Trip Date: March 16-19, 2020
Tam McArthur Rim Backcountry Ski Tours
Three Creek Lake
Point 7732 aka Mac Benchmark
Point 7935 aka Tam Viewpoint
Snow Creek Bowl
Little Three Creek Lake
Yahtzee Bowl
Animal Bowl
Trip Report Summary
Region: Oregon
Sub-Region: Central Oregon Cascades
Sub-Sub-Region: Deschutes Mountains
Area: Three Sisters Wilderness
Staging Point: Upper Three Creek Sno-Park on Three Creek Road #16 (Elev. 5150 feet)
Accommodations: Three Sisters Backcountry Yurts (Elev. 6550 feet) at Three Creek Lake (snowmobile entry & exit)
Daytrip 1: Mac Benchmark Ski Tour
Starting & Ending Point: Three Creek Lake Camp
Way Points: The Escalator & Tam McArthur Rim & Mac Benchmark (ski tour)
Ski Run: Yurt Forest (yo-yo skiing)
Approximate Daytrip Stats: 3.5 miles traveled; 2000 feet gained & lost; 4.8 hours elapsed.
Daytrip 2: Snow Creek Bowl Ski Tour
Starting & Ending Point: Three Creek Lake Camp
Way Points: The Escalator & Tam McArthur Rim & Tam Viewpoint & Snow Creek Bowl & Knob 7418 (ski tour)
Ski Run: Snow Creek Bowl (yo-yo skiing)
Approximate Daytrip Stats: 7.8 miles traveled; 2800 feet gained & lost; 8.1 hours elapsed.
Daytrip 3: Yahtzee Bowl & Animal Bowl Ski Tour
Starting & Ending Point: Three Creek Lake Camp
Way Points: Little Three Creek Pond & Little Three Creek Lake & Yahtzee Bowl & Animal Bowl & Three Creek Lake Bench (ski tour)
Ski Run: Yahtzee Bowl (yo-yo skiing)
Ski Run: Animal Bowl (yo-yo skiing)
Approximate Daytrip Stats: 4.5 miles traveled; 2500 feet gained & lost; 6.6 hours elapsed.
Approximate Total Stats: 15.8 miles traveled on skis; 7300 feet gained & lost.
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Related Post
>>> Tam McArthur Rim Ski Tours – March 2021
Trip Overview
I joined Doug, Greg, and Tony for a mid-March backcountry ski trip in the Tam MacArthur Rim area of central Oregon. We were entirely self-guided and self-catered but used the transportation and camping facilities of Three Sisters Backcountry, Inc. (TSBC), a ski adventure company operating near Bend. Twin brothers Gary and Gird shared our camp and added much levity to our trip, although we never actually skied with them. By chance, our pre-arranged schedule gave us all a short but welcome respite from the prevailing COVID-19 madness of the world.
Geology and Topography
Tam McArthur Rim, or “Tam Rim” for short, consists of a truncated basaltic plateau within the Three Sisters Wilderness. This plateau slopes gently upward from the south and then abruptly ends in a tall, scalloped escarpment. The overall landform is named after Lewis A. “Tam” McArthur, a former secretary for the Oregon Geographic Board.
The remarkable geomorphology of Tam Rim is believed to have resulted from a series of massive landslides originating within a thick volcanic breccia deposit. These landslides created several large, northeast-facing bowls that are topographically homologous to glacially carved cirques.
Elevations range from about 6600 feet along the base of the escarpment to about 8000 feet along the top. Thanks to a combination of favorable aspect and moderate elevation, the bowls provide excellent ski terrain during the winter and spring.
Accommodations
Three Creek Camp sits on the southern shore of Three Creek Lake, just outside the boundary of Three Sisters Wilderness. The camp comprises two comfortable yurts (“Owl” and “Raven”), a sauna, a storage shed, a firepit, and a Forest Service restroom. A potable spring is located closely behind camp.
Both yurts are furnished with bunk beds, a large table, a wood-burning stove, a gas cooktop, a sink, and various kitchen utensils. Each year, the yurts and ancillary structures are installed before winter snow comes and are removed after the spring thaw.
Transportation
All trips begin and end at Upper Three Creek Sno-Park on Forest Road 16. From there, TSBC transports guests and gear up to Three Creek Camp by means of snowmobiles and custom-made steel sleds with ski racks. The TSBC owners, Jonas and Anna, were extremely friendly and gracious during our stay. They even provided Doug with a personal snowmobile so that he could commute between the sno-park and yurt camp each day!
Full Trip Report
Day 1: Sno-Park to Three Creek Camp + Mac Benchmark Ski Tour
We met Jonas and Anna at Upper Three Creek Sno-Park around 9:00am on Monday and loaded our gear into a single sled. Tony, Greg, and I rode up to camp dogsled-style, while Doug drove his “personal” snowmobile. After unloading gear into Owl Yurt, we all headed out for an afternoon of skiing. Three of us employed telemark touring gear, whereas the fourth person (I won’t incriminate the guilty party) employed alpine touring gear.
Due to the poor visibility today, it was agreed to stick with a fairly straightforward route up to Mac Benchmark atop Tam Rim. Greg and Doug had been here before, so they led the way. We went up a steep band of old-growth hemlock forest and then westward up a gentle ramp called “The Escalator.” Visibility declined steadily, and by the time we reached the 7732-foot benchmark (1.7 hours + 1250 feet from camp), it was a virtual white-out.
We quickly de-skinned and began following our up-route back to camp. Snow on the plateau was very wind-hammered and difficult to ski, but the lower slopes still held fluffy powder snow. We made two fun laps in the powder before descending into camp (4.8 hours + 2000 feet total tour).
Day 2: Snow Creek Bowl Ski Tour
In contrast to yesterday’s foggy weather, today dawned completely clear. Doug arrived on his snowmobile at 9:00am, and the four of us headed out soon after. We followed our previous up-track through the hemlock forest and up The Escalator.
Once atop the Tam Rim plateau, we enjoyed an easy westward tour with expansive views in all directions. This plateau offers stellar ski-touring terrain for those who want to rack up some horizontal distance.
Eventually, we reached 7935-foot Tam Viewpoint (2.3 hours + 1400 feet from camp), where the rim overlooks Snow Creek Bowl. The surrounding peaks included Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Hood.
We continued along the rim for a short distance until able to drop into Snow Creek Bowl. Our afternoon was spent making two 600-foot runs down the bowl on semi-crusty snow, with a lunch break in the middle.
After our very nice ski runs, we skinned out of the bowl and traversed back along the plateau. Doug and Greg hoped that we could descend more directly back to camp by dropping into Yahtzee Bowl, but an hour of poking around the rim did not reveal a reasonable access point. In the end, we simply followed the general course of our up-track.
Today’s clear weather had created an icy “sun crust” on the snow by late afternoon, thereby generating highly variable and oftentimes difficult ski conditions. Humorous—and not so humorous—crashes were common during our descent.
We arrived back in camp around 5:30pm (8.1 hours + 2800 feet total tour) and found that a group of three women had moved into Raven Yurt. Some background information and route beta was exchanged with them before dinner.
Day 3: Yahtzee Bowl & Animal Bowl Ski Tours
Today began with low clouds over camp but a promise for improving weather. Doug arrived at 9:30am, and our foursome headed out at 10:00am. We first skinned over to Little Three Creek Lake, which lies directly below Yahtzee Bowl, Animal Bowl, The Pyramid, and The Prow.
Our westerly course took us into Yahtzee Bowl, where we made one ski run. The snow consisted of heavy powder with a slight crust—pretty good overall.
After lunch in Yahtzee Bowl, we traversed over to nearby Animal Bowl, hoping that the more-northerly aspect of the latter bowl would provide colder and lighter snow.
Our hunch paid off; Animal Bowl gave us the best snow of the day. As if by confirmation, we encountered Jonas, one of the yurt owners, making yo-yo runs here.
Feeling quite satisfied, we returned to camp by traversing a high bench above Little Three Creek Lake and then dropping into the yurts. We arrived at 4:30pm (6.6 hours + 2500 feet total tour), with plenty of time to enjoy an outdoor campfire and swap ski tales with our yurt neighbors.
Day 4: Three Creek Camp to Sno-Park
Our final day involved merely packing up, loading the snowmobile sled, and riding down to the sno-park. During our ride, we were surprised to see how much bare ground had become exposed on the access roadway. It truly seemed that we had started our trip in the winter and ended in the spring.
Equipment Comments
For more information regarding the various equipment that I used for this particular trip and that I typically use for this type of trip, see my gear reviews on the following pages:
>>> Backcountry Telemark Ski Touring Gear
>>> Backcountry Ski & Snowshoe Packs
>>> Wintertime Comfort Accessories
Route Maps
Photo Gallery
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