skiing north sister

[j_b]

i assume the old bypass highway is closed in winter but anyone ever skis the peak from the north side in the spring may be? looks like there are some nice lines. anyone?

[mattp]

The roads in from Sisters usually open early, and you can often (maybe usually) ski from Pole Creek or the next one to the north before Memorial Day. It is not a difficult ski run from just below the summit pinnacle into the bowl where Early Morning Couloir is. The Colier and Hayden Glaciers are way moderate.

[iain]

the villard glacier is one of the go-to spots in spring. skiable all the way from the ne ridge. access via pole creek is often an extra 3 miles in early season since there is one shaded spot on the road that holds a lot of snow late. high-clearance trucks can often get through it however. the nw face, viewed from the closed-in-winter mckenzie hwy looks to have some great lines too, but takes a good amount of work to get in there in comparison. a circumnavigation of north sister is fun, though there is a lot of up and down around the north side moraines and spurs.

[ExtremoMtDude]

rippin! what is the NE face of the peak? is this the glacier you speak of Iain? That has caught me eye a time or too but it looks runneled by late June. Runnels sometimes can be like mini jibbin pipes

[mattp]

It has been several years since I've been there, Iain, but the next creek to the north used to provide easier access than the Pole Creek trailhead and I don't think it was quite so prone to the snow blockage that you report. There was kind of sort of something like a trail, mostly on the north side of the creek.

[iain]

ExtremoMtDude said:

rippin! what is the NE face of the peak? is this the glacier you speak of Iain?

Yeah the Villard is on the NE aspect, next to Early Morning Couloir (has someone skied that?) I have rarely seen it runneled, except for below the couloir, but I suppose I'm usually elsewhere by late June.

 

For a party, show up at the base of the Villard G. on Memorial Day weekend with a half-case of beer and a lawnchair. It has been a pilgrimage for 20 years now for many.

 

Matt- You've probably found a better way in than I have then. The snow block is usually 3 miles from the trailhead at a "y" in the road. Maybe taking the right instead of the left would get me closer, never thought about getting in elsewhere than pole creek over there.

[mattp]

iain said:

For a party, show up at the base of the Villard G. on Memorial Day weekend with a half-case of beer and a lawnchair. It has been a pilgrimage for 20 years now for many.

 

The Sun Hogs! Don't forget your golf club.

[iain]

Wow, a SunHog revealed! Teeing-off into the glacier - nothing quite like it.

[j_b]

thanks guys. villard glacier looks great and kinda reasonably steep from the topo. anyone ever skied the lynn?