Timberline Trail - Next week 10/31

[dfsalasa]

Hi folks! New member here . Super happy to have found this forum.

We are planning to backpack the timberline trail next week and we're wondering about conditions. How is the snow looking? Are we going to need to bring snowshoes? We know it's going to be pretty cold and there are some chances of rain so will be prepared for that, but trying to decide if we'll need more preparation for snow on the ground.

Thank you in advance!

[retired jerry]

Do you have experience in winter conditions?

[dfsalasa]

Yes. But not a lot. Hence this post.

[Limey]

Pretty sure you'd be in snow. Today I was driving in snow at surveyors ridge elevation, so 3500 to 4500 feet. With the temperatures dropping, the forecast rain will fall as snow on the mountain.

[johnspeth]

Mt hood has a few ski area webcams that can give useful insight into snow coverage (skibowl, timberline, and meadows). Its helpful to know how to extrapolate to unseen areas by having been to them before. If it was me, I'd be more concerned about the rain and wind. A cold rain is miserable and doesn't really melt the snow. It's also possible to turn to falling wet snow, which can be more difficult to stay dry in.

Being outside is all about staying dry: dry = warm

Regarding snowshoes: I wonder if there's enough snow to necessitate having them. Carrying snowshoes but never using them is more work. Maybe you should make a pre-visit to get more data.

[retired jerry]

I apologize dfsalasa for thinking you were a bot. Since you replied, you must not be a bot. There have been a lot of bots recently posting one post but they never reply.

I think that would be a bad idea to try to do the timberline trail. There's more than a foot of snow at Mt Hood. You'd probably want skis or snowshoes. It would be difficult to find where the trail goes - good to have a GPS with a track of the trail.

If you wanted to practice winter mountaineering skills you might be fine.

August and September are good months to do this

[Aimless]

Water crossings would be tricky next week.

[drm]

Mt Adams rangers told me they got one foot of snow at 4000 feet, snow started at 3000 feet. So almost the entire route will likely be under snow except around Ramona Falls and the Sandy River. The higher areas probably have many feet.

Of course if you are starting at Timberline, you will get a quick idea of how much snow there is right when you start.