Conditions Report
Report from Tuesday, December 10, 2024
There are a lot of ways to enjoy the south side of Mount Hood, Oregon. With a sunny day between storm cycles, I wanted to test the area west of Timberline Resort. In particular, I wanted to ski around the Little Zigzag River.
I skinned from Timberline to a few hundred feet above Palmer. As I ascended, the snow grew increasingly windswept. What felt like a few inches of powder (and more in pockets) around the Miracle Mile was hard-packed and icy above Palmer around 9:30 a.m. Instead of grasping for more altitude, I opted to descend to the west of the resort.
I skied roughly 3,000 vertical feet to where the Timberline Trail intersects with the Little Zigzag River. The turns were absolutely phenomenal; I might say they were the best of the year. There were at least six inches of fresh snow everywhere, and the snow felt light per PNW standards.
To avoid crossing the river (buried in snow, but still questionable) required skinning to the height of Palmer again. By 11:00 a.m., the snow started to get a little heavy and sticky. But the sun was pleasant and just warm enough to offset the light breeze.
The Mount Hood forecast suggests wintery weather en route:
Timberline Lodge snow totals are brilliant for mid-December:
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