10%

Chasing The Storm

An Adventure To Mt. Bachelor, OR

By Craig Barker

February 13^th, 2014

DEcisons

Family Day long weekend in British Columbia. Rob, Jimmy, James and I had planned a ski trip for some weeks. I use the world ‘planned’ loosely. Due to budgetary and weather restrictions we waited until a couple nights before the trip to actually book anything. What luck we didn’t.

Due to the amazing conditions and ample untracked terrain during our last visit, Revelstoke, BC was our first choice of ski area. At a mere six hour drive, it is relatively close, friendly and steep. However, after a diligent study of the Northwest’s weather forecast (and a look outside) we noticed that south BC was severely lacking snow. Our attentions quickly turned to central Oregon where a dark purple zone lingered on the weather map…snow!

The advantage of heading south was that we had the choice to stay in Seattle for the night. We set off late but got to the boarder in good time. After some border lane antics, we were asked (as usual) to go into the main building. I’ve been through there many times and still don’t really understand why they need my finger-prints every time I enter the country. The drive to Seattle was eventful. Not 5 minutes into the States and I get pulled over for speeding on the I5. I’ve never been pulled over before and it took 5 minutes in the States.

SOUTH

Our overnight stint in Seattle flew by. After a warm reception at the hostel and a couple of local brews at a dive bar it became the end of a long day. Waking energized ready to take on the world, we wondered around downtown Seattle, which gave me a chance to warm up my shooting skills. Before long we eagerly headed back to our ever dependable ride, Dora the Ford Explorer and hit the road.

Chaos

Sticking firmly to the speed limit we cruised down to Portland, no trouble. After Portland chaos ensued. We had found the storm. Luckily Dora was prepared for the worst the snow gods could throw her way. With new winter tyres, 4x4 and a working transmission we pushed through, succeeding where others failed. We must have seen ten accidents, stark reminders to stay focused.

We finally arrived in Bend, checked in to the hotel and hit the conveniently located pub next door. This place had it all, cheap beers, cheap food, cheap pool, the only thing not cheap about it was the people. We had some laughs with the locals, had a seriously close game of doubles pool, not to mention a minor hangover the next morning.

SNOW

Getting on the slopes was no problem. After only a two person queue at the ticket desk but a slightly longer wait at the main chairlift, we were in action. It got passed the point of caring how much snow had fallen, it was abundantly clear we were skiing fresh powder all damn day! The tree runs were nicely spaced and deep. The terrain wasn’t overly steep which, combined with deep heavy northwest powder meant you barely had to speed check. We pushed ourselves, finding fresh line, after line, after line, until the lifts shut.

I chose to shoot with my favourite lens, the Sigma 18-35mm 1.8, because of the low light and image sharpness. Wrong decision. The terrain made it difficult to get the close up shots I was looking for, ending up with mostly mediocre shots for day one.

recUPERATION

Since being on the move we had been finding it difficult to secure any heathy meal. So that evening we ventured into Bend in search of some non-fried goodness. We got lucky with some delicious seafood and steaks. Most of Bend was closed because of the snow, however the lack of people made taking long exposure shots a bit easier. One notable character of the evening was Randy, our taxi driver. He was prompt, I’ll give him that, and he impressed us by managing to cover terrorists, toilets and the monarchy in two sentences. Randy was also the only person we met on the trip that didn’t mistake us for Australians.

improvement

The start to day two was slightly more leisurely. A quick breakfast and we were heading back up to Mt. Bachelor. Only a few inches had fallen overnight making for a quicker journey there, balancing out our tardy departure. The lift lines were pretty much non-existent. Even though it had snowed considerably less than the previous evening, we still managed to shred fresh lines. Everyone stepped up on day two. By mid-morning the clouds shifted higher allowing clearer visibility, safer riding and better photos.

I realized the error of my ways and opted to mount the Canon 75-300mm 4.0-5.6. Ironically weighing in lighter than my Sigma, the 75-300mm comes into its own in the mountains. The long zoom range coupled with the 4.0 aperture presents a good challenge, but luckily the sun managed to burn through making for much better contrast on the snow.

The later half of the day came with a price. A fast transfer out of a tree line on to a set of moguls proved troublesome. One ski clipped out on impact and I couldn’t safely stop, ending in sprained knee. The two hours at the ski patrol infirmary went quickly. An exam here, x-ray there and I hobbled out with a slight smile on my face, knowing it was worth it.

North

We all knew we had a long drive ahead, and with my leg out of commission meant that Rob, Jimmy and James had to drive my shift. Rob led the charge from Bend, graced with much better weather conditions, even managing to find a speeding convoy to protect us from the law. We made good time up to Portland, and faced minimal traffic back through Seattle. We feared the worse for the border crossing back to Canada, line ups regularly set a schedule back hours. As luck would have it we accidentally stumbled on a crossing unbeknown to any of us. Half hour flashed by and we back in Beautiful British Columbia, and home sweet home.

Footnotes

The adventure threw us some curve balls but we all came out on top. We rode some of the best line of the season & revelled in good company. Photographed with a Canon 70D, Sigma 18-35 & Canon 75-300

Button Label

FootNotes

The adventure threw us some curve balls but we all came out on top. We rode some of the best line of the season & revelled in good company. Photographed with a Canon 70D, Sigma 18-35 & Canon 75-300

Story Told With

Start publishing stories like this