Billie Creek 03.16.11

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Twelve skiers from the Rogue Valley took advantage of last night's snowfall in the Cascades to ski Billie Creek. The camaraderie and conversation were great as we headed up the east side of Billie Creek and later down the west side. A variety of weather and snow conditions greeted our group. We encountered slightly heavy snow to start and lighter powder as we climbed. Skies varied from a bit of blue to cloudy and dark with heavy snow starting at the lunch stop for about half an hour in the middle of the tour and graupel near the end. Trail breaking was easy and the run downhill was fast and roly poly due to the melting of the past week.

Mt Ashland 03.09.11

What a fine late winter day on Mt Ashland. We climbed up a ridge overlooking Grouse Gap then traversed down into the Gap and toured the Grouse Gap Loop. As you can see, the views were spectacular. The snow was soft on the sunny slopes and quick on the shady parts of the trail.