Mt. Hood, Oregon

I woke up before dawn, planning a backcountry ski day on Mt. Hood. The weather forecast had been questionable, and lying in bed that morning, it didn't look much better... cloudy, windy, low visibility, unpleasant. I checked webcams at Timberline lodge. At first, grey nothingness - Mt. Hood was socked in. I almost went back to sleep. Waking up late, a nice cup of coffee, and a chill day... that sounds nice. But I checked the webcams again... and saw a glimpse of blue sky. Should I go for it?

At the trailhead, it wasn't bad, but as I started skinning up, the fog got worse. No danger, just cold, windy, and I couldn't see the beautiful mountain in front of me. But I kept going. Maybe... I thought... these were low lying clouds. Maybe if I get high enough, I can break out above them.

Sure enough, as I reached the high-point of the established ski area, the clouds began to break. I saw blue ski above, and clouds below. I kept going, up to Illumination Saddle, where I had risen hundreds of feet above the blanket of clouds, out of which Mt. Hood rose like a sentinel over gloomy underworld. Completely alone, gliding over untouched snow, I snapped this picture of Illumination Rock. I'm glad I didn't stay in bed.