Very Thick Snow Climbing – Central Oregon – Vista Butte Sno-Park – 4K

My goal of these wilderness trail videos is to 1) show reverence for the beauty of the land, and 2) give YOU actionable trail information that can assist you in planning your own hike here.

This was a day-hike in Central Oregon, Deschutes National Forest near Mount Bachelor, starting at Sunrise at Vista Butte Sno-Park and ascending 700 feet (from 5900 ft to 6600+ ft) to the Summit of Vista Butte as an out and back snowshoe. There was no grooved trail formed in the snow, depth was 3 ft to 5 ft in places, deploying snowshoes and trekking poles was absolutely necessary as I “broke trail” (created a trail) the entire ascension. Weather was frigid particularly with wind chill on the Summit, temperature was 20 with wind chill down to around 10 with occasional minor snow flurries. The sky had some streaks of blue in the morning but the grey ominous clouds dominated the sky in the late morning and early afternoon. This was hiked on 12/21/2021 and there were of course NO Mosquitoes. As far as road conditions, it's highway to the Vista Butte Sno-Park parking which is essentially on the shoulder of Cascade Scenic Byway and is in great condition. In my opinion, the road most definitely DOES NOT require 4-Wheel Drive, however do watch for road conditions as far as snow/ice and plan accordingly.