Mt. Washington

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."   Oprah Winfrey

Jamie and I left for Mt. Washington knowing we had a very small weather window.   We arrived in Sisters, Oregon to huge dark clouds over the mountains.  We headed into from Sisters to the turn off for Hoodoo Ski Bowl, a tiny ski area just west of town.  We found the PCT trailhead in the dark and set up the tent as quick as possible.  Hoping the forecast was right, we went to sleep early and woke to foggy cold weather with new snow.

I took that picture with my phone and crawled back in the tent, which was wet, by the way. Don't think I'll set my tent up on a tarp again.  Learn something new every day. In a few hours we woke up and had a lazy morning, hoping the sun would come out.  Soon enough, the clouds parted and we could see the mountain! It was pretty late, but Jamie was super gungho. So we took off.  We hiked 3.5 miles to the base of the mountain, then skinned almost 3000ft to the base of the summit pinnicle, where we stopped and gawked at the rocks and ice above us.  A truly amazing sight.

A little trifecta for your enjoyment.

These rime ice feathers were over 18 inches long. The biggest I've ever seen.

We reached the saddle around noon and enjoyed the view for a while.  The ski from the summit is about 2300 verticle feet.  A great ski run in June!

Me skiing, Jamie behind the lens.

Jamie!

Jamie making it look good, as usual.

The clouds rolled in just as we skied to the bottom of the main face. 

This is the worst of the burned zone. Always an interesting hike out.....

Happy to make it back to the car after hiking almost 12 miles, we headed to Mt. Hood to do some ski testing for RAMP (Riders Artists Music Project). They make great gear and are awesome people!