Pray For Snow With Mt. Hood Meadows

UPDATE: Meadows added a limited slope opening. The Buttercup lift will be turning from  3-7pm and will include a park setup with five rails. Lift tickets are just $10 and for those over 21 that will get you in to the Pray For Snow party as well.

Opening soon or opening now? Either way we need more snow. Get to Mt. Hood Meadows and make it happen this Saturday, November 21 from 11 in the morning 'til 11 at night. That's right, on the mountain. The place where we want the snow. Earlier in the day, until 5pm will be all-ages as various food, drink and retail establishments will offer discounts and previews of the coming year. Then comes the sneak preview dinner with Meadows' new executive chef, Matt Stine, and owner, Matthew Drake. Finally, the Pray For Snow Dance Party with music by Hit Machine also featuring fashion shows, raffles and a slide show from staff photographer Grant Myrdall. Doors at 7:30, 21+  Get up there and party down!

Envision everything you see covered in snow. Except the band, that would mean a faulty roof.

Winter is Coming

From the top of the Cascade lift at Mt. Hood Meadows

The first flakes are falling in places like Whistler and Mt. Hood. Early-season obstacles persist.

 Video teasers never really stop, but the big guns at Absinthe just dropped theirs for Eversince.

And this bad news is just in from Venture Snowboards. They won't be delivering new boards this season. Yes, winter will be upon us soon. If you haven't begun preparing, now is the time to start.

Airblaster Glampster Shredfest

Shred snow and concrete at Windell's and HCSC by day and get your camp on at Clear Lake by night. Just some good ole summer fun on Mt. Hood! Snowboard camp was never this much fun.

Oh, you want in on this!

Snowboarder Magazine Superpark 18 Recap

Big method. Big mountain.

Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark is a wrap and like host resort Mt. Hood Meadows it was predictably unpredictable. I can't believe I just wrote that. You know, the weather was a factor, like it always is on Mt. Hood. The features were gigantic and gnarly, as usual. There were even some good mini shred opportunities and a pow morning for good measure. If you want to ignore my unpredictable ramblings and go straight to the hammers, check the videos at Snowboarder.

Before the event even started, the weatherman was calling for a mixed bag. Anyone with an eye on the forecast - as every snowman worth his salt should be - might guess that the schedule could get compressed by a day or two due to rain. With this in mind, every day had to fully count and there was no half-steppin on day 1.

After a quick couple lifts to scope the show, I checked out a session at the Woodward Dam step-up feature. Get an eyeful of this land mass. I can never judge how big things like that are, but the airtime was two to two-and-a-half seconds.

Big dam jump

Dudes were chucking carcass when I got there. I left after an hour or so when they had to do some maintenance. Some bros were spinning and corking as hard as they could. Some went the single cork route. Others didn't spin at all, they just turned their backs to the mountain and grabbed with tweaked out style. It was quite the display.

One thing I don't like about Superpark is I never know who's jumping. You'll notice almost none of my photos have proper credits. Everyone is in full outerwear and it's impossible to tell who's who when they're maching at a jump. It's a little better on the rail features, but it's still pretty quick. Maybe next time I'll bring a two-way radio and listen in on the Snowboarder channel.

The way around that of course was the live webcast. T-Bird and Java Fernandez make it interesting. Now if I had a device that could stream the webcast from the event, that would be the bee's tits or the cat's knees or whatever.

One thing I would not recommend is poaching. I guess the worst that could happen is you get kicked out. I watched that go down on my second lift. No violence at all (at least not in sight). The guy made it up one lift and got shut down by the scanners at the second. Then he got personally escorted (most awkward chair ride ever?) up and out. He would have had to ride past a couple features to get out, but I'm guessing his escort liftie wasn't in good spirits. Maybe if you slip him a Hamilton or some bud he lets you watch for a bit. I don't know. They let my dumb ass in for whatever reason. Apparently all you have to do is tell them you have a blog.

OK, back to the park. Feature number two is the obligatory giant-ass hip (see photo up top). More nameless chucking. It's kind of surreal, really.  Dudes just boosting. Big ole volcano in the background. Watch out for that on the cover of a Snowboarder next volume: big method, big mountain. This year, they didn't have a channel cut out of the hip, so there were some dudes going pretty small, too. Hell, I could have hit it. And that is the only marquee feature I can say that about. Well, I could firecracker the stairs on the rail plaza, does that count? Didn't think so.

Days Two and Three were mostly weather wipeouts. They ran the rail plaza, but not the lifts. Dudes ran around Govy. Drinking, smoking. Street shots, bar shots. Mt. Hood in May. You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather. Outkast. Fitting.

Frank April is also a 5-handicap golfer according to the web commentary.

Day Four, back on the grind. Day four was the day I had other plans, so I caught a little of the webcast. T-Bird and Java with some special guests. Woodward Dam step-up/over/big ass jump. Cool to hear the action and pseudo-play-by-play. I guess that's what it's like. Think of a sports game that usually has announcers, then take the announcers away. That's Superpark. Maybe they need announcers. It would add some personality. It would take away that chill vibe of riding on the hill with your friends, though. As if it ever feels like that with me and my friends. We never hike and session anything, much less 90-footers.

Slim Fast. Do they sell that stuff any more?

The Final Day was when the Woodward 'Slim Fast' jump finally got sessioned. This is the jump that Pat Bridges must have had in mind when he spoke of sending riders "to the moon." This is also the jump that Sage Kotsenburg, him of the gold medal on a sketchy slopestyle course, wondered, "Could that jump be any more dangerous?" I managed to miss this session, but as you can see by the Day Five video (that first hit by Jeremy Page is the Slim Fast [there's also a triple cork and a triple rail transfer in that video, if you're into that]) dudes were sending it and the landing was a bit on the narrow side of optimal. They're pros, though, and they have plenty of options. If they don't feel comfortable with it, they can go to one of the dozen other features on the mountain. There's more giant, photogenic features than the pool at the Playboy Mansion.

To wrap up this already-too-long blog post, Superpark's 18th version had it all. Even weather delays. I've never seen so much next-level terrain packed into one spot, on one lift, in my life. The Superparks at Bachelor always had two lifts worth of terrain to work with. That made Meadows' park feel smaller, but denser. The rail plaza was definitely more limited than previous years, but having it visible from the patio bar was certainly a bonus. Giving the public a free show is always fun, especially when you're taking away one side of the mountain. Many thanks to Gatorade, Woodward, Pisten Bully, Sony ActionCam and all the sponsors. Hopefully Snowboarder decides to give Meadows another shot. I'd love to see what they could do with another year of planning.

Pat Bridges Speaks On Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark 18 At Mt Hood Meadows

20-foot tall channel hips, 100-foot jumps and 10 photogs per feature, standard Superpark

For the last 18 years, Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark has been spring's final party. One last chance for riders to stack footy, shred insane features put together by the top builders in the world and hang out with all their buddies who do likewise. This year the show is coming to snowboarding's traditional summer home, Mt. Hood, but on the other side of the hill from the camp venues: Mt. Hood Meadows.

The captain of this ship is Snowboarder Creative Director Pat Bridges. You can generally find him at whichever feature has the biggest session. He'll be under the shade of a shrubbery-like beard and a Panama straw hat. If he's not barking orders into a radio, he might be upside down with one hand in the snow or on the coping. Yes, he hits the features. He also dishes out advice on inverts and other low-impact riding to any and all assembled. It's a big moment when Pat spots the real deal in a sea full of up-and-comers. He'll give the kid props and invite him to the sunset photo shoot or webcast session. The kid will express his gratitude. He knows this is a big deal. You will see more from this kid in the future and not just in the pages of Pat's magazine.

Here Pat speaks on everything from his favorite Wu-Tang Clan member (Inspectah Deck) to his interest in lunar launch vehicle design and finally his riders to watch at this year's Superpark. Listen up!

BY: What prompted the move to Meadows after three years at Bachelor? They kicked you out, didn't they?

PB: We have never held Superpark at any resort for more than three years in a row. Bachelor was an amazing Superpark partner and I can see us eventually returning there. The reason we change Superpark venues every two-three years is because we want to mix up the terrain opportunities and get some fresh backdrops in front of the lens. On a side note since 1999 Superpark has never not been welcome back at a resort as proven by the fact that Keystone, Lake Louise, Mammoth, Breckenridge and Mt Bachelor have all held the event multiple times. I am proud to say that the resorts have all been more than eager to have Superpark return and at least three of the names I mentioned above approached us about hosting this Superpark but ultimately we decided to give Meadows the opportunity to prove that they have terrain on a par with the more hyped hills.

We're not exactly known for sunshine up here. How much are you concerned with Mt. Hood's notoriously unpredictable weather?

Obviously we aren't ignorant to the fact that Mt Hood isn't known for having the most predictable weather in late Spring. Of course three years ago when we said we were going to bring Superpark to Bachelor our constituents brought up similar concerns. 150 Superpark hours in Oregon later we only missed out on 10 event hours over the course of three years. I am optimistic that the weather will work out just fine.

That's an army of shreds in a small town. What is Govy going to look like during the week? Summer camp week 0 with Cobra Dogs and Volcano Cones?

Because of its importance as the epicenter of Summer shred in North America most of the Superpark attendees from North America have Govy and Mt Hood entrenched in the fabric of who they have become as riders. Being able to come to Govy and hang at Charlies and lap a side of Mt Hood many have never seen before is gonna be real cool.

Meadow's parks are undergoing a bit of a renaissance the last few years with a couple different partnerships. Who else will be building this year and what kind of new features can we expect at Superpark 18?

Keystone, Woodward and Seven Springs are the visiting builders extending their talents to us. The terrain footprint at Meadows is a great mix of mid angle traditional park style slopes and steep valleys lending itself to both conventional features and weird options. As of late SNOWBOARDER has been seeking out poppier takeoffs that allow for better style due to unweighting. This has prompted me to adopt the motto of "Why send riders around the world when you can send 'em to the moon."

These guys can build anything the snow will allow, has there ever been anything you wanted that they couldn't make happen? I heard rumors of a chairlift gap that got shut down.

Chairlift gaps are pretty gimmicky. I am intrigued by saddle features where riders either crossup in the air or are dealt with multiple fall lines so they needn't be on edge either for takeoff or landing.  I also am interested in incorporating more pitch into the deck of hips like you have with halfpipes. If a world class halfpipe has an 18 degree pitch then why not explore that possibility with hips as opposed to the 6-10 degrees you usually see.

Superpark is not open to the general public, how can folks get a look at the madness that's going down? What's the hashtag to follow?

#Superpark18 is a good start. We also have daily galleries and video recaps on Snowboardermag.com, but the best way is to check out the sessions we are webcasting Friday and Saturday from 1-3pm PST [Note: Those in the area can also catch a free exhibition on the Woodward Plaza feature Saturday from noon until 3. It will be visible from the Meadows sun deck, so you don't even need a lift ticket. Just grab a drink and rock out to DJ Matty Mo while the riders do their thing.]

What does a plaza feature look like? I'm glad you asked.

Got any thoughts on who might be riders to watch this year? Which names are we going to hear the most on the webcast?

Roope Tonterri, Ben Ferguson, Louif Paradis, Jamie Lynn, Mikey Leblance, the Mindnichs, Sam Taxwood, Nils Arvidsson, Dylan Thompson, Jess Kimura, Christy Prior… The list is endless.

Who are the top low-impact riders in the field?

Forrest Bailey, Shane Flood and Dustin Craven with Scotty Stevens a distant 4th.

Any kids coming up that you expect big things from, maybe making the transition from The Launch?

This is Ben Ferguson's year to take the standout.

You've ridden everywhere, what do you like about coming up to the northwest and Meadows in particular?

Meadows has character. It is real. Everything in the Northwest is about the line from the top to the bottom, not the bottom line.

***

There you have it. Follow #Superpark18 on all of your favorite social medias (@boredyak, @snowboardermag, @mthoodmeadows), drop by Meadows for the exhibition at the Woodward Plaza feature on Saturday and be sure to check out all the updates on snowboardermag.com including the live webcasts on Friday and Saturday from 1-3pm PST. To the moon!

Mt. Hood Meadows Offers 'Rest of Season' Pass

It's finally winter on Mt. Hood and Meadows is already rolling out what it normally calls its 'Spring Pass.' It's hard to call it that this year since over the past few weeks they've just started running all the lifts and they also just cracked the 100" base mark. You know, things that generally happen in January. In other 'every winter is weirder than the last' news, I haven't even ridden at Meadows yet! Tomorrow is set to be day #1 there. It's mid-February and I've been spending all my time in the gym hoping I'm ready when the snow finally hits. Well, it's hitting now and I won't be. I got that wake-up call a few weeks ago at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Good thing it was a demo, so I had an excuse to stop every two runs. Now it's just time to break out the pow trousers and the Charlie Slasher, wax that ass, fall off the lift and point it SFD. Hoo Wee! Good times ahead!!

New Snow On Hood, New Bus To Get There

The days are getting cold enough that I started turning the heat on. That's a big sign. That and the smell of dead leaves. Word is good ole Wy'east got 17 inches this past week. That will probably - even hopefully - melt. No one wants a weak layer right on the ground. It does make the mountain look pretty, though, and apparently it's good enough to get the news crews out there. The bigger story is really the new bus service. Big news for the denizens of Sandy, Welches and Govy, anyway. You let me know when I can take a $2 bus from Portland to Meadows and I'm on it every day.

And don't worry, Bill's camera is OK.

Devils Peak Hike

Didn't see Quasimodo or the Devil for that matter.

Hiking, kids. It's just like splitboarding, only you don't get to snowboard down. And it's in the summer. The pack is lighter, too. Other than that, just like splitboarding. Great views up there, all the way to Rainier. Nice little fire lookout tower, too. You can spend the night there, even, but it's first come first served. Would sure suck to make the 5-mile trek up there and have someone beat you to it. Gotta keep those legs up, though. Making a push for Mt. St. Helens in September. Got any favorite hikes around Mt. Hood or in the Gorge? Leave 'em in the comments.

Hood

How long with this kit keep you sane?

It's Not Over Yet

In this case, I mean winter isn't over. A recent cold snap brought over a foot of snow to Mt. Bachelor and two feet to Timberline, just in time for their finale weekends. Of course at Timberline it's more of a soft close since they'll still be running, but you can't use your season pass or spring pass after Memorial Day. Both resorts have plans for their weekends, final or not.

This storm keeps up and they're gonna have to change that graphic.

Timberline is having their inaugural Top to Bottom Race. If the storm lets up soon enough to clean off Palmer it will be a team race from there to the lodge. That in itself would be boring, so they're throwing in some bonus tasks including 'Double Dare'-style contests (I can only assume the mean the 'physical challenge' [bonus points if you actually remember 'Double Dare' the Nickelodeon family game show]) to shave time off your race clock. Sound like fun? Assemble your crew and head to timberlinelodge.com for the deets.

Had to reschedule Matt Damon, didn't have time to fit him in.

Down south at Mt. Bachelor, they've got a whole grip of events going on. If you know anything about Bachelor, you know they're developing a rep of having killer contests, especially in the springtime. If you follow the boredyak instagram feed you may have already seen killer pics of the Gerry Lopez Big Wave Challenge. Well, that's not all they got. It's closing weekend and they have to cram all they have left into the last two days. They've got a two-day brewfest for the adults with live music both days (remember that new stage they got?), a ski contest Saturday and the North American Pond Skimming Championships on Sunday. Hope that's enough to keep you happy 'til November.

Holler if you see this guy. He's a pond skimming master.

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."

The Northwest Awakens

Thanksgiving was especially apt for the northwest snowboard scene this year. Riders from Washington and Oregon are giving thanks for the start of the winter season as resorts from Mt. Baker to Stevens Pass to Mt. Bachelor all opened this week. On Mt. Hood, Meadows fired up the chairs and Timberline opened some lower-mountain terrain, too.

Word from Meadows is that it was as good as an opening day can be. And that's not just the company line, even Yobeat agrees.

Bachelor dropped a quick opening day edit, too. Cameos from Austin Smith and Curtis Ciszek at the end. Looks like they got it good.

Baker, to the surprise of no one, is claiming the deepest base on the continent. They have all of their lifts firing.

Yes, folks, happy days are here again. Get out there and get it, but remember to ease into it. Remember how to drive in winter conditions. Remember that rocks, stumps and small woodland animals lurk just under the shallow fall base. And remember, if you play your cards right, you could have a long and happy winter. Check your landings and start your winter beards. Let the good times roll.

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 Spring Passes Looking to Offer Good Value

If somehow you were able to wait out the season, through the positively paltry December, January and February snowfall and arrive in March with a couple hundred bucks saved, well, good job. Mt. Hood will reward you now. Meadows is offering a spring pass for $149 and Timberline is running theirs out at just $110. At these prices, two trips is the break-even point either way. I'm a Meadows season pass holder and I might just get a Timberline spring pass for the longer season and better park action. Meadows has the Pond Skim coming up as well as a demo day. Don't forget about the Bonezone Banked Slalom at Timberline. Either way, the season is just getting started, so you can't lose.

Winter on Mt. Hood!

Tomorrow, 11/18, Timberline is opening some lower-mountain lifts, Bruno and Pucci. Not to be outdone, Meadows is opening their doors for the season Saturday.

That's right, time to stop dreaming about it and start getting everything together to shred the rad. A little bad news, though, Meadows is only guaranteeing two lifts for Saturday, Buttercup and Easy Rider and something tells me the park won't be ready on Easy Rider... This means that the gnar might be a little more gnar than you're used to. Bring the rock board, etc. More snow is in the forecast, though, so there's still a chance for a larger opening. Check the Meadows conditions page on Friday afternoon for the full plan.

Snowboarding on Mt. Hood. Just in time. My board doesn't need any more wax. Does yours?

Who You Callin' a Hoe!?

Snow and sun!? Weird.

The Tahoe trip is a wrap. The final day at Squaw didn't deliver six feet of blower on the upper mountain that it could have, but it still had 40" and that's good enough for me. Lift lines were the only real downer of the day. Twice we had to wait in 45-minute lines full of irritable folk and skiiers trying to snake you out of your spot. Once I got in line with my friend only to end up three people behind him once we got to the chairs.

Everybody and his mom

Luckily, both lines served up the goods. Knee to thigh-deep pow and open bowls. Scattered tracks, but still distinguishable as individual tracks. Definitely not moguls. The highlight was fresh tracks down Sun Bowl. A dozen or so turns all to ourselves. Run of the year so far.

Kickin' back after a long day.

Now, I'm back in Portland. Mt. Hood has been picking up right where Tahoe left off. Starting with four feet of snow this week. New lifts to open tomorrow. Let's see what Cascade is all about with that much new. Maybe some high-speed, top-to-bottom runs. After all, I'm pseudo-training now. Possible big trip in the future. Only three weeks out. Check your calendar, maybe you know what I mean...