Broken Top is a 9,177 feet volcano on the southern slopes of Three Sisters Wilderness. Situated between Mount Bachelor and the South Sister it is a popular climbing destination for hikers and mountaineers. The name Broken Top represents the erosion of the stratovolcano which unlike Mount Saint Helens is from glacial erosion. The main access is via the Cascade Lakes Road to the south once plowed out for the summer. During the winter the best way to get in is via the Todd Lake Trailhead.
Heading to Oregon to Ski Broken Top and the Oregon Volcanoes
It started off with a phone call on Saturday afternoon. With more then a week of free time and the hopes of finding good snow it was time to head down to Oregon. Both Jon Garrison and I were soon on our way down to 3 Sisters Wilderness to snowboard Broken Top. We arrived at the Todd Lake trail head junction at 3 A.M. and decided to get a few hours of sleep.
I woke up to the early morning sun cooking me alive in my 0 degree sleeping bag. It was already 8 in the morning and it was time to start preparing for the day. Looking at the maps we decided to follow forest road 370 to the Broken Top trail head. If all went according to plans we would be on continuous snow along the way. Within 5 minutes of hiking on the road we were able to switch over to skinning. Soon enough we ditched the main road and we were heading towards Broken Top with Mount Bachelor to our backs.
We knew it was late in the season for Broken Top and could see sun cups in the distance. Though a lot of the snow was melted out there was a continuous line to the valley. Not knowing the exact line we would ski we kept heading north. Fortunately we could see the slopes above the trees which made the ascent straight foreword.
Climbing the North Crater of Broken Top
After a few miles of skinning across the sun cups we found ourselves within the eroded crater of Broken Top. Our options of potential lines were limited as most of the routes had melted out. There were two options with continuous lines from the summit ridge. The first was a steep and exposed South facing couloir with a stress crack running across the slope. The second was the smooth continuous 3 o clock couloir which ran all the way from the East rim. It was an easy decision as we switched from skinning to cramponing on the slopes of the 3 o clock couloir.
The snow was still firm in the early afternoon sun making good foot holds up the steep face. The final thousand feet was fast and uneventful as we approached the summit ridge. Soon enough we were near the top of Broken Top with views of the Middle and North Sisters. Our original intention was to gain summit proper but instead we made our way to the East rim.
Snowboarding the 3 O’clock Couloir
After waiting for the snow to soften for an hour we got our gear together and prepared for our decent. The West facing slopes off the east rim had had softened enough for good turns. Dropping in we made turns between the rocks on a smooth snowpack. The aspect wrapped around as we made our turns with Mount Bachelor in the distance.
Once we reached the Crook Glacier the snow had softened into perfect corn for the last 1500 vertical feet. Working with the terrain we were able to have continuously snow to the valley below. It had been a bit over 2000 vert of good corn from top to bottom. While most of the terrain was melted out we were happy to be riding near the summit of Broken Top in June.
Mt Bachelor from Todd Lake
Arriving on the flats we decided to take a more direct path back through Lake Todd to Jon truck. We looked for the high point in the vastness of flat terrain and skinned up to the ridge that separates Lake Todd and Broken tops massive flat Moraine. Once arriving on the ridge we descended down the melted out south facing slope down to the muddy shores of Todd Lake and traveled counter clock wise across the shore until reaching the trail back to the car.
Thanks For Reading this Trip Report on Broken Top
In conclusion Broken Top is a massive rotten volcano that doesn’t seem to hold snow later on in the season. While the south facing slopes have some fine terrain the West face seems to hold the best fall line or possibly the North face if you don’t mind dealing with exposure. If interested in hitting up Broken Top I advise to do so early in the season when the snow pack is at full potential as the slopes melt out fast.