May 15, 2007, Mt Hood sunset tour

To those of you who have been thinking of skiing Hood's south side, but were worried about crowds, I suggest a late afternoon tour.
This week I was scheduled to work a 24 hour shift on Monday in Ilwaco, followed by three 12 hour shifts in Sunnyside starting Wednesday.  Two years ago when faced with this schedule, I was able to fit in a few turns on Hood's snow dome, but arrived so late I had to stop short of the high point.  This time I vowed to avoid delays on the road.  Leaving the coastal fog behind, I stopped only briefly in PDX, arriving at Timberline at 3 pm.   Given the excellent weather I expected to see a few climbers, even on a Tuesday.  As it turned out, except for two snow cats I had the whole mountain to myself.   
Surface snow was soft, but firm enough to allow booting.  I followed the path of least resistance to the summit.  There is a step of about fifteen feet of blue water ice in the main chute.  The varation to the west looked better from below, but would have taken longer, and the sun was getting low.

Early evening is not considered the classic hour for ski descents, but exceptions to this rule can be found.  I found it this day on Hood.  The west side of the Hogback was bathed in evening light, buttery smooth from top to bottom.  The shady side of Crater Rock, though a bit chattery, was soft enough to take decisive turns.  It stayed fun all the way down from there and didn't become heavy until a few yards above the lodge.  In summary it was a total blast.