The Great White Gorge
by david sword
Rather than moving to warmer climes or becoming reclusive during the winter season, many Columbia Gorge residents simply hang up one set of gear and take down another. Skiing or snowboarding are as popular an activity as cycling and sailing. When the calendar pages are turned from the fruit bearing months, snow sport enthusiasts wax up the bases, bundle up the core and head to the big hill looming to the south.
The topography of the Columbia Gorge environment is diverse, and the terrain of each of the local winter resorts reflects that. Of all the peaks that make up the Cascade mountains, Mount Hood is one of the few with resort development. Mount Adams, although geographically closer to the Columbia Gorge, is primarily a wilderness area, with no mechanical developments.
Long awaited accolades, like Skiing Magazine naming Hood River a “Top 5 American Ski Town,” are changing the collective opinions about local resorts. No longer a 2nd tier choice for snow-riders, the increasingly popular resorts on Mount Hood are in a progressive state of development. They offer the amenities one would expect from elite winter resorts elsewhere, like ski patrol, rentals, learning centers, day care, eateries and retail shops.
MT. HOOD MEADOWS
11 lifts (five high speed), six freestyle parks, 2,150 acres, 2,777 vertical feet
85 named runs : 15% Easiest, 50% Intermediate, 20% Advanced, 15% Expert
Often referred too as Oregon’s premiere winter resort, Mt. Hood Meadows (MHM) offers up an assortment of terrain, including wide open rolling groomed runs, steep alpine bowls and tree skiing. Sprinkled about the more than 2,000 acres are six freestyle terrain parks of varying difficulties. The lodge services at the resort compliment the diversity of the terrain and include a daycare, a top tier ski school, rentals, retail shops, several eateries and an on-mountain medical clinic staffed by Providence Medical professionals. The overall experience at Mt. Hood Meadows is polished, professional and progressive.
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