Spring Break '07
3/15/07
3464
3
Our "...roaming band of Washington malcontents looking for something better in the southern Cascades." seemed to time Spring Break '07 just about right. Convinced we could find more enjoyment hiking the volcanoes of Oregon rather then the casinos of Vegas, JW, Mike and myself opted out on a Rogers Pass trip and bee-lined it for a couple days of Oregon sunshine and volcano hopping.
First on the list was Mt McLoughlin. Leaving Seattle a little before 9:00 am on Saturday the 17th we pulled into the Summit Sno Park around 5:00 PM or so. We set up camp in the empty parking lot, anticipating good weather for the summit approach in the early AM. Early is relative of course and with Skip expected to arrive in a couple days, we honed our alpine starts by departing around 8:30 AM. The first couple miles were in dense trees but it wasn't long before the summit of McLoughlin was visible. With nary a cloud in the sky our ascent was pretty straight forward, climbing the SE shoulder to the top.
Due to McLoughlin's rather isolated southern location and some high clouds, Mt Shasta was the only peak visible from the summit, looming to the south.
Summit views
But it was the runs off the north and east faces that drew our attention. Unfortunately the north-side was frozen solid, but in perfect (and I mean perfect) conditions the steep rocky terrain looked quite enticing. Instead we decided to take a 1500 ft run down the east face, which itself was a mix of spring corn and hard boiler. We then hiked a short ridge back to the southern face, enjoying a couple thousand feet of warm spring turns back to the trees. Traversing back to the car took a bit of navigating but we all arrived in good spirits 8 hours after departure.
With the weather coming in from the south early the next morning, our plans for Mt Thielson were thwarted. Instead we did what all great mountaineers do, ditch the big-ski-day-idea and headed north to Bend for food and shelter. But as we drove up HWY 97, the clouds parted a bit and we figured we might as well get out, seeing that we were in Oregon with nothing else to do. According to some of the locals, when all else fails head to Tumalo Butte, across the street from the Mt Bachelor ski area. And so we did. Not much to report here except for an easy 1500 foot climb to some 500 ft east-facing shots in the open bowl of the butte. At this point the weather had caved in and snow started to fall. A couple laps and increasingly soggy clothes was as we needed before heading back to the parking lot. The run down was survival skiing at its best as the snow gradually turned into rain.
We took the following day off before meeting up with Skip and heading to
First on the list was Mt McLoughlin. Leaving Seattle a little before 9:00 am on Saturday the 17th we pulled into the Summit Sno Park around 5:00 PM or so. We set up camp in the empty parking lot, anticipating good weather for the summit approach in the early AM. Early is relative of course and with Skip expected to arrive in a couple days, we honed our alpine starts by departing around 8:30 AM. The first couple miles were in dense trees but it wasn't long before the summit of McLoughlin was visible. With nary a cloud in the sky our ascent was pretty straight forward, climbing the SE shoulder to the top.
Due to McLoughlin's rather isolated southern location and some high clouds, Mt Shasta was the only peak visible from the summit, looming to the south.
Summit views
But it was the runs off the north and east faces that drew our attention. Unfortunately the north-side was frozen solid, but in perfect (and I mean perfect) conditions the steep rocky terrain looked quite enticing. Instead we decided to take a 1500 ft run down the east face, which itself was a mix of spring corn and hard boiler. We then hiked a short ridge back to the southern face, enjoying a couple thousand feet of warm spring turns back to the trees. Traversing back to the car took a bit of navigating but we all arrived in good spirits 8 hours after departure.
With the weather coming in from the south early the next morning, our plans for Mt Thielson were thwarted. Instead we did what all great mountaineers do, ditch the big-ski-day-idea and headed north to Bend for food and shelter. But as we drove up HWY 97, the clouds parted a bit and we figured we might as well get out, seeing that we were in Oregon with nothing else to do. According to some of the locals, when all else fails head to Tumalo Butte, across the street from the Mt Bachelor ski area. And so we did. Not much to report here except for an easy 1500 foot climb to some 500 ft east-facing shots in the open bowl of the butte. At this point the weather had caved in and snow started to fall. A couple laps and increasingly soggy clothes was as we needed before heading back to the parking lot. The run down was survival skiing at its best as the snow gradually turned into rain.
We took the following day off before meeting up with Skip and heading to
Did you (or others in your party) have an impression of what the snow pack was like on McLaughlin (and Thielsen, if you have any info) for this time of year? Better/worse than average year?
From what I've gathered, Shasta has a slightly below pack in terms of the inch total, but a disproportionately worse-than-avg pack above 10000 feet because there have been many high wind events either while it was snowing or shortly thereafter, and snow's gotten stripped at least on the SW side.
From what I've gathered, Shasta has a slightly below pack in terms of the inch total, but a disproportionately worse-than-avg pack above 10000 feet because there have been many high wind events either while it was snowing or shortly thereafter, and snow's gotten stripped at least on the SW side.
Wolfs,
I don't have anything to compare the McLoughlin snow pack with unfortunately. I can say the snowpack in southern Oregon was less then around Broken Top, but I don't think this is abnormal, especially around this time of the year. Sorry I can't provide more beta.
I don't have anything to compare the McLoughlin snow pack with unfortunately. I can say the snowpack in southern Oregon was less then around Broken Top, but I don't think this is abnormal, especially around this time of the year. Sorry I can't provide more beta.
author=wolfs link=topic=6600.msg27024#msg27024 date=1175109322]
Did you (or others in your party) have an impression of what the snow pack was like on McLaughlin (and Thielsen, if you have any info) for this time of year? Better/worse than average year?
Wolfs,
Thielsen, Bailey, and Crater Lk are a bit below their yearly average....and less than that below 6500'. Still lots of snow (Hemlock-a-manky) in the woods...easy bootpacking in the morning and survival in the afternoon. The NE, E, and NW aspected bowls and gullets will hold steady Till mid June. Still...90 days of Rippn' to be done.
Good luck, Pin'
PS. I have been to Bailey on the recent really "lean" years on Memorial Day weekend "our usuial" Corn-Rodeo Weekend... and have always had thousands of acres of 6' base.
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