This climb was absolutely stellar. My first big mission of the season and I headed down to the Three Sisters Wilderness outside of Bend, Oregon to tackle it solo. The first 3 miles of the approach from Pole Creek Trailhead were hot, sunny, and exposed through an intense burn scar, which made for some truly painful and frustratingly slow progress climbing over and under blowdowns. I hit the snow line at 6000 ft, donned my skis, and travel become much more enjoyable as I left the burn into the subalpine forest. I setup basecamp at the foot of the Hayden Glacier at 7000 ft, melted snow for water, and cooked dinner while enjoying a colorful sunset over the Central Oregon volcanoes including South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister, Broken Top, and Mount Bachelor. An electrical storm out East in the desert provided late night entertainment.
An alpine start the following morning had me skinning up the Hayden Glacier at 4am, and already the first signs of light were creeping into the Eastern sky. The ski up the Hayden was a straightforward slog. Crevasses were beginning to open on the glacier, but were easily avoidable. I did not rope up, but your experience and risk tolerance may differ from mine. At the saddle below Prouty Point, I transitioned from skis to crampons, and grabbed my two ice tools for the final pitch to the summit. The last 700 ft were a steep and icy crux up a 45 degree slope. Topping out on the summit I was met with stunning views of the Cascade volcanoes from Mt. Shasta in California, to Mt. Adams in Washington, and everything in between was protruding above a sea of clouds. After crushing a summit beer (at 9am), I stepped into my skis and carved wonderful soft corn for a 4k descent. The remaining hike out was hot and uneventful. Feel free to message me with any questions or comments below!
IG: @RadishUprooted
5.20.23-5.21.23
18 mi, 5k vert
CHAPTERS
0:00 The Route
0:44 The Burn Zone
2:12 The Forest
6:19 The Glacier
7:24 The Summit
9:26 The Ski Descent
11:09 The Trip Report