Oct 1, 2005, Mt. Hood- Palmer
10/1/05
OR Mt Hood
2521
2
Since it was the only Saturday available this month, I decided to go up to Hood to get my October turns despite the rough weather. I'm glad I did.
It was raining during the drive up, but at the lot at Timberline (6000 ft), the snow was just starting to fall. It was very cloudy and foggy: visibility was about 100-200 yards at most. The wind was driving the snow sideways. Welcome Old Man Winter!
Got on the access road by the lot at about 10:30. I made a brief stop at the Silcox hut since I had never seen it before on the inside. Very cool place; but one of the guys that was working there confirmed that there wasn't any snow on the Palmer. Worst he has seen in many years. I was pretty discouraged but figured I'd at least head up since the snow was coming down very hard now and there was an inch or two on the ground. On the lee side of some of the ridges, the snow was even boot deep in places. I made it to the top of the Palmer chair (8,450 ft) at 12:30.
I was pretty beat with fighting the wind (I carried my skis) and took a break in a protected alcove near the exit of the closed lift building. I scouted around a little bit and figured my best luck for any skiing would be to the skier's left of the lift. I guessed if there was a patch of fifty feet, I could do that a few times and call it good.
I was able to link a couple of patches in the gullies and surprised myself as I was able to descend much further than I thought possible. I hit many a rock and crashed once or twice, but I was having a blast. Tracking the lee side of the little ridges yielded the deepest freshies. ;D I took off the skis for a short patch just above the Silcox hut and hiked down a bit. It was just too rocky.
The access road that leads from the hut to the lot at Timberline had filled in with a few inches of snow by then and it looked smooth, wide, and relatively rock free. I had a blast descending on it, scraping the gravel if i tried turning too sharply, but most of it had 3-4 inches of untracked snow. What a kick it was to be able to ski to within 100 feet of my truck in the lot!Unexpectedly good skiing for my twelfth month.
The snow was still blasting when I drove down the road and the snow level had dropped, which made driving on the road down pretty gnarly. I saw one wreck on the drive down. I listened to the Ducks and Beavs games on the ride home, grinning all the way. Now I need to find someone who's good at repairing the scratches in my bases ;)
It was raining during the drive up, but at the lot at Timberline (6000 ft), the snow was just starting to fall. It was very cloudy and foggy: visibility was about 100-200 yards at most. The wind was driving the snow sideways. Welcome Old Man Winter!
Got on the access road by the lot at about 10:30. I made a brief stop at the Silcox hut since I had never seen it before on the inside. Very cool place; but one of the guys that was working there confirmed that there wasn't any snow on the Palmer. Worst he has seen in many years. I was pretty discouraged but figured I'd at least head up since the snow was coming down very hard now and there was an inch or two on the ground. On the lee side of some of the ridges, the snow was even boot deep in places. I made it to the top of the Palmer chair (8,450 ft) at 12:30.
I was pretty beat with fighting the wind (I carried my skis) and took a break in a protected alcove near the exit of the closed lift building. I scouted around a little bit and figured my best luck for any skiing would be to the skier's left of the lift. I guessed if there was a patch of fifty feet, I could do that a few times and call it good.
I was able to link a couple of patches in the gullies and surprised myself as I was able to descend much further than I thought possible. I hit many a rock and crashed once or twice, but I was having a blast. Tracking the lee side of the little ridges yielded the deepest freshies. ;D I took off the skis for a short patch just above the Silcox hut and hiked down a bit. It was just too rocky.
The access road that leads from the hut to the lot at Timberline had filled in with a few inches of snow by then and it looked smooth, wide, and relatively rock free. I had a blast descending on it, scraping the gravel if i tried turning too sharply, but most of it had 3-4 inches of untracked snow. What a kick it was to be able to ski to within 100 feet of my truck in the lot!Unexpectedly good skiing for my twelfth month.
The snow was still blasting when I drove down the road and the snow level had dropped, which made driving on the road down pretty gnarly. I saw one wreck on the drive down. I listened to the Ducks and Beavs games on the ride home, grinning all the way. Now I need to find someone who's good at repairing the scratches in my bases ;)
Congrats on getting your 12 months in, no small feat this year; and thanks for the inspiring report.
Thanks for the Hood report. Nice work getting in turns despite the weather.
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