DAY 1
The drive to Pole Creek trailhead seemed to have a lot more washboards than previous years, but that certainly did not deter people this Memorial Day weekend. In fact, there were more cars than ever. I'd guess 2 or 3 times as many as usual.
After putting on sunscreen in the parking lot, we started up the trail and encountered quite a few people along the way. One other change from previous years was the blowdown. This year there was a lot. I guess the trees that burned in Pole Creek fire a few years ago have finally got weak enough they started falling. Or it may be that no trail crews had been able to get up to Pole Creek yet because of the COVID-19. However, we usually don't see many fresh-cut trees so I'm guessing it was just a bad year for blowdown. This made going a little tedious as we ended up slowing down to step over a lot of trees.
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| Broken Top - we are still climbing and haven't put the skis on yet |
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| South Sister |
Once we hit the snow, we hiked for a little bit, but then opted for skis. Hiking in the snow can get slow, but if the snow is patchy or too steep, it's easier to be walking than trying to ski. This year we put the skis on early which was a good call as there snow was pretty deep right away and we didn't hit any bare patches.
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| South Sister ahead - skis on now! |
We made pretty good headway skiing up through the snow and were able to follow some track of people heading toward Chambers Lakes. We typically camp in the same spot each year, so that was our aim for this year as well. This time I took us on a little detour that took us a little ways past our intended camp site then dropped back down to reach the site. The intent was to avoid going straight up the hill and instead take a gentler route. Unfortunately this lead to some steeper side slopes which were not too popular with the rest of the group.
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| Some afternoon clouds by South Sister |
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| South Sister |
DAY 2
We began the climb up to Middle Sister Saddle with a grey sky. Not dark at all, but a thin layer of high clouds which would burn off later. However this lighting made it very hard to see the undulations in the snow making skiing downhill a little tricky.
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| Dad climbing toward Middle Sister |
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| North Sister - we are climbing toward the Middle Sister Saddle |
On the climb up to Middle Sister Saddle, we didn't see too many people. I'd say fewer people than usual which was interesting because there were so many cars in the parking lot. The climb up to the saddle is fairly long and by the time we reached the saddle the snow was starting to get a bit heavy. We did see a few people who were heading down as we reached the saddle. I guess they were trying to get up earlier to have better snow conditions.
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| Broken Top and South Sister |
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| Three Fingered Jack sticking up in the pass |
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| Prouty Point |
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| Middle Sister |
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| Fresh snow on Prouty Point |
We intended to have a quick snack at the saddle, but it was pretty windy so we decided to eat on the move. We left our skis at the saddle as all the terrain above that is far too steep for us to ski. This year there was a pretty good set of boot tracks leading toward Middle Sister so we were optimistic that we'd make it to the top. There was also quite a bit more snow than usual and some fresh snow as well. On the way up to the saddle, we saw many more avalanches come off Middle Sister than every before because of the recent snow.
The boot tracks made the initial climb easier and looked promising on the steepest pitch as well. However, when we reached the steep pitch the tracks were not very deep and were often sloping outward from the mountain. I started up kicking in better steps, but the snow underneath was pretty hard so it was slow going. After a little while of slow ascending we decided to turn back and head down. The snow was a little hard, the steps weren't great, and it looked like everyone else who had gone up was using crampons. However, this opened up another opportunity for us as we now had a little more time than usual.
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| Looking west - somewhere on the horizon is Mary's Peak |
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| Snow blasted onto the rocks |
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| The Cascade volcanoes all lined up |
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| Broken Top, Mt. Bachelor, and South Sister |
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| Middle Sister |
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| Middle Sister |
With the extra time, we skied down from Middle Sister then headed toward Chambers Lakes to get a good view of South Sister. We have headed this way in previous years instead of trying to go up Middle Sister, but more recently we've just been going up Middle and heading down. Getting around toward South Sister and Chambers Lakes was fun. The terrain was a bit flatter which was good because the snow was heavy and getting tough to ski in. After overlooking Chambers Lakes, we headed back to the tent.
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| South Sister |
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| Dad disappearing over the hill |
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| Middle Sister and North Sister |
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| Dad with North Sister in the background |
DAY 3
Dad and I woke up with sunburns today. For me it was just my forehead because I didn't put any sunscreen there. I hate sunscreen in my eyes and decided to risk it which was not a good move on the snow. Dad put on sunscreen all over, but he still got toasted. Fortunately Mom's darker skin helped her.
Anyhow, after packing up some of our gear we make a quick trip up toward North Sister. There a nice snowfield below North which we skied up. We left the skis and hiked up the ridge a little ways to get a better view. The ridge was a little windy so we didn't stay too long. After getting back to the skis we enjoyed a nice downhill back to the tent. The snow was pretty good as it was still fairly early in the morning.
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| A cloud cap on Middle Sister |
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| North Sister |
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| Black Butte farthest to the right |
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| Clouds building by Broken Top and South Sister |
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| Middle Sister |
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| North Sister |
After packing up the tent we skied down toward the trail. This year we were able to follow a few sets of tracks which took to pretty near the trail. Typically the ski tracks from just a few days earlier are already getting melted out and we end up carrying our skis through the snow for a while before reaching the trail. This year we were lucky and didn't have to pack the skis too long before we were back on dirt. The day clouded up a little bit and what looked to be a hot hike out ended up being pretty cool and overcast. This was appreciated because it can get pretty warm in the burn as there's no shade from the sun.
The hike back to the car was pretty uneventful. We hopped over the same logs we crossed on the way out and didn't see too many people. There were still quite a few cars at the trailhead when we got back, but a lot less than when we arrived. After a quick march across the parking lot, we threw the packs in the car and headed home.
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| A few shooting stars |
