Jeremy at the Mountain Shop informed us recently of the 2010 Tele Tuesday dates at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl:

Jan. 12th, Feb 9th for Tele Tuesday. We will do the uphill/downill on Jan 12th
and the classic race (gates) on Feb 9th.

The first event is open for tele and AT, The second is a tele race.

Set up 4:00-5:00
Telemark & AT Ski Equipment Demos 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Telemark Skiing Instructional Clinics 7:00PM – 8:30PM
Telemark Races 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Tele Tuesdays are a lot of fun and coincide with Ski Bowl’s Lady’s Night were dames ski for cheap. $14 we think but don’t quote us. The Snowrider Project will be there with bells on, tabling and carrying on. Who knows, we might even ride a few runs. See you there! Let us know if you have any questions.

Six days to Christmas and the only evidence in this house is a lonely tree not yet decked out with lights nor ornaments, and a string of lights glowing on the porch railing.  Ed likes Charley Brown trees so here in Christmas tree country we always find a small, somewhat scraggly tree. It looks happy enthroned on top of the kid’s toy box.

The past month is a blur. What’s been happening? No cookie baking, candy making, house decorating festivities. Rolls were so fun to make for Thanksgiving that I made another batch the next day while envisioning setting aside a baking day per week. Orders to fill,  a week of below freezing weather with sharp clear days and lots of woods burning trying to keep the house warm, a visit from the grandkids, one shirt off the loom, two other projects finished and ready to gift, two separate Christmas music programs to practice the violin for, and an article deadline to keep. (I haven’t heard back from the editor, I hope she’s not totally dismayed with it.)

On the first day of the minus 20F week Ed and I took a short trip. We stopped at a bridge where I’ve long wanted to stop and snap this sight:

The zoom brings Mt Hood closer than in real life with the Molalla River in the foreground.

Mandy drove with the kids to Oregon to visit her mom. We were able to have Feather and Gus overnight. We went to the yarn store to let them pick out yarns for me to make them legwarmers.

Feather wasn’t sure about this guy.I cast on and knit the first 25 grams of Feather’s legwarmer and realized there wasn’t going to be enough for both legs. So until I can find some matching yarn (there was only one skein of the multicolored yarn she liked) I’m knitting on Gus’s pair.

I’ve been puzzling out a solution to warping with even tension but one that doesn’t take up extra space or cost much money. I figured out a temporary way to keep the warp under tension as I wind on the warp, it may be hokey but it worked great. (go ahead and laugh – I certainly did) My footstool turned upside down and placed on top of the warp laying on a woven rug. The warp was already sleyed through the reed, threaded through the heddles and tied to the warp beam in back. (Someday I will work up the courage to try back to front warping but I’m in the rut of staying with what I’m comfortable.) I thought I might need to add weight to the footstool but there was just the right amount of friction and tension to do a good job.A sample weaving thrown in the washer and dryer brought a revision for the warp originally planned for three shirts instead it’ll be enough for two shirts and one dishtowel. Sampling also allowed me to see if using color tencel in the weft would work well with the white cotton warp.
An aspect of this shirt is for the article to be published in weavezine. Please watch for it next month. (In the meantime go listen to the podcast posted today Dec 19th – I found it fascinating. Be sure and listen all the way through, the solo sung at the end is beautiful!) Shirt number one met all my expectations and I’m eager to start the next one though it may be after Christmas before there is time to sit at the weaving bench. So many ideas are brewing in my thoughts I wish I were successful in carving out a regular time to bring them to fruition. Early mornings and evening are when I can best fit them in which means there’s not much time for the computer and reading blogs. I have been keenly missing knowing what’s happening with my favorite blogger friends and somehow I need to figure out a better scheduling that also allows time for reading. By evening I’m often so tired of looking at a computer that I find myself reaching for a novel to relax before bed. In the past few months I’ve read The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger ; The Queen’s Fool, Philippa Gregory ; Spin a Wicked Web, Cricket McRae ; The Bird Cage, Marcia Willett ; and currently The Boleyn Inheritance, Phillipa Gregory. I do not agree with how Philippa portrays the Queen Boleyn or Queen Elizabeth for her viewpoint doesn’t line up with what I’ve read in the past of these two queens. I believe they were both Godly women rather than the tarts she makes them out to be. Still, they are novels and she is a good writer providing entertaining stories.

I hope everyone is able to enjoy the coming week without too much last-minute rushing around. I’m looking forward to taking three, perhaps four days off from the computer and office to truly relax and enjoy time with my family, especially on Christmas day, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus our Saviour.

The last time I spoke with kt was 4 days before her trip to Hood.  We had this fantastic conversation which wound its way to talking, among other things, about how we felt about being outdoors.  I had recently finished a trail race, and was talking about training runs I take after work in Central Park.  We were both laughing at how amazing it is that we as women with a passion to take on outdoor challenges, were able to live at this moment in history, when we had the opportunity to pursue  what we desired.  We share a lot of gratitude in that respect, and have both found God through the outdoors and social justice.

Ben Crawford, another friend and climbing partner of kt and Luke, has written a post describing the desire to climb and the impulse of our now legendary armchair sherpa’s critiquing our friends from their couch.

Take a look at Ben’s words; it may help bring some understanding.

A blurb about it is also featured on Oregon Live’s website.

FYI—I simply have to say a HUGE thank you to Oregon Live for some great reporting this week, and several articles that were detailed and a true description of the climbers.

As I am sure anyone following this has heard by now, last night a Dr. involved with the rescue search has placed Katie and Anthony’s survival likelihood at 1%.  There was talk this morning about resuming an aerial search if the weather held, but ground searching is off “for the foreseeable future,”  as the avalanche danger is outrageously high.  I do not know if helicopters went up or not.

There will be a press conference at 2pm pacific time today, 5pm eastern time, which is supposed to be covered by most major news outlets. I will post later on tonight. Please keep praying for everyone involved.

Linked below is an article that is very helpful to anyone who may be unfamiliar with climbing terms and safety precautions.  As has been widely evidenced, our friend is being attacked non-stop for pursuing something she loved that enriched her life.  Such hurtful comments have added insult to injury, and the insensitivity is shocking.  Yet, we are commanded, “Love those who persecute you.”  Needless to say, this command has taken on new meaning for me this week.

The author of the article spells out really clearly what the risks are/were, and the actual situation on the mountain in a rescue operation.  Please keep in mind what was stated by SAR at yesterday’s press conference: “Beacons would not have made a difference in this situation.”

“Setting the Record Straight on Mt. Hood.”

DSLR VIDEO and MORE ……        COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP  2010           

with Jack Graham and Greg Duncan     

 www.jackgrahamphoto.com        www.grdphotos.com

            JUNE  3-6  2010                            COST: 695.00 (travel, meals, etc not included)

_______________________________________________________________________

One of the most picturesque areas in the lower 48 states is the backdrop for the Columbia River Gorge Photo & DSLR Video Workshop 2010.

Bridleveil Creek                                                                                                               ©Jack Graham

The Columbia River is the largest river in the West. During the last ice age, about 13,000 years ago, glaciers retreated north, releasing ice & boulders that headed west towards the Pacific Ocean. Along with the creation of the Cascade Mountains came the beautiful, seventy five mile long, thousand foot deep Columbia River Gorge.

Unlike the past workshops, this workshop will feature both landscape, & close up still photography, with equal time given to videography using the DSLR camera system. Video is rapidly becoming part of the every day experience with the advent of new technology by both Nikon and Canon. We will spend time discussing proper camera settings, proper accessories for sound and more. We’ll also discuss editing techniques and everything you need to know (lots that the manuals don’t include) to make your video experience as rewarding as your normal photographical experience.

 With the addition of video to this workshop in the Columbia River Gorge this year, Greg Duncan will be with us as our video instructor. Besides being a great photographer Greg has mastered all aspects of the DSLR video systems. Greg is part of Apple’s soon to come, “My living Desktop” project.

I have photographed in this area in all seasons. My favorite time is in early June. If you like green this is the place to be. Moss wrapped trees, dense forests, and spring wildflowers, near or at peak. The many waterfalls in the area are in prime time in early June fed by the snow melt of the cascades. Some of these falls drop over 550 feet!!! We will be using both the still photography and video mediums in selected locations.
We will be in the field shooting all day during this workshop, from sunrise to sunset. However, we will spend time during the workshop to evaluate and critique our work as well as discuss general aspects of image processing.

Please contact me for more details jack@jackgrahamphoto.com

Greg at Work

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE PAST FEW DAYS…………………..

After finishing up another year of workshops and more it was really nice to get to spend a few days over this past weekend with my good friend and fellow photographer Greg Duncan. Greg came up from the San Diego area to “hang out” and spend some time photographing in the area.

December is Oregon’s rainiest month of the year so we needed to take advantage of the light and weather conditions that we were dealing with.

 On Friday morning we headed out to the coast. When we left my home it was a balmy 11 degrees above zero. Heading over the coastal mountains things began to warm up. Though temperatures on the coast were only about 40 degrees, the lack of wind made things palatable. We stated out at Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach. This park features lots of primeval forest locations along with great seascape possibilities.

This image is looking south toward Cannon Beach from an overlook. The light was really tough as the sun was to my left, at a low angle, due to the time of year. The marine layer served to really enhance the light and draw the eye into the image. Lot of times, we use leading lines, s-curves etc to draw us into an image. This is an example of using light to accomplish the same.

Oregon Seastacks from Ecola State Park                                                  ©Jack Graham

The forecast was for rain to overspread the area in the late afternoon. By about 3 pm we were pretty sure we would get a decent sunset, just ahead of the incoming storm, we lucked out by about ½ hr. Just as the last light disappeared the clouds rolled in and ended any light that was left. Timing is everything.

Here is an image shot by Greg at Cannon Beach looking north toward Haystack Rock. This is a good use of foreground. The small amount of pink alpenglow also enhanced this image. Greg used a 3 stop Singh-Ray Neutral Density Filter along with a 2 stop reverse grad on his wide angel lens. www.singh-ray.com

Last Light, Cannon Beach , Oregon                                                                                                    © Greg Duncan

Sunday morning was very foggy after a cold rain during the night and then clearing at sunrise. Not far from my house, out in the farmland of the Willamette Valley there are many old and abandoned barns, houses and other structures. This is one such building. Greg was trying to show the environment and convey a mysterious feeling aided by the fog, not just the building itself. In the processing of the image, Greg converted this photograph into black and white using Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro. www.niksoftware.com  We both highly recommend this program.

Mysterious                                                                                                                                                         ©Greg Duncan

Finally, in late morning we drove up the hillside to about 1600’. Bald Peak State Park is a small park which is known for its towering spruce trees and the vistas of the coastal range to the west and Cascades to the East. On a clear day one can see ( looking north to south) Mt Rainer, Mt St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt Jefferson all at once. This image is looking east toward the peak of Mt Hood rising from the valley fog. I used 5 stops of Singh-Ray Graduated neutral density filters www.singh-ray.com  to make the mountain, sky and clouds look natural, as the sky was about 4-5 stops brighter than the trees.

Mt Hood, out of the fog                                                                                                  ©Jack Graham

These 4 images were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop CS4 along with Nik Software

Define 2.0, Viveza and Silver Efex Pro(B&W)

Jack–Nikon D700

Greg Canon 5D MkII

Visit Jack Graham Photography at FACEBOOK  www.facebook.com

Christmas shopping has gotten to be as much fun as having oral surgery without anesthesia.

My parents always said when I was a kid that I would have a cow if I realized how much they spent on Christmas each year.

I now understand what they were talking about. Converting to Jehovah’s Witness looks better every day.

Tale of two store chains: We went into Kohl’s and they had a table set up offering a $25 gift certificate if you signed up for a Kohls card.

We went into Wal-Mart and they had a table set up offering a free 2-liter of Pepsi if you signed up for a Wal-Mart card. That was reeeeeaaallllll tempting but I was able to resist.

What is up with those retarded shopping carts at Kohl’s? Stupid things are 3 feet high, 1′ wide, and have 2 wheels. There is no way a grown man can pull that idiotic thing around without looking and feeling like a total doofus.

Our son had a game in Wichita Falls this afternoon. It was listed as starting at 5pm on his schedule. He rode on the bus with the basketball team. My wife and I left the house at 330pm for the 70 mile trip. We got to the gym at 4:45pm to find my son’s team on the court, playing, with only 2 minutes left in the game! They had started at 4pm instead. From when we walked in until we walked out was all of 5 minutes. 140 mile round-trip for 2 minutes. That coach is not getting a Christmas card this year! There was hardly any parents there from our team……they probably all trotted in right after we left and were peeved to find out the game had already been played.

Is it a bad sign if you try to join an online support group for lonely and depressed people who feel the world totally ignores them……and the group contact never answers your email?

A week ago, we could not get above freezing all day. Yesterday, we were 75 balmy frikkin degrees. I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind.

More Hikers are dead or missing on Mt. Hood back in Oregon. What is it with these idiots that try to hike a 11,000 ft high volcano….in WINTER?????? Especially a mountain that had claimed over 100 people in recorded history. What is even worse is that these people were supposedly “experienced” hikers. I am an “inexperienced hiker” and a “total and complete idiot” but even I would never have tried to hike a mountain like Mt. Hood in winter.

In volunteering at DFW Airport today, I noticed that there is not a single Christmas Decoration in any of the terminals. Political correctness and religious pressures have completely removed all traces of Christmas. Bah Humbug.

Why can’t HBO and SHOWTIME show Holiday themed movies during December? I wanna see “Christmas Vacation” now….not in July!

“Best Buy” needs to change their name to “U Best Buy Elsewhere”. “How I met your Mother: Season 4″ DVD $19.95 at Target …. $49.95 at Best Buy……Ouch! What a bargain!! Do I get a free 2-liter of Pepsi with that???? Even Wal-Mart is giving out Pepsi!!!

And finally, in the immortal words of dear Cousin Eddie….

Mac (red) -- Mt. Hood Peak At 11,239 Feet

The names have changed, but once again experienced mountain climbers get into trouble on Mt. Hood.

Something went wrong for climbers Luke Gullberg, Katie Nolan and Antony Vietti. This past Saturday, rescuers found Gullberg’s body and retrieved a digital camera that recorded the group at 10,000 feet on the Reid Headwall, the steep rocky face that rises above Reid Glacier.  This part of the mountain is complex and best climbed in May-June under cold conditions.  Rescuers are continuing to search for the other climbers.

It was just three years ago, almost to the day that we learned about rescue efforts to find 3 other missing climbers (Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry “Nikko” Cooke), on Mt. Hood.

All this made me reflect on the one-and-only time I climbed the mountain. Of course it wasn’t in the middle of December, but none-the-less it was a challenging adventure for someone with no mountaineering background.

It wasn’t until I was 3 hours into the mountain climb with the crunch of crampons on ice and a heavy fog filled the predawn air that I fully appreciated the skills, hurdles and human conditioning required to do this every other weekend. Let alone execute a rescue like Portland Mt. Rescue in poor weather conditions, with extremely high avalanche hazards and with hurricane force winds.  Here are my summit stats:

Mazama – Summit Certificate
Ascended MT. Hood (South side) on May 16, 1978
Leader: Dick Sawyer w/ assistant Steve Rearder

Mt. Hood is one of several volcanoes on the west coast of the U.S. It is located about fifty miles east of Portland, Oregon in the Mt. Hood National Forest near Hood River. It is very easy to reach the trailhead since it starts at the parking lot of Timberline Lodge at an elevation of 6,000 feet, which is the base for the ski runs located on Hood’s southern slopes. It is common to see skiers high up on Hood. In fact, last year/season the ski area Meadow’s broke the all-time skier/boarder attendance record with 1.83 million visits.

But the mountain can also be very dangerous as noted by the deaths in May 2002 of climbers falling into a crevasse and a helicopter rescue gone bad. The nine climbers were swept into a 50-foot wide and 20-foot deep crevasse, known as the Bergschrund, early in the morning. Three of the climbers were killed and four more were critically injured.

And despite being the site of one of the worst climbing disasters in the U.S. in 1986 and that in the past 100 years, there have been more than 130 deaths on Mount Hood, it is very popular for various skill levels and some 40,000 people fill out permits to climb it every year.

But I’ve moved off topic.  I summited Mt. Hood in May 1978 (yeah, I know that was before Al Gore “invented” the internet!) with two college buddies along with a number of other climbers who we never met before. We used the standard route named the “Hogsback“. It is a very long, but straightforward day. We climbed independently most of the time, but roped up near the summit since the final ridge is exposed, slippery and can be windy.

The previous day we met up at Timberline Lodge to get final information and register with our guides from Mazama and the Park Service. We got the paperwork filled out and proceeded to an orientation as we spread all our gear on the floor for a final check and a quick refresher course on the “rest-step”, crevasse rescue and harness/rope travel. My friends and I looked at each other…”refresher”…we didn’t know about crevasses, or ropes, but we all thought the ice axe was cool. After the “lesson”, we killed a few hours in the lodge giving Heidi some love (a St. Bernard dog who has since past away) who was the lodge’s goodwill ambassador. Bruno has since replace Heidi and is doing a fine job continuing the role. We over nighted in the Chalet Rooms. These are European-style bunk rooms with shared access to a public bathroom with showers centrally located in the hallway. We had a 3am wake up call and everyone knew it would be difficult to sleep. The “snorer’s” seem to be asleep in seconds and kept most of us from any quality shut eye in the bunks.

We started the climb at 4:00am after a big bowl of oatmeal from the cafe. The route was clearly marked (by our flashlights) with a big sign stating “Climber’s Route” as well as discs on tall poles. This route takes climbers along the east side of the ski runs. The starting elevation is about 6,000 feet. The steady slope rises two miles to the top of the ski runs (oh how we wished for a chair ride on Palmer!) at a 30 degree grade. You are cold for the first 30 minutes then the steady grade gets the blood flowing in the legs and you begin to peel off layers.

MC (L) -- Mt. Hood Peak At 11,239 Feet

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I was surprised to see so many other people climbing on this foggy morning. There was no wind, but the heavy fog made it cold anytime you took a rest.

As the sun came up we were treated to the burn off of fog and the shadow of Hood off to the west. I was a little slower than my friends, but I plodded along…step-rest-step-rest. We took a longer rest at the base of the Hogsback about 10,000′. I remember the strong smell of rotten “eggs”…sulfur…I expect from the out-gassing of the mountain. Looking up at the ridge, it was clear as we needed to rope up for safety otherwise it would be a quick slide down the mountain!  So, on with the harnesses as I latched onto the rope.

I plodded along near the end of the rope for the short climb up the ridge. I remember someone shouted “FALLing” so, we all fell onto the snow with ice axes to prevent an accident. The person only slide 10-20 feet. We were all down to short sleeve shirts by this time as the sun was in full force. At Bergshund we split the ridge about halfway to the twin rock towers called the “Pearly Gates.” We took a path to the left to reach a narrow gap in the Bergshund. Once across, we continued our climbing to the Gates. Waiting for a number of people already on the way down and everyone else to arrive, I enjoyed the views of the “Kitchen” and surrounding pinnacles and ridges. And that sulfur smell continued on… We disconnected from our rope and quickly headed for the summit saddle. About 200′ at an aggressive angle and then we were…

On top! It was about 11:00am and it had taken seven hours to climb the 5400′. Everyone enjoyed the views and took pictures as well as made a quick climb to the true summit about a hundred feet away and maybe 50′ vertical.

On the downclimb, we roped up again until we were at the bottom of the Hogsback. From there it was a simple matter of tracing our steps back to the parking lot. With the steep slopes, we enjoyed some glissading in the black trash bags we packed and that sped things up quite a bit. It took us about 3 hours to return.

I think Mt. Hood is more challenging than advertised, especially if the weather is poor. The route is straightforward as long as you use Crater Rock as a guiding landmark. The crevasses are grouped off the primary route but climbers have been known to “find” them during whiteouts or storms.

As I reflect I remember it was a quiet May afternoon and my body was absorbing the warmth from the midday sun. In fact, it was too much sun.  As we down climbed Hogsback a lot of people coming up were covered in Zinc Oxide?  Later, as I unbuckled my harness in the parking lot and felt the stiffness in my body…in particular my sunburnt face.

I’ve never forget this positive experience with good friends.  I hope only the best for the 2 remaining climbers.

UPDATE:  December 21, 2009 — sadly the Mt. Hood rescue/search was called off last week.  The remaining two climbers (Nolan and Vietti) presumably dead were left behind to be found another day.  Speculation of what happen was pieced together from clues found on Gullberg’s body.  Cell phone photos seem to indicate there was an accident along the way and that Nolan may have been injured.  Vietti stayed behind with Nolan and Gullberg elected to climb down the mountain, but fell on his descent suffering some minor injuries, but then died of exposure.

These deaths, like the many before them spawned another debate about people risking their lives climbing the mountain in the middle of winter.  There has been a barrage of comments on the climbing “boards” about the use of transponders and an ‘entitlement’ factor that such devices might provoke.  It’s a complex issue.  I know that many if not all the rescuers who are involved in this line of “work” get no pay and have to buy their own equipment as well as supply their own food and transportation.  They are hero’s in my book!  To the climbers who perished… may you rest in peace and let’s keep the families of the climbers in our thoughts.

Map photo courtesy of Steve Cowden/The Oregonian.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

www.mthoodmeadowsparks.com

Contributing Author: Tad Hukari

www.timberlineparks.com

Contributing Editor: Adrian Blair

Contributing Author: Owen Brown

Sometimes I’m pretty grumpy starting my bike commute, but on clear days I get quite a reward with a view like this.

This is part of a new thing I’m gonna be doing appropriately called, YEAH HOMIE! The idea is simple, I know a whole lot a talented a creative people and they deserve as much exposure as possible. One of the things I love about having a blog is that it’s just an open forum you can use for absolutely anything. One of the ways to best use such a forum in my mind is to big up my friends who have created something awesome. I’ve known the man behind Junction 133 Productions my whole life and let me tell you he’s got raw talent with a camera. He spent last winter and this summer couch surfing to get shots and get his name out there and it has clearly paid off. Now with a base of operations setup in Breckenridge, Colorado, 23 year old Vermonter Duncan Lake will be looking to keep on stacking footy this season with some of skiing’ elite athletes. I wouldn’t be surprised if a NICE LIFE! commercial popped up in a few months with a DP credit on there for him either..hmmm.

Cheers.

the management.

This morning Molly told us how scary last Christmas  landing in Oregon airport was. Do you remember? Answer questions  from 1 to 9 in your notebook

1. What was the weather like when she landed? Which 3 adjectives did she use to describe the weather?

2. Why did the plane circle and circle and circle without landing?

3. What did she see from the plane?

4. What did Molly’s vision and Lukas vision’ have in common?

5. What did the men carry in their hands?

6. Who picks Molly up when she arrives in Portland?

7. Does Molly go straight home from the airport? Where does she stop? Why?

8. How long does Molly’s  journey from Palma to Portland take?

9. Why Is Mt Hood called that way?

Now that you’ve made your brain work a bit, I’ll leave you with some images.

November 23rd, 2007, Was it Molly, the one who filmed Mt Hood from the plane? We have to ask her next week.

This is beautiful Mt Hood from the air

This is a plane taking off, not landing, but it is also very cold and it is  Oregon too..

Now, no more flying, let’s go down to earth

We’ll follow a girl on a trail to Mt Hood, until… at the end there’s a reward, Huckleberry Milkshakes and beautiful Oregon wildflowers.

10. What are huckleberries? What do they taste like? bitter? sweet? sour? 11. And milk shakes? Is this girl holding a milkshake?

12. Finally, you know what?  I bet Mt Hood has something to do with volcanos,  let your volcano personality take over, go to Wikepedia and check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood Was I right?

13. What is the time Zone in Oregon? are they ahead or behind us?

14. send a comment of these videos to the blog and add the Oregon time in your comment.

POST 78

HOMEWORK for next Thursday

Questions 1 to 9 in your notebook. Questions 10 to 14 in the blog. Remember to figure out Oregon time and add it  in your post.

Have a nice weekend!

“In-bounds, out-of-bounds, backcountry, we go wherever there’s untracked snow”.

Cheers to that. I made it out to the backcountry on Saturday morning with a good crew of guys to take advantage of the storm that came through Friday night. When we started up Peagravel ridge, there was lots of blowing snow, but thankfully our shots to climber’s right were sheltered by the ridge. We took two great runs through some tight trees with beautiful pillows before climbing up to tree line and discovering the real stash. Right at tree line are a series of open glades with pockets of trees, sitting at a perfect 28-25 degrees.

A quick snow profile showed a CT16 and “moderate” shovel shear, so we played the terrain cautiously in the slightly denser trees, minding some possible release points. One group that went farther up the ridge and into the steeper and more open terrain managed to trigger a small point release slide, which was both vindication of our decision to stay a bit more sheltered, and comforting, in that even the slide they triggered wasn’t too worrying.

The snow was deep, light, and fluffy. About as good as it can get in the Cascades. As I rode down it was flying up around my waist and shoulders, and hitting me with the occasional face shot. Whoo baby. I love backcountry skiing.

Naturally, because the snow was so good this past weekend, the freezing level has gone to 8k’, and it’s raining on the mountain. Such is the maritime climate I guess. I may still try to dawn patrol it on Wednesday morning before I have to hop a plane to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Getting up onto the north side for some exercise and a look at the Eliot glacier wouldn’t be too bad. Even though school is gettin’ serious now towards the end of the semester, somehow the good life still lurks around every corner.

Whistler Smashes November Snowfall Record

Vancouver Sun
Via ICECAP, November 18, 2009

“Whistler Blackcomb ski resort has reported 98” the last seven days and 165” November. This makes it the snowiest November on Record at Whistler Blackcomb.

See larger image here. H/T Tim Kelley.

“I’ve skied here for over 15 years and I’ve never seen this much snow so early in a season, it seems like every day’s snowfall is topping the last,” said Stephen Butt, communications coordinator and voice of the Snow Phone for Whistler Blackcomb . “We have already received one third of our average annual snowfall for the entire season and it’s only four days into the season, it’s unbelievable!”

See photo gallery here.

This record Whistler Blackcomb ski resort November snowfall is occurring in spite of the National Weather Service predictions in No Need to go to the Desert for the Winter, in the October 1 Tacoma News Tribune link, that begins as follows,

“Skiers may want to hold off on buying that new set of snow skis for the coming winter. Umbrellas still will come in handy but there may not be enough rain to seriously challenge river levees.  El Nino is back and that usually means a mild Northwest winter with less rain and higher temperatures than normal, one of the National Weather Service’s top climatologists said Wednesday.”

See more here.

Additional information courtesy of Ken Schlichte: “Looks like record snow coming to Mt Hood too. Timberline already has a 50 inch base and 98 inch snow fall to date with much more snow forecast for the rest of November.  See links here and here.

Last winter during the snow in town we drove from Tualatin to Timberline, and back, and never drove on pavement.

See larger image here.

See larger image here.

See FSU snowcover. Note the greater than normal extent in Asia, less in southern Canada north central US. This will change late this month.

See larger image here.

Still notice the above normal snowpack in mid latitudes (35-55 N).

See larger image here.

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BEIJING – See these stories on the killer cold and snow in China here and here. Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of winter crops, the Civil Affairs Ministry said Friday. Nineteen of the deaths resulted from traffic accidents related to the storms that began Nov. 9, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. The snowfall is the heaviest in the northern and central provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan since record keeping began after the establishment of the Communist state in 1949, the ministry said without giving detailed figures. It estimated economic losses from the storm at 4.5 billion yuan (US$659 million).

Chinese state media say some of the snow was induced through cloud seeding, although the precise amount of snowfall in all areas was not reported and it wasn’t clear what the previous records were. Hebei’s provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, received the heaviest snowfall – 3.7 inches (9.4 centimeters) – on Nov. 10, the day of the heaviest flurries.

More than 7.5 million people have been stranded or otherwise affected by the storms, which caused the collapse of more than 9,000 buildings, damaged 470,000 acres (190,000 hectares) of crops, and forced the evacuation of 158,000 people, the ministry said. State media have reported at least two deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings, including a school cafeteria. Beijing has been hit by three successive waves of snow, causing havoc on roadways and forcing the cancellation or delay of scores of flights.

The capital and surrounding areas are little prepared to deal with such heavy snow, with few plows or road deicing supplies. Snow tires and chains are almost unknown and many drivers simply leave their cars at home and turn to public transport in such conditions. The impact has been far greater in the surrounding provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan, where highways have been closed, schools shuttered, and crews sent to rescue people in their snowbound homes.

Freak snow and ice storms last year hit parts of eastern and southern China unaccustomed to such weather. Those storms paralyzed key transport systems just as millions of migrant workers were heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday, leading to more than 80 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.

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Last Wednesday I headed up with some friends to Mt. Hood to go snowshoeing. We went to Trillium Lake and then headed up to Timberline.

Later that night I went to game night at Lucky Lab in SE Portland.

Some friends and I trekked out to Bagby Hot Springs this weekend aiming to enjoy a hot bath on a cold november day. If you aren’t familiar, Bagby is a public bath in the Mount Hood National Forest. It’s clothing optional and open 24/7 year-around. It has been a hot spot for crazy parties in the past, but the forest service cleaned it up and now it is more low-profile. I went once before, last year on Halloween night, and it was eerily calm. Old-growth Doug-fir loomed over us as we made the 2-mile hike in with not a soul in sight. Gigantic trees were chopped down ages ago to make room for the path, and decades later the 3-foot wide trunks are still nurse-logs for ferns and other forest creatures.

When we arrived, a dusky element of magic enveloped the place. It has the affect of a woodland fairy bathhouse surrounded by boarded up cabins. The tubs were all open, and empty – save the largest tub which featured an old man in his birthday suit. He ended up being a little weird (shocker) but the experience was serene, even if we did have to hike back with no flashlight and only our merry voices to find the way.

This weekend was a less solitary experience. There were a good 30 people out there on a Saturday afternoon. Drinking beer and smoking joints, sprawled out on smoking hot tubs. I would have preferred a private bath but that would have meant waiting longer (we waited 30 minutes). As many people as there were, it wasn’t a party atmosphere, it was still very relaxing and welcoming. We filled the long wooden logs up with boiling spring water, and then fetched pails of cold water to bring the temperature down. We floated for an hour until we started to shrivel.

friend in the surrounding forest

The mystery of the place still persists in my mind. There in the heart of the forest, a bunch of humans lay around in a wooden bath shack- letting go of their inhibitions, and enjoying eachother’s company. It’s an ancient ritual that Americans keep forgetting, but something we all love to do. 500 years from now when archaeologists find the site they’ll talk about the trees that were felled in sacrifice so the path could be made. “They left the cities in droves to ritually purify themselves by the mountain.”  the PhD students will write. “These seekers believed smoking reefer would bring them closer to the Bagby woodland fairy spirits. They also believed it was more beneficial to visit the site on the full of the moon”…Of course, they’d be right.

Coming soon to a Mt. Hood Ski Bowl lift tower near you…