TBT: North and Middle Sisters Ski (17 May 2018)

(Last Updated On: May 7, 2020)

This post is part of a Throwback Thursday series featuring trip reports that we haven’t had a chance to write about until now! Look for them on Thursdays!

The North and Middle Sisters had been on my hit list ever since my Pacific Northwest trip of 2013. During that trip, I was able to ski South Sister. After my friend Zach and I skied Mount Rainier in May of 2018, a storm was hitting the northern part of the Cascades. But, heading south allowed for better weather. It looked like I’d be returning to Bend.

We drove from Seattle to Portland and then made our way over the mountains, making a detour to stop at Bagby hot springs along the way. We skipped going to Bend that night, ate dinner in Sisters, and set up camp at the trailhead nearby.

The weather had been cloudy and rainy most of the day, but as we headed toward our camp, the clouds parted and revealed our objectives for the next day. Middle Sister on the left, and North Sister on the right.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Home is where my camp is πŸ™‚
car camping

All the gear that needs to fit on me or in my bag for the next day.
Backcountry ski gear

Knowing we’d have an early morning, we headed to bed shortly after the beautiful sunset.
Sunset

We started in the dark, but it was not long before the sun rose. We made our way through the forest, which was dry for a ways. After a few miles, we left the trail and were able to start skinning. Before we knew it, we found ourselves at the feet of North and Middle Sisters.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

North Sister was first on the list since we’d be skiing the south side. A view of Middle Sister on our ascent of North Sister.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

I first laid eyes on Broken Top when I skied South Sister. She continued to beckon me from afar.
Broken top in Oregon.

Mount Bachelor, the ski area.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

A view of South Sister.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

The east face of North Sister looked appealing, but not in the works for us since we also wanted to ski Middle Sister.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

The ridge we used to ascend North Sister was rocky and loose, and took more time then we expected.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

We reached the top of our south facing line and enjoyed some more views.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Now, Zach took pictures on that day. But, somehow I never got copies of them and at this point in time he doesn’t know where they are. So, this report is just going to have a whole lot of photos of Zach. Here, he’s dropping in to our line on North Sister with Middle Sister in the backdrop.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

We skied down quite a ways before stopping and putting skins on for an ascent of Middle Sister. A view of our line on North Sister.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Zach ascending toward Middle Sister.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

As we climbed the north ridge of Middle Sister, the snow became too firm to continue skinning, so we switched to booting instead. I do love a good bootpack πŸ™‚
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

As we rounded the summit of Middle Sister, we gazed upon South Sister, and the clouds that were engulfing her, and headed our way.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Weather has a tendency to move in quick in the mountains, especially in the PNW. Before we knew it, we were descending in the ping-pong of the clouds.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Eventually, we descended below the clouds.
Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

Backcountry skiing North and Middle Sisters in Oregon.

We skied a long ways down before putting the hiking shoes back on to finish out the trail back to our cars. Another successful outing among the volcanoes! North and Middle Sisters were fun ones to ski. It was another a long day – 14 hours, 14 miles, and 6600 vertical feet!

Brittany Walker Konsella

Aside from skiing, biking, and all outdoorsy things,Brittany Walker Konsella also loves smiles and chocolate πŸ™‚ Even though she excels at higher level math and chemistry, she still confuses left from right. Find out more about Brittany!

Summary
North and Middle Sisters Ski (17 May 2018)
Article Name
North and Middle Sisters Ski (17 May 2018)
Description
North and Middle Sisters, outside of Bend, make for some fun backcountry skiing among beautiful other-worldly volcanic landscape!
Author

Brittany Walker Konsella

Aside from skiing, biking, and all outdoorsy things, Brittany Walker Konsella also loves smiles and chocolate :) Even though she excels at higher level math and chemistry, she still confuses left from right. Find out more about Brittany!

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