Missing winter? Us too. Here's the story of a springtime journey up and down Bend, Oregon's other volcano, 7,984-foot Paulina Peak—minus one critical piece of gear.
When you associate skiing and Bend, Oregon together, you naturally think of the Mt. Bachelor ski resort and the surrounding beastly volcanoes—The Three Sisters and Broken Top. But just 45 minutes southwest of town sits another worthy zone—the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
The skiing found on 7,984-foot Paulina Peak—formed by the Newberry Volcano—was tempting enough to draw my friend Nat and me away from the established zones to the west of town, where we were visiting to shoot product for Flylow. We were treated to a hell of an adventure and some damn good skiing, to boot.
It pays to be prepared, but without fail, whether minuscule or massive, something always falls out of place when it comes time to click into skis and begin the upward journey. In this case, Nat left a key piece of gear in his van back in Bend—socks. Now, with snowmobiles—the main mode of transportation in this area—reaching our objective would’ve been a piece of delightful spring skiing cake. Without sleds, though, Nat and I were geared up to trudge 10-plus miles round-trip with about 2,500 feet of elevation gain. Combine Nat’s propensity to sweat with the constant shuffle of a long ski tour, and you’ve got the recipe for some gnarly blisters. Sorry, Nat.
Knowing there was a high likelihood that the discomfort would force Nat into a “let’s bail” mindset, I took off ahead of him to reach a point of no return and prevent any notion of turning around from creeping into his mind. Sorry, Nat.
Luckily, our route was straightforward, and before long, we reached treeline and received our first peek at Paulina—a ragged ridgeline above the Newberry Caldera, defined by jagged spires and steep couloirs, many of which did not go cleanly into the apron below. We tried to pick a line from across the way and proceeded to the long ridgeline connecting all of these tasty couloirs.
Hearkening back to our previous view of the face, we knew that many of these couloirs did not connect onto the apron. Unfortunately, from our vantage point on the ridgeline, we could see if what we were standing above went cleanly, either. Thank goodness for drones, eh? I tossed the tiny airplane up in the air and we took a gander. Lucky us, this particular line was clean and clear.
And while Nat’s dogs were barking like the UPS man was at the door, the soft spring snow, steep hop turns, and incredible views were enough to dissipate the pain—at least until we returned to the car.
Donny O'Neill is a photographer, producer, and writer based in Colorado. He regularly shoots images for Flylow. Subscribe to his Substack and check out his portfolio.