July 23, Mt Hood, Snowdome: the sunny side
7/15/05
OR Mt Hood
2433
0
I had 21 hours to get from Ilwaco, where my shift ended at ten AM, to Sunnyside, where I was due to start a 12 hour shift at 7 AM the following day. It did not appear worthwhile to drive home to Seattle in between. Looking at the map, I noticed that if I drove up I-82 along the Columbia, this would put me in the vicinity of North Hood in the afternoon. It would be a late start for sure, with a high slog-to-ski ratio; but the opportunity beckoned to explore a new place. Besides, I needed a workout.
Fortunately for me, my two nights at work in the ER were not overly busy. I awoke at 9 AM on the 23rd feeling fairly fresh. Left Ilwaco at 11:15. Skipping Portland entirely would have afforded more time, but I find it hard to be in the area without a trip to Powell's Books, so I cruised through the city on the way. Headed out from Portland at about 2 pm. Getting late. The weather was perfect and I saw no reason not to proceed as planned, but a sense of haste did begin to creep in on the day. I struggle against this sense of haste: in my experience it adds nothing to safety, while eroding the enjoyment of the moment. Case in point, my hurry caused me to put off stopping for gas until it was too late. I was somewhat horrified to see my reserve light flicker as I approached Cloud Cap.
After a quick transition I left Cloud Cap campground at 5 pm. Many parties were returning from day hikes. Some were supportive (one even said "Nice setup!") but others scoffed openly at the notion that I could fit any turns into the remains of the day. I replied to these with a few mumbled words about setting limited goals, and pressed on.
OldHouseMan's directions were exact in every detail, except that I was actually able to follow a faint trail past Languille Crags. I passed the plaque in remembrance of Languille-- it's touching to come across this sort of memorial in the wilderness, especially when you discover it unexpectedly. I set an arbitrary turn around time of 7 pm. There was plenty of light, but I did not want to push my luck between a three hour drive looming, a 7 AM deadline for work, and the possibility of running out of gas. I reached the snow at 6:30 and immediately started to make better time. The Snow Dome was at least half in the shade by now. Runnels were much deeper than pictured in last week's report. I pushed my turnaround time back a few minutes and made it to the small broken-up portion above the last moraine, stopping when my skins started sliding on ice.
I stayed on the sunny side of the dome down to the moraine. This allowed me to capture the small amount of corn that remained, which wasn't much. Why a melted snow surface will freeze in the shade, while the air remains warm, is a mystery to me, but I suppose it has to do with evaporative cooling. In any case, the dome had not fully hardened, and I got down without mishap and maybe with a few decent turns (though no one saw them so you'll have to take my work for it).
The hike back down was likewise uneventful, faster than expected given the terrain and my trail running shoes. I saluted the sun's last rays from the parking lot, started my car, and coasted in neutral about 98 per cent of the way to Highway 35. When I filled up in Hood River I still had three gallons left! Go figure. I stuffed myself at the Crazy Pepper, watched a nearly full moon rise over the Columbia on the way to Hwy 97, pulled in to Sunnyside at 1 AM and here I am at work again.
Comparing snow conditions yesterday with last week, I can say that the seasonal window for decent corn on this slope is closing fast. The runnels are consolidating into suncups, or at least big oval ice patches. The Joy-O-Meter hike-to-turn ratio is still passable. I spent seven minutes descending and about 140 minutes going up, for a ski-to-hike time ratio of about 20 to 1. However, everyone knows numbers can be deceiving. What with all the angst I created between a late start and the fear of hiking all night in search of gas, this venture was not so high on the joy-o-meter; but on the satisfaction-o-meter, it was just fine.
Fortunately for me, my two nights at work in the ER were not overly busy. I awoke at 9 AM on the 23rd feeling fairly fresh. Left Ilwaco at 11:15. Skipping Portland entirely would have afforded more time, but I find it hard to be in the area without a trip to Powell's Books, so I cruised through the city on the way. Headed out from Portland at about 2 pm. Getting late. The weather was perfect and I saw no reason not to proceed as planned, but a sense of haste did begin to creep in on the day. I struggle against this sense of haste: in my experience it adds nothing to safety, while eroding the enjoyment of the moment. Case in point, my hurry caused me to put off stopping for gas until it was too late. I was somewhat horrified to see my reserve light flicker as I approached Cloud Cap.
After a quick transition I left Cloud Cap campground at 5 pm. Many parties were returning from day hikes. Some were supportive (one even said "Nice setup!") but others scoffed openly at the notion that I could fit any turns into the remains of the day. I replied to these with a few mumbled words about setting limited goals, and pressed on.
OldHouseMan's directions were exact in every detail, except that I was actually able to follow a faint trail past Languille Crags. I passed the plaque in remembrance of Languille-- it's touching to come across this sort of memorial in the wilderness, especially when you discover it unexpectedly. I set an arbitrary turn around time of 7 pm. There was plenty of light, but I did not want to push my luck between a three hour drive looming, a 7 AM deadline for work, and the possibility of running out of gas. I reached the snow at 6:30 and immediately started to make better time. The Snow Dome was at least half in the shade by now. Runnels were much deeper than pictured in last week's report. I pushed my turnaround time back a few minutes and made it to the small broken-up portion above the last moraine, stopping when my skins started sliding on ice.
I stayed on the sunny side of the dome down to the moraine. This allowed me to capture the small amount of corn that remained, which wasn't much. Why a melted snow surface will freeze in the shade, while the air remains warm, is a mystery to me, but I suppose it has to do with evaporative cooling. In any case, the dome had not fully hardened, and I got down without mishap and maybe with a few decent turns (though no one saw them so you'll have to take my work for it).
The hike back down was likewise uneventful, faster than expected given the terrain and my trail running shoes. I saluted the sun's last rays from the parking lot, started my car, and coasted in neutral about 98 per cent of the way to Highway 35. When I filled up in Hood River I still had three gallons left! Go figure. I stuffed myself at the Crazy Pepper, watched a nearly full moon rise over the Columbia on the way to Hwy 97, pulled in to Sunnyside at 1 AM and here I am at work again.
Comparing snow conditions yesterday with last week, I can say that the seasonal window for decent corn on this slope is closing fast. The runnels are consolidating into suncups, or at least big oval ice patches. The Joy-O-Meter hike-to-turn ratio is still passable. I spent seven minutes descending and about 140 minutes going up, for a ski-to-hike time ratio of about 20 to 1. However, everyone knows numbers can be deceiving. What with all the angst I created between a late start and the fear of hiking all night in search of gas, this venture was not so high on the joy-o-meter; but on the satisfaction-o-meter, it was just fine.
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