Although Diamond Peak is certainly not one of the more well-known Cascade volcanoes, its bulky profile is
nevertheless prominently visible from viewpoints along nearly the entire length of the Oregon Cascades, from Mount
Jefferson all the way south to Mount McLoughlin. Like so many of the Oregon volcanoes, Diamond Peak is a shield
volcano, which is in somewhat of an intermediate state of erosion compared to nearby Mounts Bailey and Thielsen.
Huge cirques have been carved into the northwest, northeast, and southeast sides, removing all traces of any summit
crater and dividing the summit area into a number of peaks connected by rotten, pinnacled lava ridges. In the
largest two cirques on the northwest, the inner core of the volcano has been well exposed, revealing a variety of
lava flows and intrusive conduits. Diamond Peak is located somewhat farther west than most other Oregon volcanoes
and is directly on the Cascade Crest, resulting in heavy snowfalls and a deep snowpack which lingers on many
aspects into midsummer. Despite its modest elevation, it supports several permanent snowfields (glacial remnants)
in the deep recesses of the northwest cirques, which were likely active glaciers less than a century ago. Diamond
Peak is the most remote of the Oregon volcanoes, with western approaches requiring over 20 miles of forest service
roads from Highway 58 and eastern approaches about 10 miles by trail from the highway at Willamette Pass.
Route |
Ratings |
Starting Elevation |
Elevation Gain |
Roundtrip Distance |
Notes |
Quality |
Effort |
Ascent |
Descent |
Summit Ski Mountaineering Routes:
|
West Ridge / SW Face (from Corrigan Lake) |
|
6.0 |
|
|
5000 ft (1500 m) |
3700 ft (1100 m) |
8 miles (13 km) |
The shortest access to Diamond Peak is from the Corrigan Lake trailhead
on the southwest side, where a number of forest roads skirt the edge of the designated
Wilderness. The west ridge and southwest face are an excellent day trip in spring, and a
fine overnight trip even in winter, when access requires skiing several extra miles of
road. However, its combined windward and sunward exposure results in rapid loss of
snowpack, and the nicely-pitched upper slopes are typically bare well before the end of
spring. A much better choice then is to descend via the huge cirque of the Northwest
Bowl, which holds its snowpack exceptionally well. Upper portions of the bowl are quite
steep, and often have large cornices and near-vertical walls of windsculpted snow along
the edges. This route does require a long flat/upward traverse near 6000 ft to return to
the trailhead. An alternate approach in late spring is to start from the Bear Mountain
trailhead, which saves 1000 ft of elevation gain at the expense of a couple extra miles of
easy trail.
(See my upcoming ski trip report from July 2000.)
|
Northwest Bowls (from Corrigan Lake) |
|
6.5 |
|
|
3700 ft (1100 m) -300 ft (-100 m) |
9 miles (14 km) |
(late spring access from Bear Mountain) |
5.5 |
|
|
6000 ft (1800 m) |
2700 ft (800 m) -300 ft (-100 m) |
10 miles (16 km) |
Northwest Bowls (from Hemlock Butte area) |
|
6.0 |
|
|
5100 ft (1550 m) |
3600 ft (1100 m) |
10 miles (16 km) |
The excellent spring skiing in the Northwest Bowls can also be reached
from the Hemlock Butte area to the northwest of Diamond Peak. This area offers the
shortest road approach and most direct line into the bowls, at the cost of some extra
skiing or hiking distance. However, this route eliminates the long traverse needed at the
end of the descent to return to Corrigan Lake. In spring, this is also the shortest
approach to the Northwest and North Ridges, which offer a longer but gentler route which
traverses the entire summit ridge of Diamond Peak.
|
North / NW Ridge (from Hemlock Butte area) |
|
8.0 |
|
|
5300 ft (1600 m) |
3900 ft (1200 m) -500 ft (-150 m) |
15 miles (24 km) |
North / NW Ridge (from Willamette Pass) |
|
10.0 |
|
|
5100 ft (1550 m) |
4100 ft (1250 m) -500 ft (-150 m) |
21 miles (34 km) |
This long route follows the Pacific Crest Trail southwest from Willamette
Pass, and during winter and early spring is the shortest access to the north and east
sides of Diamond Peak. After several miles of gently rolling ascent, the trail leads to
timberline just south of Mount Yoran, a prominent eroded volcanic horn at the base of
the northwest ridge. This ridge leads directly to the north summit, and a short
descending then ascending traverse leads to the south (true) summit. For the descent,
a much steeper option is to ski the northeast face, although in early season the
avalanche hazard may be severe on this leeward, wind-loaded aspect.
|
Northeast Face (from Willamette Pass) |
|
9.0 |
|
|
South Ridge (from Marie Lake trailhead) |
|
6.0 |
|
|
5200 ft (1600 m) |
3500 ft (1050 m) |
10 miles (16 km) |
From the summit of Diamond Peak, the broad Southeast Bowl is a tempting-looking
descent, with a steep pitch and numerous skiable lines amongst a series of large lava
pinnacles. However, returning to the standard Corrigan Lake trailhead after this
descent involves a very long and flat traverse. A better option if planning this
descent is to start from the Marie Lake trailhead, and ascend the South Ridge, which
leads very directly (but not too steeply) to the true summit. Descend either along the
ascent route or by dropping east into the Southeast Bowl, whereby a gentle descending
traverse easily returns to Marie Lake.
|
Southeast Bowl (via South Ridge) |
|
6.5 |
|
|
11 miles (18 km) |
|
Upcoming additions: |
Topographic map showing ski routes. |
|
Sunset view of Diamond Peak from the northwest near Hemlock Butte in July.
The Northwest Bowls just below the rightmost (true) summit hold a deep snowpack
even into summer.
(photo by Amar Andalkar) <click to enlarge>
|
|
Panoramic view looking south from the summit of Mount Bachelor in June.
digitally composited from four photographs. Diamond Peak is the most prominent
snow-covered summit at right center. Other snowy volcanoes visible along the horizon
include (left to right) Mount Shasta, Mount Thielsen, Mount Bailey, and Maiden Peak.
(photo by Amar Andalkar) <click to enlarge>
|
Useful Web Links:
List of Guidebooks: (detailed references on the
bibliography page)
List of Maps:
Map Series |
Scale |
Topo? |
Map Names |
Year |
Notes |
USGS 7.5-minute |
1:24,000 |
Yes, 40 ft |
Diamond Peak Willamette Pass Emigrant Butte Cowhorn Mountain |
1997 1986 1986 1986 |
Standard USGS maps, the first one covers nearly all
of the routes; it is also a new "single-edition" map,
enhanced with Forest Service information |
Geo-Graphics |
1:42,240 |
Yes, 80 ft |
Diamond Peak Wilderness |
1998 |
A decent map, but with awkward shading. Useful for eastern
road approaches, and includes info about Diamond Peak on back |
US Forest Service |
1:126,720 |
No |
Willamette National Forest |
1996 |
Very helpful for forest road information for western approach |
More photos, routes, links, references, etc. coming soon...
Please contact me with any suggestions, additions, or corrections.
|