. You can see our annotated , the .
We setup camp on the northeast corner of Camp Lake under this amazing view of the northeast side of South Sister:
Around 6pm the excitement started. With no warning our camp was rapidly . We descending around 6:30am, the snow was well consolidated and very pleasant to ski -- it was large-grain, intuitive summer corn. . Faint suncups were beginning to develop on these lower slopes.
Back at camp we packed quickly and right as we started to , here.
 talked to us about the intensity of the thunderstorms. One solo climber camped in the open on the Hayden glacier (a scary spot to be) reported being able to get a radio station in Bend which stated the Bend area had received significant hail and that several underpasses were temporarily closed due to flooding. <br><br>We reached the car around 11:30, headed to the town of Sisters for Pizza then headed back to Portland. Although this trip involved little skiing and a large amount of hiking with heavy packs (roundtrip 13 miles), we all seemed to agree that the sublime views, magnificence of weather and the experience of a new area more then made up for the lack of skiing. As a contrast to Adams we saw only a few other parties the entire weekend, and only one skiing party. Next time we will hopefully spend several more days at Camp Lake--there is so much to ski here, it is the skier equivalence of being a kid in a candy shop.<br><br>Jeff <br><br>A large TOPO map with our GPS track superimposed of the hike in/out can be seen <a href=){kind=link}
Thanks for the report Jeff,
What a thunderstorm!!!!!!! I have never seen like that.
I came very fast without any warning.
What a thunderstorm!!!!!!! I have never seen like that.
I came very fast without any warning.
Jeff, You're right the area is ideal for days of touring in the right conditions. A few years ago a group of us did the Three Sisters traverse with a group starting at each end and doing a key exchange at Green Lake.
Jill and I are heading north and hope to ski in the Sisters area if the upcomig weather system improves.
Zap
Jill and I are heading north and hope to ski in the Sisters area if the upcomig weather system improves.
Zap
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