Skinning on Mt Hood Saturday?

[nkane]

So I have my new AT skis and skins, and I was wondering if anyone would like to initiate me into the art of skinning by going up to the top of Palmer or something on Saturday.

 

It looks like there's a shot at decent weather, but I'm not interested in taking any chances on unstable snow.

 

 

[nkane]

Anyone? I'm very nice and I don't bite hardly at all...

[snodger]

It looks like there's a shot at decent weather, but I'm not interested in taking any chances on unstable snow.

 

 

I was just checking avy sites and looks like we're getting a classic "upside down" snow pack with the recent very light snow over surface frost and icy layers all being covered by more snow. If the forecasted warmer weather (Mon-tues)comes in with rain it'll really load everything up!

 

There are reports (from meadows patrol I think) of 2-3 foot crowns on slides running to the ground. The avy reports recommend staying off NE to SE slope where wind loading is greatest.

 

Don't want to scare you off, just be cautious out there. Your plan of hitting the Palmer should be fine as you'll probably find wind affected snow; the fluff has probably all blown over into White River.

 

 

 

That said, in my opinion and experience, the Palmer is a fairly safe place to go solo if you're aware of the main south side dangers: incoming weather and the dreaded 'triangle'. If you can't find a partner ahead of time you might find someone to tag along with in the parking lot. And if not you'll soon find that it's hard to find 'alone time' on the south side.

 

Have fun out there.

Edited November 30, 2007 by snodger

[nkane]

Yeah I saw the forecast this morning and that made me a little wary.

 

It looks the pause in the storm is happening today rather than tomorrow, and the wind and snow might be honking away again. I'm still looking for a partner to head up there, but I won't be shy about sticking to groomed or otherwise safe areas, or even buying a lift ticket and skiing in the trees if it gets really nasty. It looks like Stormin Norman will be open.

[nkane]

Brief report:

 

I headed up this morning, leaving the Timberline parking lot at 10. Visibility decreased immediately, and I decided to bail at the top of the Magic Mile cause I didn't want to get more disoriented than I already was.

 

I enjoyed skinning though, and I'll definitely be back for another try.