Mt Bachelor Backcountry

schubwa

schubwa

New member
After battling the crowds yesterday, it was decided to go for a hike. Robert and I parked at the Nordic Center and skied out and around the corner towards Todd Lake. The lake, brimming with hikers in the summer, gets some xc skier action in the winter. It's just inside the Three Sisters Wilderness so is off limits to the snow machines. There was a well worn skin track in place as I decided to give it a day to settle out. Even out here in the usually stable PNW, we have some creepy layers with some facets near the ground and some rain crusts. But we now have eight feet at 6000 feet, so that does help heal the snowpack through bridging.
The snow was excellent as the temps have stayed cold since the last eight inches fell Thurs/Fri.

The NW through W aspect of Mt Bachelor. The Summit Chair opened today for the first time this season. They had to chip 10" of rime ice off the thing.

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The skin track noodling up through the trees.

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Rob must have thought he didn't need goggles???!!!

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Broken Hand off in the distance.

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Schubwa making a pole plant and notching another powder day.

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Robert mounted up his Salomon Guns with Dynafits and they seemed to work well!

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We're getting spoiled out here folks. This looks like I'm tele skiing. Not.

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That NW aspect of the Summit is usually windblasted. It really looks loaded with snow now. Another July 4th season in the good old days.
 
At this point in the season do you have to worry about tree holes? Tree skiing in the northwest seems to have that risk.
 
Tree wells are always a threat when the snow is deep and unconsolidated like it's been lately. I went into one the other morning on a waist deep day and stopped just short of seriously bruising my femur or worse. We had to dig out a buddy on Christmas Day as well. You obviously don't want to go in head first.
I try not to ride alone at Outback, NWX or south off the back when the top is open. But I guess you could slip into a rabbit hole right in the main area and they wouldn't find you for weeks, which happened right under a lift here a few years ago. We also have fumaroles since it's a "dormant" volcano and the vents and resulting pits are all over the place. You can see them as you pass by and gaze down into their eerie darkness. I always send a prayer to Pele to thank her for letting me live another day.
 
We also have fumaroles
Click to expand...
Those should roped off to prevent a tragedy like the 3 Mammoth patrollers who fell in the one by Chair 3 (while adjusting the ropes after a big dump) and were suffocated by CO2 in April 2006.
 
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