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.

Mt. Hood Meadows Announces Spring Pass Dates and Dollars

Maybe the snow will come in the spring. It can't just not snow this 'winter,' right? That in mind, Meadows is offering a $149 unlimited spring pass good from March 12 until the lifts stop turning. That should give you two months. If you buy before then, you get $20 midweek lift tickets until March 9. You really only need to ride three times to make that a good deal.

It's Been a Long Time

I shouldn't have left you. Yeah, what kind of blogger am I!? Biggest snowfalls of the year and I'm neither telling you about it nor taking pictures of it. Bummer. Here's the hot cheddar, I get back from Baldface and am greeted by the plague. Whooping cough and sore throat for two weeks. I tried to ride through it (like I said, epic pow, brah), but it just made things worse. Doctor said it was bronchitis and gave me antibiotics. Told me to take it easy for a spell. Not so bad. Caught up on some reading. Read Hayduke Lives by Edward Abbey. Follow-up to the acclaimed The Monkey Wrench Gang. Good stuff. Same barbed wire-sharp wit and ironic humor that I loved from the first. He tends to ramble a little more than I like. Maybe I should take that as a cue for my own writing. Next time I find myself rattling off a list of a dozen or so items, I'll try to whittle off a few. Just for you.

Health returned just in time for me to host a couple friend from the Midwest. I've known Shanna for about as long as I've been snowboarding and she just picked up the habit this year. Got herself out about 20 days, which I think is admirable for a first year. Hell, it's admirable for any year in my book. She even took trips to several different states. That one's a real traveler anyway. She might write a guest blog here about the first few days strapped to a plank. Anyway, she brought her friend, Ben, who needed three more for his first 100-day season. They get here and I'm in Spokane watching Conan O'Brien the night they got to town. That's another post. Energy drinks and truck stop roller-dogs (cheddar-wurst is always the right choice) got me home just past 4am. They ended up riding a few hours later with another friend from town. Some friend. I made it up with them the next two days to finish off Ben's century. We took all the requisite mountain shots. Stopped for Playboy energy drink at some Boring strip club. Drank brewpub beer every night, smoked good weed, tossed some disc golf, drove across bridges, you know, things we do in Portland.

Now I'm probably just a few days away from the end of my season. Weddings and camping are filling my coming weekends. Timberline closes for us spring pass holders on May 31. My last trip with the Snowdays Foundation was today. Great group of kids and a great sunny day. So much fun. Soon I'll be mountain biking, hiking, paddling, surfing, sunburning and just straight enjoying the outdoors. Just with less snow. And maybe I'll sneak in a trip up to the glacier or Argentina, you know, to keep things fresh.

Summer is finally crawling out from the gutter. The sun is making its presence felt. The trees and flowers are full and proper. The farmers markets are going off. Couldn't ask for much more. Those of you who have time left to shred, go hard while you still have it. Best believe I'll be givin' it these last few before I surrender to the beers and barbecue summer madness.

Gone 'Til November?

Sunday was one of those days we all need more of. Sleeping with the windows open left me feeling amazingly refreshed in the morning when I woke up sans alarm. Then I looked at the clock and it was only 6. Ben, my ride to the mountain, wouldn't get here 'til 8. Another hour and a half snooze and I was taking that so familiar trip down 26. This time we cut out early and headed up the Timberline road, seeing as it's the only resort that's still open. We were greeted by the mountain in all her glory as we pulled into the lot.

Beautiful day (likewise for the shirt and 'stache?) B-Tru photo

It was a hot one. The 7am report said 50° and I wouldn't doubt 70° by the afternoon. The conditions matched, getting softer and then slushier as the day progressed.

Yeah, she skied in that, too. B-Tru on the guerrilla photo

A parking lot full of cars didn't bode well, but it turned out to be a lot of climbers. So many, in fact, that it was harmfully crowded. We witnessed a heli evacuation of one who had something fall from above and go right through his helmet. I forget whether it was ice or a crampon.

The riding was actually pretty fun. The natural features are still there and Timberline knows how to build a park. Unfortunately, most of their man-made features are beyond my skill level. One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was their mini-pipe. I'm no halfpipe rider, but when I made a run through this scaled-down tube (but still with vert), I realized why people like it. Something about starting out on an 18-footer is just counter-productive to fun. If the first jump or cliff I ever had to hit was a pro-sized 80 feet, I probably wouldn't do those either. Just another thing Meadows could learn from Timberline on the park front.

OK, the windows are down now, Ben.
(Check the Oakley-down-the-leg pants!)

After a trip back to the car for a rub-on wax job we made our final foray. We soaked in the clear view from the top of Palmer. We hiked a particularly fun hip (pictured above). We poked fun at the clothes people wear on such hot days at the mountain (pictured farther above). We turned shades of red reminiscent of Rush's face mid-rant. And I didn't even need to use my AK. Well, you know the rest. Still not sure whether I'll get another day in, but if that was the final chapter, I'm OK with it. Fun, friends, ridiculous moustache, sun, Hawaiian shirt; who could ask for more?