On a whim, Bob and I decided to test the snowpack at Crater Lake on Saturday. The game plan was to just get out and do something…The biggest question was just how deep the snowpack was and whether or not anything would be rideable. We were ready to be in 'tour' mode all day and just to recon for some other lines that we had not done.
As we drove in, we both feared the worst - which was that there might not even be enough snow for a tour. Once we did some more scouting, we realized there was enough snow to take the gear out and explore.
There was spotty coverage on the south facing slopes as the sun took a toll on the snowpack. We started down by the lower lodge and decided to head to the bottom of Garfield Ridge and see what we saw…deep thoughts…albeit deeper that part of the snowpack we were seeing!
We started our skin up along the bottom of the ridge and quickly started to notice some lines that we made a mental note to explore later once there is more snow. We worked our away up and found a couple of great looking chutes that begged the question of whether or not they were accessible from the ridge above. The ridge is really exposed in areas with cliff bands that could make for a really bad day if you did not know whether they were as you descended. We figured this was all part of our homework for reference in the future.
We got to the last chute under Garfield and immediately looked at each other thinking….'This is a go!'
The snow in the shade was in great condition and we quickly picked our ascent line up the steep ridge. After zigging and zagging our way up, we reached what we thought was the summit (or just below the summit) and pulled out some food and water to load up on calories and enjoy the amazing views. As we would later find out, we were not at the summit but about 1/2 way up.
The transition from tour mode to ride mode went pretty quickly but it still felt a little rusty for the first time out. It was a really good day to work out the kinks and make sure equipment was all in good working order.
Bob picked a descent line and carved what we think are the first turns of the year up at Crater this year. We made our way down carefully, making sure to avoid bumps since there was a high likelihood that those bumps were rocks and that going over them could be bad for both board and rider.
Once we got to the bottom, we were pleasantly surprised at how good some of the riding was (notably the snow that was in the shade) and quickly realized that our tracks were not nearly as nice and curvy as they might have been in better snow.
The weather was just about perfect. Blue skies, no wind, and warm….it felt like it was in the 50's! It was a stellar day out and another day of riding and recconning for the area.
Some pix of the day's adventures and of Bob in action.
