Humble Pie on Middle Sister

Paul ascending Middle Sister 

Well, it may be time to hang up the spurs for the summer. Not entirely, but apparently life continues during ski season, and there are a few things I need to catch up on. Middle Sister was a worthy endeavor for the last day of skiing in June. Situated in the middle of the Oregon Cascades, it offers perhaps the most spectacular view of any mountain in Oregon. It also offers some puckering skiing. After a full season of skiing routes within my comfort level and ability, on Middle Sister I was served a tasty piece of humble pie. 

Mt. Hood (Pearly Gates) 12/28/13

Credit: Mark Johnson

I learned two things on my climb of Mt. Hood yesterday: First, as much as I love the climb, when it comes down to it, I am a skier who climbs, not a climber who skis. Second, don't test new gear in no-fall zones.

I didn't intend to summit Mt. Hood when I arrived in the Timberline parking lot. I just planned to skin up Palmer and test out some new gear I had acquired during the fall (including my Black Diamond Whippet, Mountain Hardwear Direttessima 46 pack, and Scarp F1 boots). However, when I arrived in the parking lot, I ran into Mark and Mike, two old ski buddies who I had not seen in a few years. They were summit-bound, along with a few members of Portland Mountain Rescue, and they invited me along. The weather was clear and sunny, with a light breeze. Conditions were perfect, so I agreed to join them.

Mt. Tumalo

Did a quick solo hike up Mt. Tumalo before meeting the crew in Bend for the Pole Peddle Paddle. Mt. is the relatively small volcano across the street from Mt. Bachelor. In the winter, Mt. Tumalo is a popular spot among the Bend locals, and fresh snow can be tracked out as fast as the resort. But on this sunny May morning, I found myself in perfect solitude.

Mt. Shasta: Avalanche Gulch 5/15/12

Mt. Shasta was my first introduction ski mountaineering in 2007. While I had been skiing all my life, I had never hiked for my turns. On that trip, I carried a heavy pack, had only a vague idea of how to self-arrest, and wore way too little sunscreen. In other words, it was a steep learning curve for me (pun intended). Ultimately we turned around only a few hundred vertical feet below the summer due to high winds. Walking away from my first summit was one of the best things that could have happened to me--since then it's never been about the summit. Ski to live another day.

That being said, the summit of Mt. Shasta had been on my radar ever since. I earned my ski touring chops following the Mt. Shasta trip, spending a season living and skiing in Alta, UT in 2009-2010.

After finishing my second year of law school, it seemed time to give Mt. Shasta another shot.