[Just_Some_Hiker]

This weekend I decided to follow the sunny forecast, which led me to Oregon. It was supposed to be two days of so-so weather, but it ended up being one day of really bad weather and one day of spectacular weather.

My initial plan was to summit Middle Sister on Saturday and then North Sister on Sunday. Well, on account of high winds and a complete whiteout I spent most of Saturday sitting in my tent, situated in the Middle/North saddle, listening to rocks and wet slides fall down the SW face of North Sister. Saturday afternoon, once the wind died down, I went exploring a bit -- still in a whiteout -- and made my way to the top of pt. 9312, which is in between the two mountains. As I stood on the top, the clouds blew away for a few seconds and I could see the spectacular east face of Middle Sister, as well as two climbers making their way up the north ridge.

Feeling inspired by the sight, I decided to rush over and get the summit. Surely enough, though, the clouds blew back in and the wind picked back up with a fury. I met the two climbers at the base of the north ridge, and they said they bailed just 500 feet from the summit because they weren't comfortable with the conditions. Fair enough, I guess. I continued up for a few minutes, but the wind increased and I heard a massive slide fall off the east face just a couple dozen feet to the left of me. Although I was in a safe position, it was still scary as hell to hear and be in such close proximity to, so I backed down and decided to try again in the morning. I went back to my tent, had dinner, and turned in early.

Sunday morning, around 4:00 AM, my alarm went off and I poked my head out the door of my tent. Calm and clear skies in all directions. As I got dressed, I debated which mountain to go for. Having listened to slides come off North Sister nearly all day Saturday, and being a more technically challenging mountain, I decided that Middle Sister would probably be the sure bet.

As I arrived at the base of the north ridge of Middle Sister, the sun was just beginning to rise. I started to make my way up, and unlike the afternoon before, the snow was bullet-proof with patches of ice in places. It was a little slow going at first, and I got quite exhausted kicking and cutting steps in the incredibly hard snow. I brought ice tools with me in anticipation of using them on the "terrible traverse" on North Sister, but I was very thankful to have them for this portion of the climb on Middle Sister. Eventually the slope leaned back and I just easily walked up the rest of the way. I enjoyed the views for a few minutes and then headed back down. Overall a very satisfying climb in a cool little area. Although the drive is long, a trip down to Bend/Sisters has yet to disappointment me. About 20 miles RT and 8,500 ft. of gain.

[Euler]

Beautiful photos! Great clarity and detail. What kind of camera do you have?

[Magellan]

Sounds funish.

[dropnroll]

I was one of the climbers you saw on the north ridge of Middle on Saturday. Glad to hear you made it up on Sunday. Great photos!!

[Just_Some_Hiker]

[hiker4fun]

Wonderful. Nice pictures, very glad to note that these are taken on a Note 4. I am planning to Middle Sister in Summer and will be carrying a Note 4 as well. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[puzzlr]

Good story. I like the photo of the climbers on Middle Sister.

[fourteen410]

Any beta on South Sister by chance - i.e. where snowline appeared to be at?

[Just_Some_Hiker]

[fourteen410]

thanks!

[Abert]

Maybe the blog of the two people Just_Some_Hiker met. They climbed South Sister the next day and included some pictures.