2019-20 - Oregon - it never snows here and when it does, it sucks

[lucknau]

High altitude smoke south of Newberg on Tuesday.

[lucknau]

Looking east toward the Lionshead/Beachie Creek incidents.

[lucknau]

Vitrified dirt from power line arcing.

[lucknau]

Hagg Lake fire glowing under the bigger smoke cloud from the East.

[lucknau]

The Apocalypse will be orange.

[Supermoon]

At least all of my “don’t get tear gassed” kit is now functioning as my “don’t die from smoke inhalation“ kit.

[Supermoon]

Supermoo is/was a local, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt....but my sister lives above Camus and her husband works near the airport. She has trails a block from her house (mainly running trails that criss-cross everywhere, but not designed for MTB or on Trailforks), and some small lakes 5 minutes away nearby to run around or kayak in. North of her, not far is the Cold Creek complex. I went biking there a couple times. Lotsa dirt roads to criss-cross, some MTB trails are fun, and maybe there is some novelty skiing somewhat beyond there for a month or two in winter? It's real red-necky back on those dirt roads but quick access is decent. Maybe theres some less travelled gems out there, maybe it's just target practice and 4x4 heaven, I dunno.

I lived in PDX for a summer, it kinda bummed me out how long I had to drive for most things after work. Camus has a big paper mill in town, so it's not a quaint small town, but above that it's OK. But it's not remotely like living in PDX for quick access to great restaurants, music and rioting.

Camas to the airport probably wouldn’t be too bad. It’s trying to get into downtown from WA that is the real bitch. So depending on where they work (and their willingness to sit in traffic), you can definitely get a lot more land for your $ out there.

[PNW-skier78]

Anyone heard any rumors on how operations at meadows will work this year?


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[Bobcat Sig]

The answer for raising a kid with good schools and better access to recreation is Eugene ... with a snomo. Touring access down here midwinter sucks balls without one (and I’ll never get one, so, yeah it’s a 1:45 flight to SLC, arrive at 9 am MST, have old friends pick you up when you land and you’ll be half way up White Pine by 11 am) ... but the Doo (Hoodoo) is one of the best family oriented ski resorts for young children that I’ve ever seen. Before the shutdown I randomly found myself drinking beer with 4 other dads around the fireplace while our wives were out skiing (all different groups), our kids in various stages of passed out, playing with the life size board games, in the arcade, or on their own electronic devices. Tables with AC outlets for your crockpot full of animal or vegan chili simmering all morning. It’s worth the micro terrain being down there as it makes parenting and skiing pretty workable.

Spring / summer / fall down here are the bomb though ... endless camping hiking and MTB up the McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette drainages. MTB access within 1 hour of Eug is world class btw, but access in less than 30 mins sucks balls (at least until we get our city MTB park in the south hills in the next couple of years).

EUG is probably not something your wife can swing for work, but I thought I’d plant mental seeds for you anyways.

A preemptive welcome to the newborn parenting and PNW life!

PS, stuff costs more in PDX than SLC, and paychecks aren’t usually comparably higher than SLC - your home equity exchange won’t be even close to 1:1 unless you get an hour away from PDX. A small 1930’s craftsman in a decent but property crime afflicted northeast Portland neighborhood will likely still run for more than a modern 4/2 house in upper Olympus highland area that never sees as much as stolen glass recyclables from the recycling bin (sorry if I fucked up the neighborhood name, I know them all just don’t know what they are called heh). Also, PDX traffic is very real and very much sucks balls going the wrong way at the wrong time. It might be offset a bit (vastly improved from pre pandemic levels) in the near term with all the work from home shift that’s happened, but I’m not optimistic for the next 20 years that the local infrastructure plans will keep up with increasing demand and development in the region. Good transit planning simply can’t outsmart terrain topography and low property taxes in Washington state vs high property taxes in Multnomah County ... Keep that in mind for your location planning.

For the tl;dr crowd from a guy that was born and raised here and returned after nearly 20 years in Montana - the PNWet has been discovered. Housing is in short supply. And bring money. It's the new North Northern California.

Anyone heard any rumors on how operations at meadows will work this year?


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Not much, but likely to be similar to during the late stages of last season; reservation system.

[PNW-skier78]

I am hoping no need for a reservation on non holidays mid week or weekend in the 2nd half of the season.


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[jonesy]

Word on the street/internet. No reservations but pass holders have priority.

[Grizz]

I have a strong "feeling" MHM will significantly limit capacity especially on weekends, with time specific lift access to reduce congestion. Advanced sale only.

With La Nina on tap, and lower density of folks, this could be the best quality product we have seen in years.

[jonesy]

Here's Bachelors plan.

https://www.mtbachelor.com/culture/m...blog?page=2821

[Bobcat Sig]

Here's Bachelors plan.

https://www.mtbachelor.com/culture/m...blog?page=2821

That's not terrible. I guess it's the nudge I need to spring for an IKON pass and be yet another part of that hated horde.

All that's left to do is a rain dance to knock down the fires, and then think snow!

[jonesy]

Hoping for the best. Baselodge at the car. Just add snow.

[Bobcat Sig]

Hoping for the best. Baselodge at the car. Just add snow.

Indeed. I'll just roll over with the truck + party box. If you see it, knock as ask for change.

[TBS]

Sounds like they aren't going to require advance reservations to ski. Just a reservation to park...

[Toadman]

That's not terrible. I guess it's the nudge I need to spring for an IKON pass and be yet another part of that hated horde.

All that's left to do is a rain dance to knock down the fires, and then think snow!

You will want the Ikon Pass and not he base pass. Sounds like more restrictions for anything other than the full season pass though.

Resort Access and Parking
To ensure the wellbeing of all and protect the longevity of the season we are taking a number of actions to manage volume and enable physical distancing. We are significantly limiting the number of single-day dated tickets we make available and we are not planning to sell undated tickets, like in years past. We have increased the typical number of black-out days on Ikon Base pass visitation, 12-Day and 4-Day passes, and limited the sale of the 4-Day pass. We are also implementing an online car parking reservation system. Please note this is a “car” and not an individual passholder reservation system. This system means that whether you’re coming up for a Cone lap, a few powder runs, a morning Nordic ski, or a lesson, you will need a car reservation to let us know you’re coming. Doing so will help us track and manage overall resort visitation levels. The full details of our parking reservation system are forthcoming, and we will share more information in the coming weeks.

[puma]

I've not given it a bunch of thought, but it seems strange to be restricting access via parking. Doesn't that encourage people to carpool that would otherwise drive and not be breathing air of those they don't live with? I wonder how they will estimate how many people per car to know what the crowds will be?

My plan, for a variety of reasons, was no pass. It seems like this will make things difficult for me and the family.

[Toadman]

Sounds like they aren't going to require advance reservations to ski. Just a reservation to park...

Time to load up the minivans and buses!

Will be interesting to see how the uphill policy evolves for the winter. I like to get up there pre-dawn for a hike before work, with the usual 20-40 like minded souls. So, how is that going to work?

[::: :::]

Time to load up the minivans and buses!

Will be interesting to see how the uphill policy evolves for the winter. I like to get up there pre-dawn for a hike before work, with the usual 20-40 like minded souls. So, how is that going to work?

maybe they'll have a 6a-9a parking res for west lot?
and how does RV'ing work? [it seems like they've been pretty supportive to date what with bathrooms avail etc]

[TBS]

Sounds like they aren't going to require advance reservations to ski. Just a reservation to park...

OK, I'm now hearing that reservations to ski will be required too - guidance to be announced after the deadline for season pass refunds have passed...

[thefortrees]

OK, I'm now hearing that reservations to ski will be required too - guidance to be announced after the deadline for season pass refunds have passed...

Got to lock in that cash flow, dick move.

[SchralphMacchio]

I've not given it a bunch of thought, but it seems strange to be restricting access via parking. Doesn't that encourage people to carpool that would otherwise drive and not be breathing air of those they don't live with? I wonder how they will estimate how many people per car to know what the crowds will be?

My plan, for a variety of reasons, was no pass. It seems like this will make things difficult for me and the family.

It seems like it would encourage that if parking is gonna be limited, which it is at Sunrise ...

Also, of course they won’t announce any plans to address congregation in the parking lots. It’s one thing to shoot the shit for a few mins with a buddy you haven’t seen in a bit, but it’s another when a horde of brosephs is having a close knit safety meeting and crushing a 30-rack ... and that’s the kind of thing that’s been driving local outbreaks. I guess they are saying “wear masks and distance” even outdoors on resort grounds but they aren’t saying if they are going to be having mountain hosts or security enforcing that. The only reason I bring this up is not because I wanna police everything, it’s that this kind of behavior is what’s gonna drive up hospitalization rates in Deschutes County.

And then what happens to pass holders if Bend ICU bed count runs low again like it did back in July, and the county public health department forces the resort to close? What do they do for pass holders? What do they do for uphill access?

Too many questions, too many variables - lots of uncertainty. If you can deal with that, cool.

I won’t go into the season pretending like everything is gonna work out like the resort is trying to describe it ...

Will basically plan for no resort time and lift served days I/family get will be a bonus.

[puma]

Will basically plan for no resort time and lift served days I/family get will be a bonus.

I agree. I am in a new area, so will try to jump around with the family, checking out the scene, if\when it's possible, but counting on nothing. (A money-saving winter at least) Otherwise, I am 2\3rds of the way to my hiking setup. (Wait, didn't I just say a money-saving winter? Oops...) If nothing else, this was good to get me moving in that direction after years of talk, and no action!

I may still get a week down in Bend and hopefully tourons will be able to get a ticket in advance. The week between xmas and New Years, I wonder if it will be busy?