MarkOfTheMountains

Trip: South Sister - Devils Lake climbers trail Trip Date: 06/01/2019 Trip Report: Started hiking at 4:35 a.m. and lost the trail under the snow about ten minutes later. We went too far west and ended up on top of the small Butte between Kaleetan Butte and Devils hill. If there is snow when you go stay climbers right, and find a narrow canyon with a tiny flow of water. There will be ski tracks. Across the plateau we had a rousing discussion about wealth inequality, which ended when we started climbing and had to breath. It was so warm, 40 degrees, we were wearing low-top trail running shoes, and getting plenty of purchase and grip, no slippy slippy. We had our climbing boots in our packs in case it got cold, icy up top, or we wanted to use them for the descent. There were several parties in front of us doing all the step kicking all the way up to the pool at the base of the Lewis glacier. Yes please, and thank you! It was possible to walk on lava cinder from the Lewis glacier about halfway up the final ascent. This is when it was really nice to have trail shoes instead of our climbing boots and we decided to stick with our trail shoes all the way to the summit. After some quick pictures on the summit we descended to The Summit glacier to get out of the wind and took an hour break eating lunch, and switching to dry socks and boots. After that it was all downhill on our butt sleds. The snow was incredibly soft and it was difficult to slide on anyting less than a 20° slope. Had a straightforward hike back to the car and we both got sunburns on the way. Joy! FOR SKIERS: The snow is starting to thin in places up top, and definitely once in the trees on the descent there are bare spots. Mileage: 12 Time on route: 7 hours 45 minutes Elevation gain: 5239 Gear Notes: Waterproof trail runners, ice axes for the first 1000' of descent Approach Notes: Glad we started early, it was warm

Trip: Diamond Peak - Corrigan Lk Trailhead Trip Date: 05/31/2019 Trip Report: Diamond Peak Directions Oakridge, to hills creek dam, road 21, to road 2149 and Corrigan Lake trailhead. There's only one small hiking sign on the right side (East Side) of the road. We left Eugene at 4am, and arrived at the trailhead at 6am and got on the trail at 615. The was snow within a .5 mile of the trailhead. One of our party had previously summited from this side so she became the group leader. After following the trail for a mile the snow covered it. Basically she headed uphill on the first hilly ridge we found. After an hour and half we started getting good looks at the western false summit, and our leader took a bearing to stay on course. When broke through the trees we opted to head up the ridge thad runs southwest off the false summit. The snow was still pretty thick but we decided to climb the rocks ona few of the gendarme? instead of the steep snowy slopes which were surprisingly firm. The forecast had thunder storms in the early afternoon, and looking south to Thielsen they were building in that area quite thick. (We camped at Diamond Lake that night and had an amazing lightning show. Check out my "Mt. Thielsen double rainbow lightning strike!!" on YouTube if you wanna see pictures. ) We kept moving up, and slightly to the right of the western false summit. That put us in great position to transition to the final section up the summit ridge without gaining unnecessary elevation. The snow was in great shape for climbing, despite strong wind gusts that were making us walk like drunken sailors. The summit was glorious. A few quick pics and we retreated to a small rocky area out of the wind. After some food, the fun began. Using some butt sleds and Avi shovels we dropped elevation super fast to the saddle of the false summit. The second drop was even faster, and longer. We were all giggling like little kids, and covered in slushy beautiful snow. We had taken a compass bearing to Corrigan lake before we glissaded, and followed that to the lake. Some of us swam, others napped, and then picked up the trail and hiked the one mile back to the car. Total Mileage: 8.4 Time on route: 7 hours 43 minutes Elevation gain: 4025 I included a picture of the south ridge for those interested in doing that route. The top still has a lot of snow for those wishing for the type of ascent. Here's a link the a video I made of our ascent of Mt. Thielsen the following day. Double Rainbow, multiple lightning strikes!!! Gear Notes: Butt sleds for the way down. Approach Notes: Bring a compass, because it's so helpful for navigating through the snow, off trail, and through the trees.