After several days of snow followed by several days of cold weather, we decided to go explore one of my favorite places to snowshoe. With a small group of people and friends we headed out to Barlow Pass where we would do a shorter version of the Barlow Bute loop I normally do. As soon as we got there, we knew it was going to be a perfect day. The sun was out, there were no clouds and the air was crisp and cold. There was also a ton of snow on the ground. We started via the normal route going down the hill towards Mineral Jane but ten veered off at the sign pointing to our destination, Barlow Butte. Right from the turn we had to start breaking new trail as several tracks were heading in multiple directions none of which seemed to be going in the right direction. The going got tough quickly as we were sinking up to our knees in the fresh powder. At some point, we got back to some sky tracks and opted to stay on them even though they were on the wrong side of the ridge. Normally, as you go up to Barlow Bute, you get sun on your right side. This time, we were in the shade most of the time. Still, it was clear we were just below the normal route on the ridge. As we continued climbing, and being in the shadows, we noticed the sow was partially frozen. Instead of being a homogeneous white powder, it was more like a blanket of tiny ice crystals. Snowshoeing thru it made the upper layer fly around and make a very subtly sounds as it hit the ground again. At some point, I noticed we were past the line were the summit would be so we made a tight right turn and walk straight into the sun. Right there we got our first grand view to the a very steep drop off and the valley in front of us. All white, all wintery. Then we continued up and very soon we got to the top were the views are very limited. Now I knew exactly where I was so I continued to navigate the group thru the ridge line to the backside where an impressive ridge dominates the panorama (and the reason I like this route so much).
The original intent was to go down a saddle and over the next ridge before descending to Barlow Ridge but with the deep snow, we decided to make it shorter and head straight down. The fluffy snow made it for a very quick downhill which is always the highlight of the adventure. Finally, we got the Barlow Ridge and at the very last jump to it, I landed on a hole which I pointed out to all behind me. Still Val fell thru another hole that trapped her snowshoe. With the inertia of the fall, not only the snowshoe was left behind but the boot and the sock. After a short rescue mission, we were able to pull the snowshoe from the trap and continued on Barlow Ridge with the magnificent view of Mt Hood in front of us. Once we got down to the junction with Mineral Jane and made the turn to head back to the parking lot is when the second part of the reward came in. I noticed on the side huge ice crystals on the tree limbs. Looking closely, we realized that, with the cold temperatures of the last couple of days, the top layer of snow had crystalized forming tiny crystals around everything. Rocks, trees and limbs were covered in tiny crystals like I’ve never seen before.
We spent quite a bit of time admiring the beauty and taking pictures before continuing towards the parking area. It was a splendid day
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