Sep2-4, Snowdome, Mt. Hood

Craig and I hiked up to the high camp below the Dome on Saturday night.  It was a lovely evening, with a persistent strong breeze and mild temps.  We had a view of Adams and St. Helens poking above the smoke layer in the moonlight.  I watched the moon cruise over the ridgeline of the Cooper Spur until it disappeared behind the peak. 
Morning dawned calm, with some high clouds and wonderfully moderate temperatures.  We skinned up the glacier, bootpacking when it became steeper.  Penetration was slight, with soft corn on top of hard frozen ice beneath.  We hiked up about 3/4 of the way up the Dome, stopping at the last large crevasse field before the top.  The skiing was fantastic (for September) with soft, buttery corn transitioning to manageable mush for the last low-angle turns at the bottom.  The surface was like skiing small moguls in places; cups and runnels are the rule but are fun, if slight challenging.  We got about 1000 vf of turns for our efforts.  We hiked out to the car by 4PM and drove over to Timberline to camp for the night. 
Monday at the Palmer was fantastic:  dozens of lift-served tele turns on a smoooooth corny surface...highly recommended for a late summer day!!!  This was my 11th month in a row of skiing, a first for me, and the first time I have skied in August and September.  (Also my first TR in T-A-Y)  Thanks to T-A-Y for the motivation and the opportunity to participate in this forum...
ski ya later, Bill