Cone Peak 1/3/13

Cone Peak is located off of Tombstone pass and is only around an hour an a half from Eugene. It is one of the few accessible roadside attractions in the winter, and it provides for some great turns if you can hit the conditions right. It is relatively low in elevation, so it can be subject to rain throughout the winter.

This was my first time up Cone Peak, and brought along my buddy Bob for his first backcountry outing. Bob is a snowboarder, and while I skinned, Bob slogged up on snowshoes with his board on his back. We were slow on the climb and it took us over two hours to ascend the 1300 feet to the summit. In good snow conditions or with an experienced group, the climb can be done in less than an hour.



From the summit of Cone Peak, we had amazing views of Adams, Hood, Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Washington, The Three Sisters, Bachelor, and Diamond Peak. We skied the South Facing bowl off the summit. At that point the sun had heated up the snow and we had some January corn skiing.

Looking East

To the left of Cone Peak is Iron Mountain, which appears to have some excellent steep terrain. To the right is an unnamed peak that looks like it has some good West Facing terrain. On a good snow day, it would be possible to ski all three summits in a day.

We skied down the South Face of the Cone, and then followed the ascent route back to the car.

The Route:

Start: Tombstone Sno-Park. The trailhead is about a third of a mile East of the Tombstone Pass Sno-Park. Unless it is a massive snow year, there will be a trail sign right off the road.

Ascent: ~ 1300 ft. From the road, hike through the trees with a slight angle right (East) until you reach an open clearing. Cut a gentle traverse across the clearing, ending up right at the top of it on the other side. Cross the drainage and switchback up until you reach the ridge line below the cone. The cone can be attacked from any aspect.
Descent: The South face of the Cone is the main attraction. In addition, one can ski off the Northeast side, and then hike back to the summit.