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Last week, Airblaster rider Jay Hergert, photographer Brandon Huttenlocher and I found ourselves with some time off from our summer jobs in Government Camp, Oregon. This gallery is the product of three snowboarders with a couple of days and zero obligations in the Mt. Hood area.

We decided to take our tent, ice axes, shovels, and gear up above the Palmer Glacier with the aims of spending a night on the volcano, scouting features to session, catching a couple sunsets and a sunrise, and summiting the volcano.

The weather at times looked discouraging. Dangerous icefall and snowpack conditions foiled our summit ambitions. Still, we worked to make the most of our weekend. We hunkered through some very impressive, powerful weather, and later found a couple relatively safe zones to session a bit below the summit. Some 32 hours after getting on the mountain, we finally caught one of Mt. Hood’s truly awesome sunsets. We made it home safe with more shots, memories and stories than we knew what to do with.

Here’s to pushing to explore, and here’s as well to knowing there is no shame in changing plans, taking the conservative route, and making it home to see your friends.