Wheels & Water: Paulina Peak (OR)

The NW Chutes, from Paulina Lake Lodge

With Memorial Day rapidly approaching, a group of us decided to put together plans for a Northern California ski tour weekend, with Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak as the primary targets. Unfortunately, during the week leading up to our departure the forecast changed for the worse and our hopes of skiing long runs and spring corn were soon dashed. With the whole west coast projected to get hit by a cold front and storms, it was becoming increasingly difficult to make alternative plans. Compounding the issue was the ever-changing forecast, which isn’t uncommon for springtime in Oregon. In the end we decided to play it safe and stick to something in the local mountains. All the way up to the end the forecast kept changing, which eventually took its toll and pretty much killed our plans to do at least do one or two of the high bigger volcanoes. Most of the group made the logical switch from ski plans to climbing plans, since the weather at Smith Rock was looking pretty good. I, on the other hand, was still hell-bent on going skiing, so I was pretty stoked when Markus texted me to see if I wanted to get in a tour. The one place that I could find with decent weather and within a few hours drive was Paulina Peak, with which he eagerly jumped on board.

Paulina Peak is pretty unique. It is the highest point within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, at 7,989’. The volcano is actually the largest (by area) in the Cascade Range, at 1,200 square miles! Although it lacks the prominence of the major Cascade peaks, it offers some challenging terrain and a relatively short approach, at least when the road is open above 10 Mile Sno-Park. Its snowpack is also different from the other Cascade mountains, with more of an intermountain snowpack versus a maritime snowpack. Since we were well into spring at this point, the avalanche danger would be pretty low, which would make our biggest risk the skiing itself. As for the terrain, the main features are the NW chutes and the NE bowl, and we planned to ski both. Another way to enjoy this area, once the snow has melted, is by mountain bike, where a ride around the rim provides a great day of adventure and scenery (ride report here).

The drive from Eugene to Paulina Peak took us through quite a dramatic weather transition, with dark and stormy weather west of the Cascades and mostly sunny skies on the other side of the pass. I was pretty relieved that the forecast seemed to be accurate and that we might actually have good weather for our tour. As we pulled past the entrance shack to the park, we tried to find a good view of the NW chutes to make sure they had enough snow to justify the trip. Although it was hard to get a clear view through the trees, it appeared that the there was decent coverage, so we started searching for the best place to park the car, hoping to minimize the approach as much as possible.

Obstructed view of the chutes

At the car we made some final gear preparations and started our tour, hiking south and directly toward the NW chutes. For the first hundred yards or so we shouldered our skis until we found more continuous snow coverage. Even then we were forced to skin over bare ground from time to time, so I was pretty happy that I was using a relatively old pair of skins. Between this, the dense trees and undulating terrain, we made pretty slow progress through the forest. Luckily we reached the apron below the chutes in a little less than a mile, where the approach steepened rapidly and we switched over to boot crampons in response.

Gear prep

Entering the opening below the chutes

The author presses on
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Since the avalanche danger was relatively low and we wanted to scout out conditions before dropping in on skis, our plan was to hike up the main couloir, aptly named “Big Easy”. The snow, which had just begin to soften by the sun, was fairly easy to bootpack up; although, we did encounter some firmer snow in the shaded areas, which made me glad we had put on our crampons. The higher we climbed, the steeper it got, and eventually we made it to the base of the chute we’d be ascending. Within the couloir we found good snow coverage, but the textured surface and firm conditions would require an hour or more before it was ready to ski. About halfway up we reached a split, with the main path doglegging up to the left and a steeper, narrower and more direct route heading up to the right. Since we knew we’d be skiing the wider route (lookers left), at least for the first run down, we opted to hike up that way.

Markus, starting off the bootpack

Looking up the Big Easy couloir

Markus taking in some shade on the way up. Anything that was shaded was still pretty icy.

Taking a quick break before entering the Big Easy

Heading left at the split

The author trying to keep up
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Not long after the split we topped out at the rim above the NW chutes, which provided great views to the west and north. In opposition to what the forecast had reported, the weather on South Sister looked pretty damn good, and I was kicking myself a bit for not taking a chance on a tour there. My attitude quickly changed when I came back to the realization that there was plenty of good skiing off Paulina Peak and as far as we could tell, we had it all to ourselves! After taking a minute to discuss options, we decided to let the Big Easy couloir soften up a bit more and traverse over to the NE bowl, which had gotten sun earlier and could also serve as a warm up run before hitting the steeper/tighter stuff.

Topping out

A view of the Three Sisters. The weather was looking pretty damn good there as well.

The skin over to the bowl was short and we were soon looking down into it, where we found decent coverage and more than enough snow to get in some fun turns. While we were transitioning for the descent, a small group who had snowshoed up came over to say hello. As it turns out, they had also planned to do South Sister and were deterred by the forecast -- apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought this would make a good backup. Before dropping in we established our plan of attack. We decided to go down as far as the bottom of the main bowl and then make a determination on whether or not to descend further once we could see what was below it. I knew that there were some smaller bowls down low but I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to get into them or if they would even be worth skiing.

Skinning once again

Markus reaches the drop-in point for the NE bowl

Looking down into the NE bowl

I dropped in first, navigating through some small trees and rocks on the left side of the bowl, where the sun had a chance to soften the snow a bit more. Right off the bat I was kicking up some nice velvety corn and I knew we’d made a good decision for our first lap. About a hundred yards down I crossed over into the main part of the bowl and readied my camera. Markus came down soon after, enjoying lots of soft turns along the way. Now in the main bowl we were able to open it up a bit more and paint some more nice lines down the face.

The author drops in for his first turns of the day
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Navigating some small trees and rocks on the upper portion of the bowl
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Markus with his first turns of the day

Opening up down lower

The author
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Painting lines

Markus

Markus, stoked on the first lap!

The author finishing it up with a smile
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

After dropping about 500’ we reached the bottom of the bowl and had a decision to make. Below us were some steep glades that looked like they would be really good with lots of powder, but in these conditions they weren’t as desirable. To get the best bang for our buck, we decided to head back up and either get another lap on the run we’d just done or head back over to the couloirs. With our decision made we transitioned over and started the climb back up to the rim.

Skinning back up

And eventually, bootpacking

Back at the top of the bowl we took a lunch break and discussed our options. It was starting to get pretty warm so we figured it would be wise to head over to the chutes and try and get in a few laps over there. As we stood at the top looking down into the Big Easy, conditions looked good and a nervous energy started to build inside of me. Once again we ripped skins and figured out our game plan -- basically, we’d leapfrog down, always staying in sight of one another and taking photos along the way.

The author gets mentally prepared
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

As I dropped in for my first turns my nervousness turned into excitement, as the snow conditions were pretty optimal and my turns were feeling pretty good. The slope angle was in the mid to upper 40s and although I had snowboarded slopes this steep, including this one, it was definitely on the upper end of what I’d skied. Once I was situated below the first pitch, I radioed up to Markus to let him know he could drop in as soon as he was ready. Not long after, he made his way down with a series of tight turns, stopping below me in the widest part of the couloir.

Dropping in
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Markus on the upper section of Big Easy

Widening up a bit

Markus taking full advantage of all the room

As I started descending again, my turns felt better and I gained more confidence the further I dropped. The lower couloir held some really nice corn snow and it felt like it was over way too soon, as I exited its confines and was deposited onto the apron below. Once Markus had rejoined me, we dropped another 500’, kicking up perfect corn on the 30-degree open slope -- what a great way to finish the line!

the author heading into the wide point
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Markus exits Big Easy...

...and on to the apron

Getting in some sweeping turns on the lower apron

Markus finishes up lap one down Big Easy

Stoked on our line but not satisfied enough to call it a day, we threw our skis on our packs and started boot packing up the Big Easy once again. About halfway up we decided to detour into the narrower line to climbers right, to see if it was worth using as an alternate entrance for the second lap down the couloir. As we traversed underneath the cliff that separated the two entrances, we found that the alt line was certainly narrower and had quite a bit of rock debris littering its surface. Luckily, nothing was larger than we were able to clean on the way up and we made a pretty clear runway before topping out.

Hiking back up for another

Another quick rest

A little softer for the hike up this time

Entering the pinch on door number two

A bit narrow than the other entrance

Markus topping out for the final lap

As we had assumed, this line was a bit steeper. I pulled out my clinometer and measured the slope in a few locations, determining that it was right around 50 degrees. Once again I was feeling a bit anxious, but with conditions being pretty optimal we decided we should give it a go. I went first and after making a few turns I communicated back up to Markus that the snow felt good. Before dropping through the pinch, I pulled over to the side in a small alcove and waited for him. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room for the both of us, so he posted up above me in the middle of the chute, while I dropped in through the narrow slot.

Markus drops into the alternate entrance

Kicking up some corn sluff

Markus finds a less than an optimal place to stop and wait for me

Unlike the upper slope, it was too tight for me to link a series of turns (based on my current skill set) so I had to sideslip down through the narrowest part, which was around 12’ to 15’ wide. Once I exited the pinch I put in a few turns and pulled over, to grab some shots of Markus coming through. He also found it a little too tight and firm to throw in a turn without risking a fall. Even so, we were both happy to have made it through safely and we’re looking forward to the fun skiing we still had below us.

Looking down the barrel of a gun
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Markus gets ready to drop through the pinch

Success!

As with the first lap, we both had great lines through the lower half of Big Easy and shared our stoke once we had rejoined below it. This time we headed down the right side of the apron, which provided more great corn turns and even another steep pitch in the middle of it. Once we had reached the treeline, we looked back up at our lines, now satisfied with the work we’d done and ready to start the tedious task of skiing back to the car, through the dense forest.

Back in familiar territory

Markus, partway down the wide section of Big Easy.

The author gets some boot shots
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Still a little steep down low
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Exiting Big Easy for the last time

Following the best snow coverage

The author on the final steep pitch down low
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Markus gets in his final turns of the day, excluding the ski out.

Stoked on a few good laps!

Sure enough, the ski out proved to be a pain. I was skewered a few times by tree branches and tore a hole in my brand new sun hoody -- dammit! Eventually the forest opened up a bit and we were able to make some decent progress, but even then we eventually ran out of snow and were forced to hike the rest of the way out. We also ended up on the road about a half mile from the car, which only added to the joy. Even with the headache of the ski out, it wasn’t enough to take away from an otherwise stellar day, for which we drank a beer in celebration.

The author does his best to navigate the less than optimal terrain
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

And not doing a very good job at it
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Hiking out the last bit
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Conclusion:
This was the third time I’d skied at Paulina Peak and all were with completely different conditions. The first time was with ~10” of fresh powder (which was utter bliss) another time when it was pretty icy (which was pretty sketch) and this time with perfect spring corn. All of them provided very different experiences and although the powder day provided the best skiing, it was also a lot longer approach and much more work. This time around, the approach was amazingly short (by Oregon standards) and the skiing was pretty damn fun and we didn’t have to worry about avalanches -- probably the biggest concern was the potential for rock fall or taking an out of control fall on the steeper bits. All in all, this was a great tour and one that I’ll certainly be repeating, especially if we can catch it in good weather just after the road above 10 Mile Sno-park opens and there is decent snow coverage.