Skiing on Mt Hood: Part IV

Crunch crunch crunch was the sound of the chains on the snow, up the drive to the parking area and surprisingly few cars. I drive up to the hut and park, get out and walk over and in. A small single-wide trailer is all it is, a place to rent equipment more than anything. I go in and pay the $9 for the half day pass and pay the $10 for a lesson. I will have about an hour to kill so I put on my boots and get everything together. It is relatively warm and sunny, the snow is melting in the lot and big puddles are everywhere, there has been no new snow in a few weeks.

I put my skies on and get all set, I will ‘practice’ for a while before the lesson. I slide out and try not to fall in front of the shed, it would not look good. I make my way onto the trail, there are two forms of Nordic, the traditional and skate ski. I will traditional and that means using groves cut into the snow. Skate is more like ice skating and you can’t use the groves. I get going in the groves and seem to be doing OK, then the first little hill. Well more like a bump than a hill. Up and over, down and up the other side. Survived without falling, felt good.

Mt Hood from the North side, driving from Hood River.

Then the next ‘hill’, this time there was no down and up, just down. From here on it is down till the trail turns back up the hill. I stopped and waited for a few people to pass then I pushed off, faster, faster, turn??? No… Straight into the snow-bank and face-first in the snow, no turn or anything, mostly no control. I get back up and make my way back up the hill and headed back to the hut, lesson time.

The lesson was held in front of the hut and there where two small kids and a teenager along with me, two instructors so it was broken into age groups. After a few minutes talk about how to stand, put on and take off skies, walk up hill, we headed for the trail I was just on. We went up and back a short distance and worked on how to slide our feet. The instructor decided that we should go to another area so we went back and waited for a shuttle to drive us. Turned out we could have walked there faster so it was a waste to ride the bus. But the area was wide open and we could practice on a flat ground.

My biggest problem was stopping on a hill, I kept plowing but I just never could slow down and I ended up falling a few times. The lesson ended and we headed back to the hut, skiing this time and I worked a little longer on the things covered in the lesson. Back at the hut, I changed and dumped my stuff in the car then looked around. It was a nice day and I didn’t know why more people hadn’t come up. Oh well, time to head home and I had a few hours drive ahead.

Skiing on Mt Hood; Part III

Hood River's famous brewery.

Crunch crunch crunch was the sound of the chains on the snow, up the drive to the parking area and surprisingly few cars. I drive up to the hut and park, get out and walk over and in. A small single-wide trailer is all it is, a place to rent equipment more than anything. I go in and pay the $9 for the half day pass and pay the $10 for a lesson. I will have about an hour to kill so I put on my boots and get everything together. It is relatively warm and sunny, the snow is melting in the lot and big puddles are everywhere, there has been no new snow in a few weeks.

I put my skies on and get all set, I will ‘practice’ for a while before the lesson. I slide out and try not to fall in front of the shed, it would not look good. I make my way onto the trail, there are two forms of Nordic, the traditional and skate ski. I will traditional and that means using groves cut into the snow. Skate is more like ice skating and you can’t use the groves. I get going in the groves and seem to be doing OK, then the first little hill. Well more like a bump than a hill. Up and over, down and up the other side. Survived without falling, felt good.

The Ground Cafe in Hood River

Then the next ‘hill’, this time there was no down and up, just down. From here on it is down till the trail turns back up the hill. I stopped and waited for a few people to pass then I pushed off, faster, faster, turn??? No… Straight into the snow-bank and face-first in the snow, no turn or anything, mostly no control. I get back up and make my way back up the hill and headed back to the hut, lesson time.

The lesson was held in front of the hut and there where two small kids and a teenager along with me, two instructors so it was broken into age groups. After a few minutes talk about how to stand, put on and take off skies, walk up hill, we headed for the trail I was just on. We went up and back a short distance and worked on how to slide our feet. The instructor decided that we should go to another area so we went back and waited for a shuttle to drive us. Turned out we could have walked there faster so it was a waste to ride the bus. But the area was wide open and we could practice on a flat ground.

My biggest problem was stopping on a hill, I kept plowing but I just never could slow down and I ended up falling a few times. The lesson ended and we headed back to the hut, skiing this time and I worked a little longer on the thing covered in the lesson. Back at the hut, I changed and dumped my stuff in the car then looked around. It was a nice day and I didn’t know why more people hadn’t come up. Oh well, time to head home and I had a few hours drive ahead.

Skiing on Mt Hood, Oregon: Part II

There are two ways up to Mt Hood, either from the south or from the north. I decided to go the northern route, which follows the Columbia River to Hood River, then turns south and heads up the mountain. It is almost twice as long as the southern way, but everyone goes that way and traffic can be very bad so it may just take as long.

Nordic Center hut at Meadows.

The drive along the river is always nice, the river is in almost a gorge the whole way so there are high cliffs on one side and the wide river on the other. Once you reach Hood River, it is always nice to stop and have a coffee or grab something before you head up the hill. There isn’t much at the Nordic center so it is a good idea to grab something before you go. Hood River is a nice small town with a great coffee shop, The Grind, at the eastern end of the main street.

With some supplies, I head up the hill, the resort/ski area starts at the 4500 foot level and the snow level was at about 3500 or so. Most of the trip up is snow free and very little traffic. The views are of orchards and some vineyards, open pastures and views of the mountains. The road is good until you enter a stream canyon and finally the snow begins to appear. Ice is the big concern and once the road turns white, the chains go on and the drive slows down for safety. The last few miles are where the chains are needed and driving slow makes it safe and easy.

Skiing on Mt Hood Oregon

The lot at Meadows Nordic Center

After many years of thinking of taking up skiing, I finally decided to go for it this year. I wasn’t sure if I should try Alpine or Nordic, I did ski Alpine a very long time ago and I didn’t do to well. Though it was in southern California and what passes as snow is more like ice, Alpine just seemed to hurt more when I fell. So I decided to try Nordic. Since Nordic is more like running I was sure I would be able to do it better than I thought I could Alpine.

I looked around for equipment and soon found that finding boots in my size would be a challenge. Most Nordic boots only go up to 12 and very few go up to 15, I would need a 14 minimum. So I went on line and found a company that sold boots in my size, but I needed to try a pair on to see if they really fit. So I found a place that sold boots in my size and tried a pair on. I was glad since they fit very poorly. I again looked and found a different manufacture and I was able to try on a pair of those, they fit. So I made up my order online, they had the best price even with shipping.

About a week later the first box arrived, the boots and they did fit perfect. Then the skies and poles, a friend was so kind in giving me some other ski equipment, hat and gloves, I was now ready to go and ski. Nordic is different from Alpine in that it is very aerobic and you almost are running the whole time, so the clothes needs to be loose and more like running clothes. I collected a good set of cold weather running clothes, loaded the skies on a Saturday morning and headed for Mt Hood.

Weekend at the beach

Looking down at Manzanita from Hwy 1

A somewhat cold and windy weekend, but a sure cure is a trip to the beach. Even if it is cold too, there is nothing like walking on the sand and hearing the wind and waves. Looking for shells or just looking out to sea, the beach is always a place where one can relax and think about nothing or everything.

Grab some lunch or a coffee, look in the small beach shops, walk up and down the short streets and see all the other people doing the same. Small crowds in town and on the shore, a few kites flying, dogs running into the water wanting to play. A hidden sun throwing ghostly shadows and the prick of blowing sand on your face is common but enjoyable all the same.