Mount Washington (OR) - SW Bowl

Mount Washington, from Belknap Crater. The SW Bowl is the one on the left side of the photo.
(photo taken from the internet)

With a season pass to Hoodoo, I’ve spent many moments staring at all the line options on Mount Washington; well, at least what you can see from the north. A few years back my buddy Rich and I actually skied both the NE and NW bowls (trip report here), but I knew that there were other skiable faces that deserved some attention. With cooler temps and some eastern winds forecasted for the weekend, I thought the SW bowl could be a good exploratory option, especially if we added in a line down the NW bowl. I pitched this idea to my buddy Jonathan, who was more than up for an adventure. Markus, who I had skied with on Diamond Peak the previous week, also jumped on board, so we’d have a group of three.

With better weather forecasted for Sunday we opted to set the tour for that day. After meeting up in Springfield at 6:30am, we made the ~1.5 hour drive to Ray Benson sno-park, where we’d start our tour. Stepping out of the car, the temps were in the high 20s with a biting breeze. We quickly readied our gear, did a quick beacon check and set off down the snowed-in road toward our objective.

Starting it off

We skinned along the road for a little over a mile before making our own and more direct trail through the forest. We soon reached the skeleton forest that was left in the wake of the Shadow Lake Fire, which made navigation a bit easier. After a few miles of skinning through the matchsticks we entered a band of fairly dense forest. Along with the tight tree spacing, undulating terrain also slowed our pace a bit. At one point Jon and I got separated from Markus and had to rely on our radios for communication and to establish a rendezvous point.

Easy skinning 

Max finds some fun stuff to chew on along the way
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Eventually, we reached a series of interconnecting meadows that lay below the NW bowl. Now that Mount Washington was in full view we were able to reset our trajectory using line of sight. Just below the main face the slope started to steepen. That, in combination with the icy conditions, forced us to pull out our ski crampons. With the additional traction we were able to head up a bit faster and with a bit more confidence in our footing.

A man and his dog

As we entered the bottom of the NW bowl we found Markus hanging out and waiting for us. At this point I decided to A-frame my skis and throw on some boot crampons for the remainder of the ascent. Jonathan and Markus opted to keep their skins on and make it as far as possible before transitioning over. The snow was both pretty icy and was heavily textured, neither of which makes for good skiing, especially in combination. Our hope was that it would eventually soften and be ready by the time we crossed back over and dropped in on it. Since we were headed to the SW bowl, we headed up toward the ridge that separated us from it.

Entering the NW bowl

Jonathan and Markus make their way up the corner of the NW bowl

After about 300 vertical feet we reached the ridge, where we spent a few minutes to take in the view and eat a snack. Mount Jefferson’s SW ridge was looking especially tasty and had me drooling over future objectives. I was a bit antsy to check out the SW bowl so I continued on while the other two finished up their snack break. As I crossed over the ridge I ran into a party of three climbers who had planned to ascend the summit pinnacle. They said the snow on the SW bowl had just started to soften from the sun and that the winds were fairly light, both of which were good news!

Snack break with a view! (Three Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson in the background)

First glimpse onto the SW face

The summit pinnacle

Sure enough, as I made my way onto the slope that would serve as our descent, the top layer of snow had just started to melt. From my current position of ~6,800’ I had about 700’ of booting up the drop-in at the base of the summit pinnacle. The slope continued to steepen as we continued up, eventually hitting an angle of ~40 degrees. As I hiked alongside the summit crag, the rock wall reflected the heat onto me and the slope at my feet. As a result, the snow was softer up high than it was down low and was already a great consistency for skiing.

Target acquired

The boys, playing catch up. Sand Mountain is in the background.

Jonathan booting up the SW bowl
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

A wide shot of the summit pinnacle 

The author nears the top-out
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Before long, I reached the highest point I could without climbing equipment, which provided a nice view out toward the south-southeast. One notable landmark was Black Crater, which I was planning to ski with the crew the following weekend. Another notable feature was the aftermath of a large slab avalanche that had released from down low on the southeast ridge, which had a crown that appeared to be at least 10’ tall.

Jonathan joins me at the high point, just below the summit pinnacle. 

Markus, on his way up.

Looking out to the east

Markus and Jonathan take in the view

A recent and large slab avalanche in the SE bowl 

A good view of Black Crater -- an objective for the following week

After waiting about 20 minutes for the snow to soften a bit more, we ripped skins and started our transition over to descent mode. With the first 100’ or so of the slope consisting of dirty/rotten snow, it was a bit of survival skiing until we reached the good stuff. As usual I went first so I could grab some shots of the others coming down. The first couple of turns on the clean snow confirmed that conditions were favorable, at least up high. I dropped a couple hundred feet down the steep slope, kicking up perfect spring corn along the way.

Getting ready to drop in
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

The author finds his way past the rotten snow on the upper slope
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Once I had readied my camera, I radioed to the others that they could drop whenever they were ready. Markus headed down first, and soon after he was followed by Jonathan and his dog Max. All had good lines and we soon regrouped for the next pitch.

Jonathan gets ready for his turn
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Markus finds the goods!

Followed by Jon and Max

Jon getting some additional turns past my position

A long way to go still...

The author finds the smoother section of snow
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

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

Unfortunately, as we continued down and away from the upper rocks, the snow became firmer and a bit more textured. It was still plenty of fun but certainly not the creamy corn that we were seeking out. By the time we got toward the bottom of the run, about 1,000’ down, it was hard to keep my ski tips from chattering and I had to slow it down a bit. I wasn’t sure if my ultralight/skinny skis were the leading cause, but after talking with Jon, who was on 108s, it appeared that it was mainly due to conditions.

Jonathan works the south side of the bowl

Great views out to the south of The Sisters and Belknap Crater

A wide shot with the lava flow from Belknap Crater

Markus still finding some softer turns

Nearing the bottom of the SW bowl

The author digs in
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Gettin' low

Markus works the firm low section

Getting in a few last turns

Based on the line we had just skied and the sun/wind exposure, I was assuming that we’d encounter even worse conditions on the NW slope. Even so, we had to go that direction anyway so we figured we give it a go. The plan was to hike back up to the point on the ridge where we’d crossed over early and reevaluate our options from there. As expected, we found that conditions hadn’t improved in the NW bowl. Therefore, we decided to not gain any more altitude and simply drop in from our current elevation. Before doing so, we traversed over to the north side of the bowl, where the face looked a little smoother.

Hiking back up to the ridge between the NW and SW bowls

Jon, who had traversed above us, dropped down first and the sound coming from his skis indicated that it was indeed icy. Although he was making good turns, he certainly wasn’t making it look easy. Once he’d reached the bottom, Markus dropped in, with similar results. As I took my run down, I was pretty glad we hadn’t climbed higher up – my turns certainly weren’t pretty and my legs were having a hard time controlling the chatter coming off my skis.

Jonathan makes the best of the sub-par conditions

Taking it home

Markus waits for his turn

Dropping in on the lower NW bowl

A photo of Markus from below, highlighting the textured snow, which was also pretty firm.

The author takes in one last close-up view of the mountain
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Now at the base of the bowl where the slope had flattened out, the snow softened dramatically. Although we were below the main line, it gave us renewed hope that we’d get in some fun lazy turns through the lower meadow section. To our delight we did find some fun glades, where the snow never got too slushy like it typically does lower down on our spring tours. All too soon we reached the bottom of the meadows and started our traverse back over the north ridge and toward Ray Benson sno-park.

The author drops into the lower glades
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Jon threads the trees

Markus getting in some fun turns on the lower glades

Jon reaching the end of the meadows

As with the approach, we had to navigate some tightly spaced trees before we reentered the burn area. Within the burn, we were able to make really good progress, with the slope having a slight downhill trend. Within a few miles we reached the road that ran along the east side of Hayrick Butte and back to the car. Unfortunately, the grade changed from slightly downhill to slightly uphill. Jon decided to skate ski while Markus and I reapplied our skins. Although we didn’t have to go too far, my legs were a bit tired and I was pretty happy when the car finally came into view. Back at the car we changed into more comfortable clothing, loaded up the car and reflected on another great tour.

Easy ski on the way out

Should we hit that next?!

Fun slalom course through the burn

Reaching the end of the burn

The author keeping it real
(photo by Markus Allgaier)

Jonathan skate skis the last stretch of road back to the car

Conclusion:
The SW bowl of Mount Washington is definitely a worthy destination, especially for multiple laps or if combined with another aspect like the NW bowl. The approach is a little longer the most in the area, but excluding the short section of tight trees, it’s pretty easy going with minimal elevation. Unfortunately, we didn’t have ideal conditions, but it was still a fun ski and had it been corn from top to bottom, it would have been pretty damn good. Of course, this just gives me a reason to head back and hit it again!

The tracks from our tour: