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| click on image for larger version you can save the larger version as a .png file to your computer open and be able to zoom in for more detail. |
Location: Hwy. 26 east of Prairie City to Dixie Summit Sno Park
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| this is what it looks like on a clear day.... |
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| this is what it looked like from the top today |
Road & Trail Conditions: Hwy 26 clear; followed county sno cat tracks up the FS 2610 rd, several hrs. old. they were repairing a radio on the com towers. ideal groomed conditions. newest snomobile tracks had 4-8" of sno fill.
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| start of the fs 2610 rd; starr ridge snowsports park, tow rope to left |
Snow Conditions: 2-5' with increasing elevation. lt. to moderate sno flurries increasing with elevation to quite strong with 20mph wind on the butte - visibility 10'. 1/2-1" accumulation at butte, very little accumulation lower.
Skis on & temperature: 9:30am 29° (JD33° );
Skis off & temperature: 3:45pm 33° (JD 37° )
Distance: 5 miles, maybe; elevation 2700+' definitely
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| elevation profile click on image for larger version you can save the larger version as a .png file to your computer open and be able to zoom in for more detail. |
Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9.9 - clear day = 10
Comments: this is one of those ski season high points, literally. haven't done this much elevation before. sno & temp easy. great climb to the treeline then it gets very steep to the top. from the top down to the treeline ended up being much more difficult, very fast & narrow. thought the deep snow would help, didn't. also, thick clouds, wind & blowing snow at top decreased visibility to the point of obscuring tracks & hazards. dixie seems to have it's own weather patterns, often quite different from the rest of the john day river valley.
touring skis worked fine to the treeline; backcountry skis would have been more appropriate for the last segment
with the current conditions (deep at the top) unless you are very skilled at downhill, i'd either walk/snow shoe this section or turn around at the treeline. less deep snow might be more manageable.
4.5hrs up; 1.5 hrs. down
alternatives to this route are a network of trails that start from the east end of the sno park (096? - the rd. markers don't always match with the maps &, as you can see, are not always visible):
on the south side of 26 (maybe not a part of the sno park, no permit needed?) another road going south, popular with snomobiles, fs 132:
