December 11, 2005, Hood, Cooper Spur, Tie in rock

With the inversion it seemed like conditions were going to be variable and hard to predict, so we decided to do a tour with an emphasis on scenery and exploration, though we also had some surprisingly good turns in great corn from Cooper Spur to the edge of the Newton Clark Glacier.

We started at the Tilly Jane TH which is at 3800'. This was below the inversion and temperatures were in the teens both when we left and when we got back. Around 4500' we broke thru the inversion, there was a very noticeable temperature increase and the trees no longer held snow.

Above timberline the views of the northside of Hood were spectacular. I've seen the northside of Hood many times, but never like this. The combination of the low sun, the winterish conditions, the rugged face and the blue sky gave the mountain a new sense of magic. We marveled in the views as we headed towards tie-in-rock, 8430', skinning up wind textured snow. Here we looked towards the Newton Clark Glacier and were surprised to find incredibly smooth corn. This snow was drastically different than what we just skinned up. We skied this excellent corn to the edge of the NC glacier. It was really quite surprising how good this snow was, though this pitch was fairly short and soon we had to traverse skier's left back to our ascent path and less optimal skiing in wind-textured snow. Back in the trees we got on the TJ trail and slid down the awkward firm and narrow trail to the family-oriented Cooper Spur ski area (a small ski area with one chair lift and a few ropetows), back to the car and frigid temps.

Although there was only a limited amount of quality skiing on this tour, the views did not disappoint and we gained several ideas for future tours. I'm very happy with did this trip. Total vertical for the day was 4650', and mileage was 10.25.

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