North Sister Via Pole Creek

Pole Creek Road pretty rutted and stops 1 mile short of TH due to a patch of foot deep snow on the road. Snow was firm enough that I could hike in tennies to Carver Lake on Thayer Glacier. Gained the South Ridge, and poked around on mixed ice, scree, and rhine, until topping out on the Camel's hump, 9900 feet, around 3 1/2 hours after leaving the truck.

Avi conditions seemed stable, with about 4-5 inches of fresh, dense powder. Did not observe any wind slab or wet slide conditions, although a couple hours of blasting sun could have made the difference. The South face skied great- about a 40 degree pitch. I had originally planned to check out middle as well, but overestimated my endurance and decided to send it home. With a little bit of skating, side stepping and hopping over logs and creeks, you can ski all the way down to Pole Creek TH! 

Old man winter in the C.O. Cascades not quite over...