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| Ball Butte   | 
| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: Oregon, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 44.06332°N / 121.67517°W County: Deschutes Activities: Skiing Elevation: 8091 ft / 2466 m | Page By: d_shorb Created/Edited: Apr 6, 2007 / Sep 10, 2008 Object ID: 283072 Hits: 2060 Loading... Page Score: 88.27% - 12 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Ball Butte  Markmay's beautiful East face bowls picture. The summer access road to the Broken Top Trailhead goes between Ball and the smaller hill, Moon.  Karl's pic of the west side
At 8091 feet, Ball Butte, on the south-eastern edge of the Sisters Wilderness, offers relatively quick access, nice views, AND some Backcountry Skiing. Though not significant compared to its attractive and massive nieghbors, its various volcanic rock scramblings offer some fun. Still, the slopes of this locally well-known peak largely lure winter travelers. The skiing on the north face and eastern bowls are supplemented by some chutes and large, snowy aprons on its west side.
Getting There  Carl's nice shot from Tam
CHECK OUT TOPOZONE'S MAP OF THE AREA.
In summer/open roads:
Ball Butte lies along the southern border of Three Sisters Wilderness Area and is accessed quickly in the summer months by the Broken Top Trailhead on FR 380 via Todd Lake road, FR 370. This trailhead is described well in Scott Cook's Bend, Overall guidebook and is inferred by William Sullivan in his 100 hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades.
Much Like Broken Top's east side, it is usually accessed via Todd Lake, though can also be visited from Tam McArthur Rim from the north, and Happy Valley to the East.
 From Broken Hand, Bachelor reveals the appraoch distance
In Winter/closed roads:
Ball Butte is accessed most quickly from Dutchman's Flat or Mt. Bachelor Ski Area's west village parking, or from Tam McArthur's access road, FR 16.
 Winter approach: Ball's shadow falls into the upper right side of the photo.
If you don't currently own a guidebook that describes how to get to Broken Top's trailhead, you can get one at Amazon . Get one that tells you about the Todd Lake approach and other trails and maps, regulations and permits to be aware of.
Red TapeLocated inside the wilderness area, Ball Butte should be considered special! Management of all wilderness areas is based on the idea of minimizing impact.
Please check with the Deschutes National Forest for clarity on wilderness boundary markings, rules, and accessibility. NO MECHANIZED VEHICLES, be they cars, bikes, snowmobiles, or motorized wheelchairs, are allowed within the Wilderness Area.  At the foot of Ball, heading into Broken Top
External Links CURRENT WEATHER by the National Weather Service.
This Topozone Map of the location.
WHAT'S ON TAP AT DESCHUTES.
WHAT'S ON TAP AT BEND BREWING COMPANY.
The Oregon Forum on Cascadeclimbers.
A list of food options in Bend.
A list of hotels in the Bend area.
What's up at Bachie?
Geology2skinnersSouth Sister page Has great Geologic info of the area. Ball Butte's specific geology has been studied by Dr. J. R. Webster and B. A. Spear, and can be found in the following papers:
Spear, B. A., and Webster, J. R. 1996. Petrology of the Ball Butte Volcano, central Oregon High Cascades: Evidence for mixing between basaltic andesite and rhyodacite (abs): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 28
Webster, J.R., and Brophy, J.G. 1988. Evidence for temporal evolution in the relative roles of fractionation and magma mixing at the Broken Top Volcano, central Oregon (abs): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 20, no. 7, p. A196.
Webster, J. R. 1992. Quaternary volcanics from the Broken Top Volcano area, Oregon High Cascades: varied low pressure processes in calc-alkaline magma chambers (abs): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 24.
Webster, J. R. 1996. Petrology of the andesitic-dacitic Todd Lake Volcano, central Oregon High Cascades: Magma mixing in a stratified chamber (abs): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 28
Knodel, R. E., and Webster, J. R. 1996. Xenoliths and possible effects of assimilation in the Todd Lake basaltic andesite, central Oregon High Cascades (abs): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 28
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