Hearing Alpental's chair 1 running when we got out of the car was almost too much to handle, ready for some powder!!
Looking back at the Alpental parking lot before heading up the switchbacks to the top
Spotting zones and lines in the Alpental Backcountry from a far, Great Scott Bowl in the background.
Camp robbers!
Stopped for some snacks and taking in the sights at the top, these guys decided to follow us to the lake basin.
This lake is by far the coldest water I have ever swam in, since it was the afternoon and October we decided to pass on swimming. But in August 10' I swam here and holy moly that water will get the blood flowin'.
After the Downtown Throwdown rail jam** in Seattle on Saturday we decided to make an end of the summer surf trip to Westport, WA. So we packed up, headed out, and got into town around 11pm. Since all camp sites were closed by this time we began searching for a spot to camp in the dark. It was a task, but we managed to find a dirt path that was just wide enough to get my car deep into the woods. Since it was late we decided to just sleep in the car, Paul kicked the passenger seat back and Naima and I slept in the back of the car with the seats folded down. So I guess my Subaru sleeps three.
**(Photo recap by Paul Stanley, if you don't already follow his photo blog you probably should)
Rentals acquired!
Met up with the rest of the dudes at the surf shop and rolled nine deep to the beach! The next day I thought my arms were gonna fall off, mad respect for the dudes that make it out past the break.
This short 4 mile hike in the North Bend/Snoqualmie Pass area has a stunning view in all directions! The faint body of water in the background, Chester Morse Lake, supplies Seattle with a significant portion of its drinking water!
(Rattlesnake Lake at the bottom) Watch your step near the edge of this ledge! 300ft to the bottom
There were a ton of chipmunks and squirrels hanging out at the viewpoint fighting over snacks.
When they got food they immediately went down into this huge rock crevasse, that definitely needed to be explored.
Afterwards we got some grub at the last remaining XXX diner in Issaquah, WA.
06.19.12 This was no ordinary day of running handle tows, instead this became more of a team-building/dig-till-your-arms-fall-off kind of day.
06.19.12 Overnight we received over a foot of snow, but extremely high winds can make 1ft become 4ft in places. Everything was coated in multiple inches of ice, not the greatest start for Session 1 at Windells.
06.19.12 (Top left/right) the waist high cables on some of the tows were buried under 2-3ft of snow. (Bottom left) It's a good thing we knew where we left the control box! This paleontology expedition took a solid day, and in the days following many things were still found as the snow melted. Without this crew, camps would have been postponed for weeks!
07.02.12 Mad props to the Windells Diggers who kept the park on point all summer!
07.08.12 Session 4: Day 2, groomer making his final passes on his way down the hill.
07.08.12 Classic Lake Trillium shot, great view but definitely not one of the cleanest lakes in the area.
07.13.12 Use caution when hitchhiking!!! Even though hitchhiking through this area is extremely common, and socially acceptable it is apparently illegal to hitchhike on a highway in the state of Oregon. I hitchhiked up the mountain from Government Camp for almost 2 years and not once have I heard of anyone getting in trouble for it. But this summer my roommate Chris showed up to work with a ticket for over $100 for hitchhiking from the bottom of the road. Even though most call it Timberline Road, I looked it up online and it is actually called Timberline "Highway." So if you continue to hitchhike up to the mountain (because its awesome, easy, better for the environment) keep your eye out for cops, only put your thumb up when cars are coming past you, and put your thumb down when you see em. If they do stop and ask if your hitching a great answer would be "No officer, just waiting for my friend _______ to pick me up."
07.18.12 Above and below the clouds.
07.21.12 Bonfire Pipe 2 Pipe! A free event that is by far one of the raddest out there. Stoked to have qualified for finals, mainly because I got another 30 minutes in this snow bowl! Congrats to Erik Leon for slaying it and taking home 1st in Pro!
07.28.12 Got my wheels back after donating it to my mom for a couple years, time to make some trips! Tahoe? Utah? Colorado?
07.29.12 Took a wrong turn looking for a lake and came up on this great view of the Southeast side of the mountain
07.30.12 Tamanawas Falls is an easy 4 mile hike off of HWY 35 between Mt.Hood and Hood river. One of my favorite waterfalls out there simply because....
07.30.12 You can walk behind it!
07.30.12 Truly incredible to be able to get this close to the hundred foot raging body of water
08.03.12 Lake Timothy is one of the best lakes around hood, so many great places to camp
08.03.12 Dear America.. get off your computers, tablets, and asses! Go outside and camp!
Thank you Topher for convincing me it was a great idea to float the lake on an air mattress at night. One of the best views i've ever had of the night sky.
08.07.12 The crew thats awake before the sun is up and clocking in as the sun rises. These extremely under appreciated dudes are here to keep the lifts running! So whether your at Hood to shred or your a tourist, try thanking and talking to these dudes more often they're extremely bored and they all wanna snowboard just like you!
08.13.12 Back to Seattle to visit for the weekend! We picked up a few ride shares to come with us to save some money on gas. Maxime, who was visiting from Belgium, was making his way up north from California to Canada. Always stoked to be a part of someones first experience to a new land. We took him to Alki Beach to get a better view of the city, man you shoulda seen his face.
08.15.12 6 A.M. sunrise, always a great reminder of why I love my job.
08.16.12 Mt.Hood in August, is a beautiful place to be.
08.16.12 Forest fires were raging down by Mt.Jefferson... where's the rain!
08.17.12 Parked between these two cars chronologically
08.17.12 As snow recedes up the mountain the ride down becomes increasingly dangerous, with sink holes appearing everywhere, and the hike to the parking lot becoming further away day by day.
08.18.12 Wild Huckleberries as far as the eye can see!
08.18.12 mmm edible wild berries.
08.24.12 Forest service roads are fun to drive on
08.24.12 Onward to Devil's Peak!
08.24.12 This awesome hike is graced by one of the few forest lookouts not destroyed by the Forest Service in the 1960's and 70's, as they shifted toward aerial surveillance. Today, the historic 360 degree lookout tower is maintained by volunteers and open to the public.
08.24.12 Found this awesome cliff to really soak in that high country. Got to see an American Eagle soar through the valley below and its scream echoed for miles.
08.24.12 All afternoon Mt.Hood was just teasing us as small sections would peek through the clouds... and then right before sunset... BOOM!
08.24.12 Haha just kidding. thats a cloud, but it sure does look like it was starting to erupt.
08.25.12 Who cares what time it is, the stars are out and the moon is orange and red!
08.25.12 This lookout tower was pretty rad, equipped with two beds, a wood stove, jenga, 360 degrees of windows and much more!
08.26.12 After dropping the Palmer draw bridge to the cave Mt.Jefferson and the three sisters caught my eye through the cable opening.
09.01.12 Overlooking the Gorge/Columbia River from the Vista House. Washington on the Left, Oregon on the right!
09.01.12 This short hike in the Gorge (not to far East of Multnomah Falls) is extremely fun, starts out with this obstacle course of logs.
09.01.12 Just keep following the water upstream.
09.01.12 Most of us had given up on staying dry except for Kevin, but once we reached this point there was no way around it. You'll want to tackle this hike earlier in the day so that once you reach this point the sun is on you, cause this waist deep mountain run off is freezing! (and the sun doesn't stay in this tall valley for long.)
09.01.12 Dead end! Oneonta Falls
09.21.12 All packed up! back to Washington for a couple weeks!
09.28.12 Well not exactly, we had to come back for a couple more days of work. What a welcoming sunset, man it's hard to leave this.
09.29.12 Timber tigers only want your food.
oh and wearing one of these monkey suits is totally worth the pay.
09.29.12 The sunsets are beginning to look more and more like winter sunsets! Time to start saving for a better camera, my phone just doesn't do these sunsets justice.
Season edit revisited with some new footage from this winter at Snoqualmie as well as new footage from this summer at Mt.Hood!
