Broken Top

[rbw1966]

Myself, B-Rock and Shredder headed up early Saturday morning to this lovely gem. Left Portland at 515 then were on the approach by 915 if memory serves. Arrived just within the tree line below the crater bowl, set up camp and performed a safety break. Weather was overcast with a bit of spindrift/snow blowing around but nothing major. The summit was not visible at all.

 

After the break we skinned up to the bowl where we eyed what looked like a sweet, and steep, couloir. Due to the fact none of us had a guidebook with us, and given the location of the couloir we figured it was the 11 o'clock couloir. B-Rock and myself booted up in about shin-deep snow, plunging through a breakable crust. Shredd carried his skis to the top of the couloir. It was only about 500 feet (if that) or so high, with the angle nearing 50 degrees at the top. I traversed over and up the crater rim a bit (app. 100 feet) trying to reach the true summit but the conditions were rapidly deteriorating and the summit could not be visualized. The ridge itself was fragile, unstable and very thin ryme-covered snow, in other words typical oregon volcanic choss. B-rock and I scurried back down to our skis and watched as Shredd made short work of the chute.

 

We crashed out after a meal of tasty bites and awoke to more snow. 5 inches of freshies everywhere with more coming down every second. Viz was about 50 feet in nasty wind gusts so we packed it up and headed down. Not many turns were had but what we did get was sweet.

 

Chowing on breakfast at the Alpenglow by 11. Rushed home to begin tear out of a stairwell I am having replaced to find out the contractors are not ready. So no tear out. Damn. Now I am wishing we had skinned up Tumalo.

[Ursa_Eagle]

Nice job guys!

[skyclimb]

nice pics

[erik]

YOU KNOW IF YOU GUYS WOULD HAVE GONE WITH IAIN TO HOOD, A SUMMIT WOULD HAVE OCCURED!!!!

 

 

[gapertimmy]

nice! about the time you guys were doing that, i was walking around and shopping in Sisters with my mom and my wife. omg, i think i grew a larger more efficent vagina this weekend.

[rbw1966]

Do you drink tea too?

 

We thought about trying to connect with you and now it sounds like you definitely could have met up with the three of us.

[nolanr]

The remains of the Broken Top crater (inside, not the rim) is one of my absolute favorite places, I've been in there a couple times. Does have kind of an other worldly feel to it.

[skyclimb]

Hell yeah!! When in that area you can just imagine in the old days when Broken Top was the king of the group. Jagged, and huge. Quite a powerful place.

[iain]

hmm doesn't quite look like 11'o'clock from that last picture, but pretty cool looking nevertheless. b-top is the skier's playground for sure. the hardest part of 11 couloir is the end of the traverse over to the nw ridge and summit block, can be spicy!

 

erik let me know when you want to get that guide up the south side 'o' hood.

[Bill_Simpkins]

Why the two axes? Doesn't look that steep and the snow looks soft. Just wondering, not questioning judgement or abilities. Maybe the pictures don't explain well.

[b-rock]

'Cause we didn't know / couldn't really see where we were headed... Wasn't real necessary in retrospect. And I think it was nine-o'clock couloir. Rob on the ridge:

 

[Bill_Simpkins]

Thanks.

[rbw1966]

No tools were necessary but from down below in the fog the upper portion of the couloir looked pretty steep and potentially icy. We had the tools with us anyway.

 

The upper portion, above my head, was pretty steep and had some fragile ryme-covered rock. I was real glad I had two tools there.

 

But you are correct, in the couloir itself tools were unnecessary.