South Sister 6/17/12

The South Sister is the third highest peak in Oregon (behind Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson) and has some of the best skiing the Cascades have to offer. In the winter, the mountain is difficult to access without a snowmobile. However, once the Cascade Lakes Highway is plowed, it's a roadside attraction with over 4000 vertical feet of skiing.

 I drove out to Bend to meet up with a bunch of friends to camp for the weekend. Only Jake and I planned on skiing. When we arrived, all the campgrounds were full (not surprising for the first nice weekend in June). We ended up driving an unmarked dirt road and found an amazing site with views of Mt. Bachelor and South Sister. No, I'm not telling you where it is. 

Jake and I got up at around 4:30 am and starting climbing around 5:30. The weather was cloudy and visibility was terrible. We waited at Moraine Lake for an hour until the visibility improved. As we climbed, the clouds cleared out, and by the time we were midway up the mountain, it was bluebird. However, the winds were howling. We skinned up to the first small lake before deciding to put on our crampons. The wind slowed us down significantly, but at least it was keeping to snow cold and firm.

We were about halfway up the crescent ridge when we had to turn around. We had told the rest of the crew that we would be down by 1:00pm. Jake was relying on Rachael and Joe to get back to Portland that night. So, with the summit almost in view, we de-skinned and made our descent. The snow on the
lower mountain had warmed quite a bit, and while the
 turns on the upper mountain were great, the snow
 quickly became mashed potatoes.

Skiing the lower mountain with Mt. Bachelor in the background

Once we reached the trees, the descent became particularly interesting. We were following ribbons of snow through a mostly exposed forrest, always hoping that the snow wouldn't suddenly run out. Though we had to walk across a few dirt patches, we were able to ski almost all the way to the car.

The Route:

Start: Devil's Lake Trailhead
Ascent: ~ 5000 feet (we only did around 4200 this trip). The ascent begins through a steep forrest, and navigation can be difficult without a following someone else's tracks or following a GPS ( in early season; once the trail melts out the route is obvious) After ascending a few hundred vertical feet, you will end up in a drainage that will take you all the way up to tree line. From there, the standard route is to traverse across the nearly mile -long plateau that extends above Moraine Lake. Ascend left of the ridge above the plateau to the Crescent Ridge. Ascend the open bowl left of the Crescent Ridge and you will end up on the summit plateau and Teardrop Pool.
Descent: The standard descent follows the ascent route, down to the first pool. From there, most skiers work their way right (West) through the open bowls below. Cross the plateau above Moraine lake and follow the ascent route through the trees back to the car.