Don't Tickle the Mountain

A couple of weeks ago, I went up to Ski Bowl on Mt. Hood. I got a late start and it was warm and rainy. As a foot+ of fresh turned slowly into glue, I decided to explore the Outback bowl area of the mountains. Ski Bowl is kind of like an epic back yard. Short, but great steep sections leading into a meadows of flatness, then steep, then flat, etc.

With no agenda other than to just ride, I decided to explore this inbounds bowl area called the Outback Bowl. I got some pretty decent turns considering, but flatness meant stopage so the fun was short lived. However, because I was forced to unstrap and hike to the next pitch, I made the most of my exploring and found some of the best turns I've ever made. The area I found was a couple hundred yards of wide open 50+ degree slope with two cliff bands at the top. The cliffs were off limits due to trees in the landing, but between them was a nearly perfect shoot. I went down the far side of the area the first time to scope it out. So now I'm standing on the top of the chute planning my turns.

"Toeside into it, quick heelside in the bend, then point it out for a big toeside slasher, and one more heelside out into the opening below."

Everything went perfect. The stoke was fueled and I put my high speed, pow wheelie down to scope the portion of earth that had just been shredded. I turn only to see an avalanche half as wide as the slope, and overhead height sliding right past me. I didn't feel anything slide while riding, but apparently at the top of the chute, there was a three foot fracture and the whole face slid. Luckily, my turns brought me out of its path, but damn! Never under estimate the mountain! Changing snow conditions are key factors in avalanches, but it was really the last thing on my mind. A long story short: snow fun was had, but otherwise, mellow area held a secret that could've been dangerous.