North America, late June or early July?

[The Dad]

Coming back from an ACL tear and would love to get a couple of days on snow this summer. I don't have much time to get away, though, so a hemispheric jump is out of the question, and earning my turns isn't the right option for me right now either (sorry, Dook).

What reasonably priced options do I have? Beartooth Basin comes to mind, but I've never been and have no idea even where to stay. Maybe there's a cat skiing operation somewhere?

[abraham]

Hood? It's a bit closer than Montana.

[GoldMember]

Hood is probably about it. You could get on the glaciers at Whistler but it's not much, unless you're in a camp.

[The Dad]

Yeah, Hood is the other obvious option. Anyone been to both Hood and Beartooth and can compare?

[DasBlunt]

A basin is still open weekends.

[Mike_Records]

Beartooth is much steeper than Hood. Its small though: one day inbounds, two if you have a long attention span. A lifetime of road assist and backcountry there too. Lots of easy car camping on either side of the pass. Definitely worth checking out, feels like a trip back in time!

[Mike_Records]

Beartooth is much steeper than Hood. Its small though: one day inbounds, two if you have a long attention span. A lifetime of road assist and backcountry there too. Lots of easy car camping on either side of the pass. Definitely worth checking out, feels like a trip back in time!

Linky to trip report from a few years ago at Beartooth.

[Ottime]

Have you been to Hood? If it is just Palmer, it is pretty boring unless you want to do a little work to get back to the lift. The run is about as smooth as you can get, and there are race camps set out in lanes. So it is basically just novelty skiing. The best parts IMO were lookers left of the lift, but that generally required some around the volcano traverse hiking to get back to the lift. The drainages were not deep, so it was not bad. And the funnel down to the parking lot was pretty fun. Then you had to walk across the lot to the service lift to get back up to the snowfields. It was grey the day I was there, and raining a bit, so hiking toward the summit was not an option. From what I have seen in pictures Beartooth looks way more fun.

[shafty85]

Why not just wait until next season? It would suck to rush yourself back, if you're not yet 100%, and re-injure yourself for some June turns... I'd just continue to rehab all summer and be roaring to go come fall/winter. Just my $0.02.

[The Dad]

Linky to trip report from a few years ago at Beartooth.

Sweet.

As for my attention span, well, I've skied at least 300 days at Alpine Meadows over the past 10 years without getting bored.

[~mikey b]

git sum Dad!

[The Dad]

That's the plan, man. Hoping my ortho signs off....

[Shredhead]

The trouble with summer skiing, some days suck. Plan a multi sport trip. If the skiings good, great, if's not, do something else.

[GoldMember]

The trouble with summer skiing, some days suck. Plan a multi sport trip. If the skiings good, great, if's not, do something else.

This. For one thing, the skiing is usually only decent to around noon. At Hood, you can ski in the morning, mountain bike in the afternoon or, if you're into it, wind surf in the Gorge.

We went to Whistler last summer for a week, took our skis, hiking gear, and golf clubs. The skiing, for the money, wasn't worth it so we never skied but hiked around a lot on Blackcomb and surrounding area, went for a jet boat ride with Pehota http://www.whistlerjetboating.com/ and played a couple rounds of golf. Still lots of things to do in the summer, even if the skiing isn't worthwhile, which it won't be after noon.

[hutash]

Definitely think about the multisport aspect. Cycling is great PT for knee injuries, though road is probably better then MTB in that repect.

[Buster Highmen]

After my acl surgery, my knee was weak for quite a while. So I'd recommend Hood for mellower skiing. The skiing up Beartooth Pass is rad, but it's more than I'd have wanted to do. I couldn't really even ski moguls for almost a year.

Hood has a lot to offer in the area. First, there's Portland an hour away which is a great little city; food, beer, Willamette Valley wines and produce. Then there's Timberline lodge itself which is cool, has a nice restaurant and bar. Hood River is a hip little burg with more good beer and food and windsurfing/kiting and great mtn biking. The actual Hood River valley is really beautiful agri zone, satisfying to be in. Cooper Spur is cool too with easy access to the snow dome. Then there's all the river systems all around Hood like the Clackamas and hot springs like Bagby.

Bear Tooth Pass to Cooke city is really cool if you've never been, the actual skiing is better there for steeps and the fishing is fantastic. But it is the b00ns for sure.

[The Dad]

Thanks for the suggestions, all -- especially the road vs MTB. I've been torn between starting to do one or both, and maybe now I've got the reason to go road.

Ortho cleared me yesterday. Need to get fitted for a brace, but we'll see. Fortunately, just a partial tear, and rehab has been going pretty damned well. (My PT was shocked when he saw how much I could leg press; I guess that's what a decade of skiing 40-60 days will do.)

[Mike_Records]

On the multi-sport front, the road ride up Beartooth Pass is great. Really enjoyed that one.

[Buster Highmen]

Thanks for the suggestions, all -- especially the road vs MTB. I've been torn between starting to do one or both, and maybe now I've got the reason to go road.)

NPI?....

[Greydon Clark]

If you’re confident you can mountain bike, the single track outside Oakridge, Oregon is really good and kind of on the way to Hood. A local company offers shuttles to various trailhead which get you some free vert.

[The Dad]

Heh.....