stoudema

Thanks for the pics Kirk. I agree the bowl looks ok for turns, but getting there might be a chore!

Awesome report and photos - very talented photography skills! Can't believe it's been 10 years since I've been there - I really need to get back and do some climbing/skiing there!

Cloud Cap road is closed off Highway 35 until 8/22 or so. Access is through Parkdale only. Skied Snowdome and the Eliot on 8/6 and conditions were nice.

I'd be curious too - am possibly planning a ski trip to the Middle over Memorial Wknd. Called Deschutes Co. today and they said the Cascade Lakes Hwy likely won't be open by Memorial Day. Gate there is at Lava Lake as of today and still 7-10 feet of snow at Elk Lake....

Thanks for the report - looks like you had a good time!

You might be better off coming in from the South that time of year and making an overnight trip out of it. The road on the west side stays snowed until May on most years.

I've taken the Mountain Savvy Level 1 course and can vouch for it being worthwhile also. I learned quite a bit from the class and would recommend it. Also, three sisters backcountry access does a Level 1 AAIRE class, though I haven't taken it. Here is the link: http://3sbca.com/classes/avalachelvl1.htm I've found two books to be very valuable resources as well. The first is "Staying alive in Avalanche Terrain" by Bruce Tremper. This is an excellent book that I would recommend owning. The second is "The Avalanche Handbook" by The Mountaineers. I'm partway through it right now, and it is also good. Good luck!

Nice work with the cell phone coverage up there - I was the splitboarder you ran into. I too debated posting a pic, but dismissed that as soon as I thought of it.......glad to hear the guy's heading home and hopefully going to be ok.

I've had good luck with my Burton Drivers, which have a Vibram sole and are nice and stiff for skinning. They aren't mountaineering boots by any means, but the best compromise I've found so far. Lots of threads about boots on splitboard.com - some people have found the La Sportiva Nuptse boots works well for both........

Nice pictures - thanks for the access info. What's wrong with the boots?

We were up there yesterday (7/6) and turned around at the Hogsback due to rockfall and an injured climber who took a 100 foot fall and needed rescue via helicopter. Another climber got tagged in the arm by a rock. The Mazama chute is getting pretty runneled out........

I was up to about 9800 feet yesterday, just below the Hogsback. The snow was good corn up until there, where it started firming up. Here's a link to a TR from my snowboard outing with a few pics..... http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=8092.0

Nice report! Sounds like fun. We did the south side route, but stopped at the bergshrund on the Hogsback. I posted on TAY, which is where I saw your report. We ran into the guy who did the Sandy Headwall. It sounded pretty rough - I think he was doing better there though (he may keep his gear). We were in the middle of those origraphic clouds you mentioned (actually we waited just below them for about an hour). We didn't tag the summit because the upper 500 feet were nice and icy and not wanting to firm up. The corn down lower was sweet! Your route looks great, a must do. Did snowdome last year, and the upper pitches on the sunshine look better this year.

I found an Ice axe on the Pioneer Gulch Route of Diamond Peak, OR on Saturday (5/12). If you can ID it and give me specifics, I'll gladly return it to you.