My Favorites

I'm back... sorry for the lack of posts this past week. I made it up to the mountain once during the recent spell of dry and sunny weather. It was nice to be up in the sunshine and to let the skis fly on the spring-like snow. Upper Bowl at Skibowl is really fun when it's groomed. Smooth, fast and steep... my favorite type of ski run.

Speaking of favorites... allow me, if you will, to share some of my favorite runs on Mount Hood:

My favorite groomed cruisers:

1) Timberline -- Palmer. I love skiing this run (when the lift is open and when there's lots of snow). It's wide, it's usually well-groomed, and it has the steepest (sustained) pitch of all regularly-groomed, long runs on the mountain. There are steeper pitches elsewhere on Mt. Hood, but none match the length and wide-open nature of Palmer.

2) Skibowl -- Cannonball. This main run down the "gut" of the Upper Bowl is a speed-a-holic's dream -- when it's groomed smooth. If only it was longer...

3) Meadows -- Outer Limits to Memorial or Pluto Bowl (lower Heather Canyon). This route drops 2,000 vertical feet over a 2-mile path and, when groomed, combines the intermediate cruise down Outer Limits with the "hold-your-edge-or-suffer-big-consequences" skid down Memorial or Pluto bowls of Lower Heather Canyon.

4) Meadows -- Two Bowl. Not always groomed, but when it is... it's a fun one-two punch down Two Bowl and then Lower Face.

5) Meadows -- Boulevard. Not as steep as my other favorites, Boulevard can still be challenging at high-speeds because of it's rolls, dips and slight twists & turns. Also, it's one long ride...

My favorite "natural" runs:

1) Meadows -- Silver Bowl (upper Heather Canyon) to Clark Canyon or Heather Woods. When the powder is deep and fresh, nothing further needs to be said. :) Even when there's no new snow, a perviously-triggered avalanche can leave a smooth path right down Silver Bowl (just be sure to avoid the avalanche pile at the bottom). About 3/4 of the way down, traverse left so that you can get over to Clark Canyon. Depending on the snow and recent weather, sometimes the shadier pitches down Clark Canyon are best, while sometimes the sun-exposed paths through Heather Woods are best.

2) Skibowl -- Outback area. Granted, I'm just beginning to explore this area... I don't know it well just yet, so I can't be very specific as to which routes through the Outback I like best. But from what I've seen, it's a powder playground when the weather pattern is right (snowy with a low freezing level). I like the mix of bowls and trees... along with the low density of skiers/boarders.

3) Meadows -- Jacks Woods. Yes, it gets cut-up way too fast. But that first run (or two if you're lucky) on a powder day is heavenly.

4) Skibowl -- the West Wall (in the Upper Bowl). The trees are perfectly-spaced, and there's enough night-lighting nearby such that you can venture into parts of this area after dark. There aren't many places in the world where you get get fresh tracks... in the trees... during a snowstorm... at 8 o'clock at night.

5) Meadows -- Private Reserve. Relative new to the Meadows' collection of expert playgrounds, the "PR" is open more often and skied/boarded less often than Heather Canyon above it. If it weren't for the walk-out at the end...

There you have it... my favorite runs. How about yours?