TIMBERLINE Spring/Summer 2012

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

It spring in the PNW. Time to ride the Timberline Ski Area.

This year is the 75th anniversary!!!

Timberline Conditions Link

Timberline Webcam Page

NOAA Weather Info 3 Miles SSW Mount Hood OR

Timberline Top of Mile Raw Weather Data

Timberline Base Area Raw Weather Data

[GavinB]

Hi Bryan ....
I just wrote a long reply about today at timberline ..
and then erased it by mistake ...
Not rewriting it now as we are going to Bonneville Hot Springs now.
But thanks for starting this Timberline Thread and for the links.
Much appreciated.
Gavin

[kinpa]

I wanna go! I wanna go!!!!!

[GavinB]

RE: Bryans Timberline Posting ....
For those who do not know ....
Timberline Spring Pass is only $110....and good till May 28th
http://www.timberlinelodge.com/play/...g/spring-pass/
So really cheap if you come out here for 5 days or more.
BUT ... if it is the PALMER run you are coming for ...
Call ahead and make sure it is OPEN ....
I tried to get an answer from them the other day as to when it will be operating again...
but they really don't seem to know for sure ..
the lady even pulled out all her records for me and we went back to the previous years when they had similar snow levels..
It could open by the end of April ..
or it could only open in Mid May ...
or even later ..
Apparently they NEED 2 weeks of GOOD Weather to clear and open the Palmer lift.
But Magic Mile and those below it are open now.... so still lots of fun.
So will start going there in May after Meadows closes during the week at the end of April.
but I do have my Timberline Pass already ...so can go there any day in April ...if it seems better to go there than to Meadows, conditions wise.
Meadows is about 20 minutes drive closer to my house (I think) ...so prefer to go to Meadows until they close during the week.
There is virtually NOBODY at Meadows now during the week.

[GavinB]

You probably all know this already .... BUT .... just in case you don't .......

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

VERY COOL!!!

Keep in mind they will likely start closing the lower lifts pretty soon. So this chance to go 3690 vertically in one run will be short lived. Very cool , but short lived chance to brag about a VERY LONG run!!!


This IS that majical time of the year when Timberline has no crowd, cheap lift tickets, easy access, plenty of snow, almost 4,000 vertical, Palmer Glacier lift running and NO CAMPS

[GavinB]

Anybody planning on going to Timberline tomorrow ?
I am considering it ... especially if Palmer will be groomed.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Anybody planning on going to Timberline tomorrow ?
I am considering it ... especially if Palmer will be groomed.

I would not expect really smooth, but definitely groomed 5/6 passes wide.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Forwarded from Gavin's trip today. First a photo from the parking lot and the second from the line up waiting to go up Palmer via Snow Cat. Evidently the chair was not quite ready. I am hoping Gavin will fill in the details later today.


Made it to the top of Palmer!!! Gavin says the snow was really soft.

April 21st, 2012Updated 10:00 AM
48° Sunny
0” New snow last 24 hrs .NEW SNOW LAST 72 HRS: 0”

ROAD CONDITIONS: Clear

WIND: NW @ 2-7 mph

BASE DEPTH: 180”

ANNUAL SNOWFALL: 509”

[GavinB]

I was one of the first in line on Magic Mile today at 9am ...
It was slightly delayed ...
The groomed part of Magic Mile was soft already when I got to the top.
I left the groomed part and it was a bit better for me off the groom.
A little firmer and still pretty smooth.
I stayed there (off the groom) on Magic Mile till 10am when Palmer lift was supposed to open.
Went over to Palmer, but just missed the FIRST Cat up and had to wait for the next one up ...one every 30 minutes or so.
They were running the Cat as they were struggling to get the Palmer lift open.
When I got to the top of Palmer (around 10:30am or a bit later) ... it was already too soft .... on and off the groom.
One lady on the way down was saying it was more like WATER SKIING !!!
After one ride down .... I decided to go home.
It was REAL sticky lower down !!!

Glad I went ...
but am in NO real hurry to go back till I hear from one of you that Palmer is NICELY GROOMED again.
I'll probably decide Day by Day if it will be Meadows or Timberline till the end of April.
Then hopefully Palmer will be better for me in May.

Am thinking HARD about getting a summer pass for Timberline ...even though I swore I would never buy one again.
Took all my Kite Boarding Gear to Kite Boarding Shop and dropped it all off on Consignment there.
Selling my old Snowboard gear as well now....but NOT my Bastard set up.
All the $$$ from this is going towards a new Gen4 Swoard Extremecarver....which is why I am tempted to buy the Summer Pass at Timberline.
Bryan already posted my photos I sent from Timberline...
but ...
Here is a view of the Snow Cat going up Palmer.

Not sure what I am doing tomorrow yet.

(Sorry ... I have tried ...but CANNOT find a way to delete these two photos below)

[GavinB]

Arrived at Timberline at 9am this morning.
Snow was pretty good ... but was disappointed that Magic Mile and Palmer were not open again.
I rode Stormin Norman... trying to learn to ride BACKWARDS ... which is proving to be very difficult for me...
After a while they opened Magic Mile which was quite good but only had a narrow groomed run.
As usual it was totally CROWDED as you can clearly see in this photo !!!

I'm sure tomorrow will be just as crowded and the snow should be even better tomorrow ....
So I will be back up there for sure !!!
I had to drive a little slowly today from HOOD RIVER side as I was a little nervous on the icy road with NO STUDS in my tires !!
I left at about 11:30am because I needed to ... the snow was still fun !!!!
On the way home it was normal driving speed !!

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Thanks Gavin for the updates!!! Looks really good!! Bryan

[GavinB]

Timberline was GREAT today... IF you had a POWDER BOARD !!!
Needless to say ... I realized today that I NEED a POWDER BOARD !!
I had a blast on my board ... but was a bit of a struggle for me in the THICK FRESH SNOW !!!
And I need more experience in THICK FRESH SNOW !!
Anyway ...
Today was a weird day ...
Leaving Hood River it was totally FOGGED in at first:

Then the fog totally cleared ....

Then it rained ... then it snowed ... then it rained ...then it snowed ....along the way..

2B Cont....

[GavinB]

It was snowing when I arrived at Timberline and never stopped snowing while I was there.

I rode in the Park area next to Stormin Norman .... going over the BIG BUMPS ..but not the actual jump ..
I love that weightless feeling as you go over the big bumps ...
Then I went through THE BONE ZONE a few times which was fun ...
One time I did not see a 6foot cliff in front of me as the Viz was quite bad some of the time and went flying off the edge ..
but landed very softly in the thick snow ... the nose of my board buried in the snow ... It was a little difficult getting going again.

It was FUN !!!
I left at noon ... I am sure it was probably good for a long time after that ...
I will be back up there for sure tomorrow morning.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

We may have a couple BOL members visiting from out of town next week. Been looking for a reason to get together. Perhaps Beer and Pizza next week on Thursday?? Details to firm up after this weekend?? Love to have a chance to visit with friends old and new. I didn't have a big season so I miss seeing many of you that I normally ride with. Bryan

[GavinB]

Hi Bryan ...
I will drive in from Hood River if it works out.
Keep us posted as to when and where!
Are the Out Of Towners here to ride at Timberline as well ???

[2Curious]

I would love to be there! Keep me posted as to when/where!


Sam.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Hi Bryan ...
I will drive in from Hood River if it works out.
Keep us posted as to when and where!
Are the Out Of Towners here to ride at Timberline as well ???

Cool! Glad to hear Gavin, I was hoping you would be able to come into town.

Yes, they are here to RIDE!!!! You will likely see them at Timberline!!! Please give them the run down.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

I would love to be there! Keep me posted as to when/where!


Sam.

Excellent Sam. Look forward to visiting again!!!

[Donek]

I will be riding Timberline with Todd Brown from Wednesday, May 16 to Friday May18. Todd and I have been discussing our plans for the week and feel that Thursday evening would be an excellent time to meet up for Pizza and good Beer with some northwest carvers. Bryan had offered to coordinate this and we greatly appreciate it. We will be testing some new plate concepts and components while at Timberline and would appreciate any help locating all the best places to test gear. I have been to Timberline in the summer a couple of times, so I am not terribly familiar with the mountain. I look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces.

[~tb]

I will be riding Timberline with Todd Brown from Wednesday, May 16 to Friday May18. Todd and I have been discussing our plans for the week and feel that Thursday evening would be an excellent time to meet up for Pizza and good Beer with some northwest carvers. Bryan had offered to coordinate this and we greatly appreciate it. We will be testing some new plate concepts and components while at Timberline and would appreciate any help locating all the best places to test gear. I have been to Timberline in the summer a couple of times, so I am not terribly familiar with the mountain. I look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces.

I'm looking forward to this trip and hoping we can meet up with some of you both on and off the hill!

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Excellent guys!! Gavin was up today and said the snow was really good. Looks like clear warm weather in Portland for the next 10 days or so!! I will start to make some calls to see if some of the regulars can meet up!!

Thanks for the update. If I can be of any help , please let me know. Bryan

[Dan]

Hey Sean and Todd, cool to hear that you're coming out to ride Timberline! And Bryan, good call on rallying the locals for pizza and beer night.

Sean and Todd, I don't know if you're staying in Portland or closer to the mountain, but here are a couple of potential spots in Portland.

-Vincente's: good pizza, extensive beer selection
-Hopworks Urban Brewery: pretty popular local microbrewery. Can be kid-heavy at times though.
-Apizza Scholls: Amazing pizza, but if your timing is off, you can wait a long time for a table here. Also, not that roomy if anyone wanted to show off any top-secret new snowboard equipment (hint, hint).

I'd lean towards Vincente's - any other preferences or thoughts from locals?

[Donek]

We have a room at the Best Western in Government camp. This is primarily so we can be close to the hill in the morning. I expect we'll be doing a lot of driving in the afternoons.

[astrokel]

Hey sounds like fun! Will temper the withdrawal from winter. Looking forward to seeing/meeting everyone.

Kelvin

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Hey sounds like fun! Will temper the withdrawal from winter. Looking forward to seeing/meeting everyone.

Kelvin

Cool Kevin!!! Looking forward to meeting you!! We have been missing for years.

Just got an email from Jim M. sounds like he will plan to be there too. He asked a good question. "Friends"?? Absolutely. Friends, wives, are certainly welcome. That question from Jim is due to my limits on folks invited to my home gatherings. I need to have met you prior to the invent. I just don't want to even be thinking about strangers when relaxing at home with friends.

Please contact those that I may not have thought of. Sounds like it is building!! Bryan

[GavinB]

Went to Timberline yesterday... only got there at 10 AM .... and rode up Magic Mile right away.
Got to the top and got a very rare work "EMERGENCY" call!!!
Two of my staff went AWOL on a CRITICAL day ....
Needless to say I had to rush down to my car and drive home to sort out the mess from afar !
Unfortunately the snow was really nice on the way down ...and it was hard for me to go to the car.
YESTERDAYS Snow Phone Report at 7 AM said 25 degrees and light winds ...if I remember correctly..
and the snow was great on Magic Mile at 10 AM !!

After a very (rare for me) stressful day ...till 10PM .... I sorted everything out ...saved the day ...and everything is good again!
So off I went to Timberline again today.
Snow phone at 7AM ..IF I remember correctly said something like 32 degrees already ...and NO winds were predicted..
So I thought it would be PERFECT at 9 AM ...
Well I met up with Randy (1st time) at the bottom of Magic Mile about 9:15am or so and we rode up Magic Mile...
It was really ICY and NOT good for either of us.
We did a few not very enjoyable runs ...then sat down at the top of Magic Mile for a while ...
That still did not help ...so we rode at Stormin Norman for a little while and that was really fun.
Then back to Magic Mile and then it was really NICE !
The GROOM was pretty much PERFECT and WIDE ... and the snow had soften just enough to make it really good!!!
I know at 11am ...the time I was planning to leave ... it was still way to ICY for us ...
I think it may have been NOON by the time Magic Mile was good !
There was a COLD wind this morning that probably kept it ICY !
We did then did one run on Magic Mile ....
It looked nice from far ...but was far from nice.
It was not well groomed and was soft and NO fun ...
We went back to Magic Mile which was still good !!!

We had fun !
Randy tried to video me ... but his video skills are disastrous and I deleted them so that you would not get vertigo as he turned the camera sideways and upside down etc.
Anyway ... he did take one that was OK to post ...and I took one clip of him that I will post !
The view from the bottom of the Magic Mile Lift ...

This is the video clip of Randy on Magic Mile ...
OH !!! Sorry ... I have to find out how to do this first ...
I thought I could just upload it like a photo ..
So you will have to wait a bit for these two clips.
Sorry !!!

[GavinB]

OK ...I figured out the YOU TUBE thing ...so here are the two videos from today ...
(Sorry, but they are NOT very exciting) !!
This is Randy:

[GavinB]

and ...This is me (Gavin):

Hope to get more exciting ones in the near future!!

[Eporter]

Hey, I've got a T-Line pass, and want to ride! Beginning hardbooter, but I'll share gas and buy you a beer!

Looking to go anytime during the week, now that I'm laid off.