FLY BY PRESEASON PYROCLASTINATION Five hundred feet below the end of this run is all dirt and rock. You have to follow the freezing levels meticulously in order to know exactly when and where to score in October. Ben Ferguson reaps the rewards. Much of our early season hiking takes place over rock and dirt, gen-erating a moment of disbelief with the fast transition from bare ground to mid-thigh snow. Ben Ferguson at the transition zone. By our third trip of the preseason, our sights were set on larger lines. As we geared up to approach one of my favorite Central Oregon volcanoes, we put our splitboards on our backs and began the walk on dirt. But as we climbed, snow began to show. Within two hours, we were in an area I’d never ridden before and the sun was just beginning to rise. Early morning light illuminated new features one by one; lines, windlips and a great jump spot. Ben, fresh off a mission to Alaska six months prior, led the charge into a 1,000-foot line, airing a cliff in the middle and spraying powder out the bottom. Gabe followed, spraying windlips back to the jump spot. It took only a small wedge to put the boys in the air. All this in early November, with the lifts at nearby Mt. Bachelor yet to spin. It was payoff for a decade of searching, and proof that fall can offer the full range of riding opportunities if you’re willing to put in the legwork. 102 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 14.1: Page 102
