Big Weekend for Mt Hood

You thought April spelled the end of snowboarding? What am I thinking, my reader(s) know better than that. This weekend all three major Mt. Hood properties have big-time goings on.

Let's start with Meadows because that's where I'm usually riding. They're hosting the Ski to Defeat ALS event on Saturday the 13th. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, so yes, it's a cause worth championing. Last year they raised over $160,000. Let's get out there and double it. Apres entertainment will be provided by electro-acoustic troubadour Tony Smiley. Oh and kids lessons are 2-for-1 now 'til April 28, so bring the tykes and show them the reason you're all excited about winter. And if that doesn't get 'em, the hot cocoa will.

Not an Olympic-qualifying event... yet.

Timberline is where the real jam is. Saturday is the first ever Yobeat Powder 8 contest. Get judged on which team makes the best '8'. Simple, right? Better get signed up now, there's only room for 15 teams. Who am I kidding, if it's not full already, I'll join myself and call my team 'The Dummest Man in tah World and His Only True Friend' and get one of those 'I'm with Stupid' shirts for my friend. You should still watch, though. It should be a real hoot. Sunday is Airblaster's Board Games. That one's all about Terry's Maximum Airtime Rhythm Section. They've had years to perfect the section, so you better be ready for an on-point set of humps that will put Fergie to shame. Check it out.

Next year, I'm starting Bored Games. Events include sarcasm, mediocrity and innuendo. 

Even Ski Bowl is getting in on the action this weekend. Friday through Sunday, they're hosting the US Airbag Demo Tour. You know the drill, cheese wedge to Paul Bunyan's lunch bag. Huck your junk. Tickets start at $10 for three jumps. If you prepay for 25 jumps ($45) you get a free die-cut sticker. If that's not the worst freebie you've heard about today, leave a comment below. They make up for it on Sunday, though. Sunday you get to ride free. Seriously. There is a suggested donation of four non-perishable food items. Note to crunchy prospective attendees: kale, while healthy as all mana and probably something everyone should eat more of, is perishable. They will not accept it. They will take Twinkies before they take your kale. Do us all a favor and eat the kale yourself and go get a couple cans of chili. Also bad form: 10-cent canned corn, there is no nutrition in that. Just follow Rule #1*.

Ski Bowl: It's April and their hill doesn't look like a soccer field. Party!

If that's not enough to get you on the mountain this weekend, well just imagine they're giving away beer, too. I'm sure one of them is. Probably Yobeat.

*Rule #1 is "Don't be a dick."

Mt. Hood Ticket Prices Going Up

If you want to snowboard on Mt. Hood this winter, you're going to pay more than last season, unless you ride at Ski Bowl exclusively. Is anyone surprised? Leading the way is Mt. Hood Meadows. 

Meadows ditched the shift ticket pricing they've done in the past in favor of one open-to-close ticket with different pricing for peak and off-peak days. The shift pricing featured three sliding shifts per day that shared a ticket price 9am - 4pm, 11am - 7pm and 1pm - close. That price was $74, but you could upgrade any shift to open-close for $5. Effectively an open-close ticket was $79 last year. This year an open-close ticket will cost the same $74 off-peak and $89 during peak days (which are December 26-31 and Saturdays and Sundays in January and February or 22 total days).

One bonus, if you're coming from Portland, you can get a seat on Meadows' PDX Park and Ride for free on these peak days. The same $89 buys you bus ticket and lift ticket. The same bus without a lift ticket is $20, which I think is lower than last year, but don't set fire to my hair if I'm wrong. They're even increasing the number of buses making the trip in anticipation of higher demand.

Meadows is clearly trying to tackle the parking problem that's plagued their lots. Weekends at Meadows have gotten to be a parking nightmare with parked cars lining the access roads all the way back to highway 35. One way or the other, this year will be different. Either the increased bus service will keep skier visits up and cars down or visits will plummet in response to ticket prices and all those buses will go idle. I think Meadows better start advertising those buses better.

One good reason to think Meadows will lose business is across the mountain at Timberline. They also increased ticket prices, but only by $2 up to $66 peak and $60 off-peak. Timberline does have more peak days; November 22-25, December 22-January 2, January 21 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), February 18 (Presidents Day) and weekends from Jan. 1-March 4 [that's 36 total days] but you pay $23 less  when compared to Meadows' peak days and still $8 less than Meadows' off-peak.

Skibowl won't be open during the day on weekdays, which means fresh pow at 3pm. They're also holding the line on ticket prices, just $49 per shift (shifts are open-4pm, 11am-7pm and 1pm-close) or $69 for open-close.

Mt. Hood Fusion Series

What ever happened to the good old-fashioned local contest series? You know the one, show up with your friends every weekend and try to take down your rivals. Don't know what I mean? Well, if you live in the Mt. Hood area, you can figure it out starting this weekend. The Mt. Hood Fusion Series is on at Timberline and Skibowl!

Come out to play!

The only speed trap I have any experience with has to do with cops. It was lame. A snow obstacle course seems like fun, though. Whatever the case, bring your friends and do your best to recreate The Warriors. But instead of guns, knives and bats, just bring your snowboard.