Date:
06/22/2024
Location:
26PM+4M Elk Lake, OR, USA
Leader:
Ken Stoops
Attendees:
Maddie Rowley, Jenna Robinson, Zach Bridle, Kathryn Weinrich, Brandon Northcutt; leaders: Ken Stoops, Ellen Edwards, Forrest Heller, Ben Hellfrecht
Coordinates:
44.0353, -121.7658
South Sister was the main event for another graduation climb for the mountaineering class, scheduled for Sunday 6/23. As a bonus, Mt. Bachelor was offered for Saturday as a warm up. They are located near Bend, OR and near many other mountains which makes for beautiful scenery. It was a full moon – a magical experience on the snow.

Mt. Bachelor is a casual climb at a ski resort (closed for season) that takes around 4 hrs for the round trip. As a result some parties opted for an early morning climb to catch the sunrise, while others waited until afternoon to ski down in soft snow.

Sunday’s official departure time was 3am for South Sister but some people went earlier to have more time for the drive home – it’s about a 12 hr hike and a 5+ hr drive afterward. The day started warm with bright stars and moon. It was very windy (35mph at the summit) but was otherwise a sunny day with great views at the summit and the way up. Due to the warm day the snow was a bit soft at the base, becoming firm on the way up, icy near the top, and very soft on the return. A few people turned around early, a few tagged the summit and went immediately down, and some braved the wind to soak in the view.