Halle’s Smooooth Words o’ Wisdom

Must go up…

To get down…

This is an outtake from a bon bon story yours truly shot for Powder Magazine last spring. Thank you Dave Reddick. Not all photographers might consider this a bon bon. Me? Hell yes! I would have done the trip regardless of the assignment. Hence ‘bon bon’, a term I learned from a German DP working on a job for Addidas a few years ago.

Our goal here was a 4-day traverse of the Eagle Cap Wilderness, aka the Wallowas*, in northeastern Oregon from Halfway to Joseph. We succeeded although a tad more quickly than planned. Spring conditions were expected but, as often happens in the mountains, we got spanked. We had no chance to skin laps in the sun and position athletes with radios let alone dry our drawers, boot liners or sleeping bags. ‘My kingdom for a synthetic fill bag,’ was an unspoken refrain by night two.

I don’t recommend this trip when ma nature swings her paddle. Still we managed, had a ton of fun and only one in five came down with the nasty foot predicament.

*Wallowa is a Nez Perce word “used to describe a structure of stakes set in a triangle used to support a network of sticks called lacallas, for catching fish.” -Oregon Geographic Names by Lewis A. McArthur & Lewis L. McArthur

For one day this season we were ok with El Niño. Superbowl Sunday. Chris and I had a surprisingly good day skiing der Hood. We ditched the car in Govy, stuck out our thumbs and the first car up Timberline Rd. obliged. The clouds lifted and the snow up high was as good as Hood snow gets.

My likely last ski of the season was a grand one. Chris Hill, Blake Osmundsen, Trent Thelen and I bivied at the bustling Cold Springs trailhead Friday night and headed up 7,000 ft. or so to the top then skied down. Skied down most of the way at least. We did a wrinkle I’d never done before: traversing at 7,000 ft to the south side trade route instead of heading to the round the mountain trail and then walking the 3 miles back to Cold Springs. The verdict seemed to be that the traverse at 7k is better suited for earlier in the season or bigger snow years. We finished the day with cold brews at the car and Huckleberry shakes in Trout Lake. Yeeehaaaa!

The tour to Ramona falls is one of my favorite things. Yesterday Steven, Ralph and I skied the route with a snowcat assist part way up the Palmer. It was a great day spent with friends on the mountain. We encountered a handfull of giants along the way.

Spent a nice day with the family at Timberline yesterday and couldn’t resist this picture of my daughter and Smokey the Bear.

These things, also know as harscheisen, have come in handy several times so far this season and will probably be required for much of the ascent of Mt. St. Helens tomorrow.

Today’s was an exploratory tour I’ve wanted to ski for a while. After a long approach Lynn, Blake and I found great corn snow to the southeast of Lookout Mountain near Mt. Hood. We could have chosen a better line to ski and were forced to traverse through thick trees and over lots of bits and boughs more than we would have liked. The views and uncanny feeling like we were on a Sierra Nevada spring trip made up for the descent. The views of Hood, Adams, Rainier, Helens, Jefferson, Washintgon and the Sisters were clear and a cold foggy blanket extended to the horizon east of the Cascades.

One of my favorite things about Mt. Hood Ski Bowl besides the lack of lines at the upper bowl chair, the WPA era warming hut and the overall friendly vibe is the proximity of Mirror Lake. Enough said.

My oh my the skiing was good off Alameda Ridge in NE Portland this evening: