The Cascades had just received their first big snowfall of the year and it was time to go play in the snow. Katie and I chose to go down to Paradise because of its open skiable terrain and beautiful scenery. It has also become something of an early season tradition to head down that way to knock the rust off before winter begins in earnest.
The road from Longmire to Paradise wasn’t set to open until after 10 am, so we had a leisurely morning and were in no rush to get there. Being out of practice, I had forgotten how long it can take to get to Paradise, so we didn’t arrive and start moving until 12:30. Giving us a solid 2 and a half hours to explore before we would have to head home.
Our goal for the day was to explore the area near Mazama Ridge, instead of the standard route up to Panorama Point. We began touring on the gently downward sloping road that leaves the parking lot and heads northeast into Paradise Valley. We marveled at the deep snow, and before long we hit the third creek crossing and found the skin track. From here, we worked our way up towards the ridge top. Because of our time constraints, we stopped just short of where the ridge flattened out and enjoyed a great run down the south-facing slope.
All in all, the day was too short, but it was still a great reintroduction to backcountry skiing on a stunning day at Paradise. We had no regrets as we put our skins back on to reclimb the valley road back to the parking lot.
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