Mt. Hood - Wy East 5/1/2008
Trip: Mt. Hood - Wy East
Date: 5/1/2008
Trip Report:I've been watching storm cycles pass through oregon and waiting for the perfect day to go ski Wy East. Couple of days of cold snow and clearing on Thursday was the forecast and this time I wasn't letting my chance get away from me. I left portland at 5:00 and was skinning by 7:00. I wanted to get up there earlier because I knew it was going to be warming up but getting up before 5:00 is just damn hard.
The 1 ft+ of snow that they got on the east side of the mountain was wind blown with minimal ski penetration but pole penetration went to about 1 ft in the deep spots. As I skinned up I kept looking at the face trying to assess snow conditions and choose a safe way to the top. With the warming and snow consolidation I was concerned about avalanch danger. The way the snow was compacted I figured if it was going to go it would be big. Finally at the base of the face the snow changed. No more wind pack, just nice soft powder. I couldn't believe my good fortune. The whole face was sitting there ready to be had.
I decided to go around into the cliffy area climbers right to avoid exposing myself to avalanch hazards. I packed up the skis and took out the ice axe thinking boot packing might be better for the steep slope and gullies above me. It started out easy enough with nice soft styrofoam snow that was perfecrt for boot packing. Then about halfway up one of the gullies the styrofoam turned to ice covered by an inch of powder. At this point I began to curse at myself for leaving the crampoons at home. Progress slowed and my legs began to ache from the strain of standing on my toes and chipping at the ice to make footholds. An hour and 300 vf later I was relived to top the gullies and finished the ascent by skinning up the mellow slopes above the face. Things ere definately warming up but everything had been so solid up to that point I wasn't so concerned anymore after my previous brush with fear in the gullies.
Big G turns with my Verdicts gave me that flying sensation as I cruised down the face. I love that run. I finished off the day by cruising down funky wind affected snow in Upper Heather Canyon. Recent snow doesn't seem to have made it to far east. All in all an excellent day dishing up everything one could ask for in a ski trip.
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