I was jolted awake by the snowcat arriving a few yards away from my truck/sleeping quarters. What I realized was the gnome was a bad influence for having me eat and drink before climbing. I stumbled out of the car grabbing my gear along with Mookie the gnome and jumped in the front of the snowcat. My friend and long time Timberline employee, Brad, was driving and let me take a photo with him and the little guy.

Some say it’s cheating to not start climbing from Timberline. I just call myself lazy and would be happy to take a helicopter to the summit if the National Forest Service would allow it. We get to the 8504ft level and again I start thinking about going back down to fall asleep. This time it is the promise I made to my lady that motivates me to keep on going.

I put on my skins and clicked into my ski bindings to start heading up towards the summit. Since I was solo I decided it would be best to head up the south side, safest route, to the summit. A little below Crater Rock, 9800ft elevation, I heard “Let me out of here man!” This startled me because there was no one climbing close to me. I set my pack down and pulled out Mookie the gnome to see if I was going crazy or if he was really alive. Turns it was just my crazy mind playing late night tricks on me. I blamed sleep deprivation.

I put the little guy back and continued on to the summit. I ended up summiting just before 5.30am. This was fantastic because I watched part of the sunrise from the tip top of Oregon. However this left me with almost 6 hours to kill before the snow would soften making for an enjoyable ski down. I was lucky that there was no wind and pulled my jacket over my head to catch some shut eye.

It was about 10am when I heard “Is he dead? I’m not sure but I call dibs on his skis if he his.” The party leader of this group woke me up to ask if I was OK and began laughing when he saw me sleeping with a gnome in my arms. I told them the story about why I climbed to the summit with Mookie while they took photos with the little dude. Right about this time my friend John hits the summit via the Leuthold’s Couloir route. I was super pumped because it is the line I wanted to ski and now I had someone to ski it with. We waited till about 12pm for the snow to soften and I said goodbye to Mookie and left him to greet all other summit visitors.

John and I skied the Leuthold Couloir with some of the best conditions I had ever seen. We traversed out onto the Reid Glacier and exit through the Illumination Saddle. The skiing back to Timberline was perfect corn and was the cherry on top of a perfect day. Standing in the parking lot I began smiling with two thoughts; one I had finally fulfilled a lon overdue promise to my lady and two the laughs that would come from all the summiteers over the next few days who will have Mookie to greet them when they reach the top of Oregon.

Looks like Asit has completed the Outdoorsy Stuff requirement of the Oregon 150 Challenge! Just one category left!

“This is the best snow I have ever ridden!”  was my favorite quote overheard in the lift line at Mount Hood Meadows last week.  After a roller coaster of weather between January and February my man Jack Frost has decided to give it one last hurrah before the arrival of spring.  The last three weeks have seen storm cycles that dropped huge amounts of cold and dry powder.  These storms were followed by cold temperatures and sunshine making it a riders dream, giving us the best conditions in all the west.

Anyone who thinks winter in Oregon is over, think again!

The snow is great and so are the deals on the mountain.  With the Unlimited Spring Pass lasting through May 25th at Timberline for $99, Fusion Spring Pass combining Timberline and SkiBowl for $179, to the Unlimited $99 Spring Pass at Mount Hood Meadows which also gives a $10.00 credit for use anywhere at the resort there is no excuse why all the riding dreams cannot be fulfilled in this late blooming winter.

So to all the Oregon dreamers, get out and enjoy the beauty of the mountains!  In these tough economic times it is good to know that not only do we have the best snow in the west but the deals as well.

Photography by Randy Boverman, http://randyboverman.com/

Opening Day, Mt. Hood Meadows

You must have been doing your snow dance, because Oregon’s mountain resorts are starting to open for the year! With snow already piling high on Oregon’s peaks, this will surely be another epic year! So far, here is the update on resorts that are currently open:

1. Bachelor: 7 inches in the last 24 hours; Pine Marten Express and Sunshine Accelerator is scheduled to open at 8:30 am today. There will be action on Thunderbird and Skyliner Runs. Home Run and a medium jib park is open, accessed by Sunshine Accelerator. Other trails will have deep snow and also exposed rocks and hazards (it’s been a light and dry snowfall) – Keep on the open runs.

2. Meadows: Meadows opened for the season Sunday with three lifts – Buttercup, Easy Rider and Daisy (and the Wondercarpet) operating.

3. Timberline: Bruno’s and Pucci are Open 9AM-3PM and Molly’s is open 9AM-2:30PM.

For updated conditions, check SkiOregon.org or follow us on Twitter.