Wow, Spring in Oregon. Forget about Cascade Concrete. If the long range forecast is based on La Nina...buy a season pass at an Oregon ski area. Last Thursday wasn't epic, but it was realllllly good. Eight inches new, blue skies. People pay jillions to hit this kind of day. We can just check the report and bust on up to the "mountain" for a few hours of bliss.

Gotta love it. I will be back for more as long as they keep the Six Pack running.

Arne

User Photos (click to enlarge)

We went on Superbowl Sunday and can only think of words like "phenomenal" "glorious" there was enough powder to make Richard Pryor light his head on fire. We still got back to Eugene in time to see Tyree make his circus catch and Eli toss game winner to P. Burress

You have to love a ski resort that will tell you it is raining on a Saturday morning. As did Willamette Pass today. With webcams and highway reports no one should be surprised by erroneous reports these days. Still, it is incredible that a resort would be this honest. Those that complain about WP reporting must have some other axe to grind. As for planning your trip, WP's Peak 2 chair is only 300 feet lower than the base of Bachelor. So, skiing on some of the best terrain in the state is comparable to what you will find at Bachelor, at a fraction of the cost, and rarely any lines to speak of. On the Eagle Peak Accelerator you can rack up over 13,000 vertical per hour if your body and ability can match the terrain and the fastest lift in the Region!

I respect a ski area operator that has the courage to tell the public how it really is, when you are only a bit over an hour away there is no reason to BS your customers. Congratulations to the "Pass."

If you check Tripchek for road conditions you will get an accurate reading on where the snow-zone is. Rarely is it snowcovered for more than the last twelve miles, starting at the "trestle" at milepost 50. WP often says chains are required when in fact that only applies to multi-axel trucks and those pulling trailers. Better safe than sorry I guess WP figures. It is the most well maintained highway over the Cascades with the majority of truckers taking 58 instead of the multiple climbs and disaster you find going often over the Siskyous. With the addition of many new passing zones in both directions I even take 58 to Bend more often than Santiam. As last week there were multiple closures on that road.

Hope this information helps some of you make your skiing and travel decisions.

In my last post I mentioned lodging at Shelter Cove. This is the closest lodging to skiing off of Mt. Hood. There are at least five places to stay within about 8 miles of WP. Again, visit Manley's for a true woodsy experience, but don't count out the bars at Crescent Lake Resort or Odell Lake Resort. Homey, not expensive, a good place to chill after fun at the Pass.

If you know me, you know I have no reason to bullshit. About anything. My first turns were at Willamette Pass. The last turns I made were there last weekend...absolutely incredible. Easily half of my top ten runs in my life have been at Willamette Pass. The others?
Les Arcs, France - six feet of new just before the 1992 Olympics opened. La Parva, Chile - 15 inches of 15 degree snow at 13,000 feet in August.
Val Thorens, France - nearly whiteout conditions. 4000 feet of vertical without a tree, up to our waist. You get the picture. I have matched each of those experiences at the local hill. Try the time we had 108 inches new after a monster storm. Fifteen degrees. Snorkle time for first tracks down Northern Exposure. Made my son take the day off from school for part of his education.

Willamette Pass has the terrain and it gets the snow. Just last Saturday? 20 degrees, and they only reported 8 inches new. I had at least 40 face shots. Still finding untracked in SDN or West Peak at 2pm. Try to match that ANYWHERE?

This spot is wonderous. I read a lot of whining. If you are going to compare it to resorts owned by mega-corporations you will find deficiencies. I say, shut up and get skiing. I had 15,000 vertical in before lunch last Saturday. Without a helo. This place is owned by one wallet. The guy could be doing anything else with the MILLION$ invested so you whiners can complain about not having a shelf to put your gloves in when you pee. You would forget them anyway.

You want atmosphere? The bar was made by true craftsmen who cut, trimmed, sanded the golden oak and installed the cut crystal glass that reflects the mountain glow off Eagle Peak from March until closing - sometimes that is in May. The service was great, the waitresses could work at a resort anywhere. You can't beat Jubule Ale...even if it is $4.25 a glass. Its a ski resort.

Try the Call of the Wild. If they make it right you will howl at the moon. Just don't overdo it or you won't be out racking up non-stops in SDN after lunch. Dare ya.

Find anywhere in America that has better terrain at better value? Check my list of resorts before you brag about your somewhere. Oh, I forgot they didn't have Alta on the list. Willamette Pass is Oregon's Alta. Old school, kick ass, people who ski for the core experience? You can hear the tele crowd laughing in the woods. Who needs a terrain park, whiners? The whole 550 acres has more drops, natural rails, cliffs than you can handle. Oh, I forgot you want crap where your buddies can ooooh and ahhh at you. Try the trees between Goodtimes and High Lead. Try the Dragon's Back. Rip it down Cherokee Ridge. Try Way to F%$#ing Harry. Yeah, you won't find these names on the trail map. Why clue weenies into the good stuff.

If you can walk the walk? Ski Willamette Pass. Ski it, Ride it, Live it! For real...

oh, and for Apres Ski? Where in the world can you match the ambiance at Manley's Tavern? Get the chicken and jojos - gulp down the hot mustard. Gooooood stuff. Post your photo of a 20 pound lake trout or 4 pound Brown. Chicks will dig it. Mix with the snowmobile crowd.

Lodging? Try the Kokanee Lodge at Shelter Cove Resort. Doesn't get any better. Anywhere. I have lived in Aspen "Dog" and this place is skiing at its core.

Family Atmoshpere? Where can you find the combination of a Magic Carpet, Sleepy Hollow, and a 1.2 mile beginner run at this price? Not Breckenfridge or Vail? Plus you can't get lost deciding which lodge you are going to meet at for lunch.

Good enough for me. Good enough for my son Ketchum. Oh, and he has skied on three continents too. Love's Willamette as much as I do.

Look me up, I will give you the tour of places that will leave your jaw dislocated. That is before we go off piste.

User Photos (click to enlarge)

The terrain is ok but 2 of the 3 lifts are very slow. The place is quite understaffed. Expect to stand in lines. A lot.

Don't expect to see the "terrain park" until the spring.

As soon as the lifts close, the place is dead. There is no apres ski. At all. You can drive to Oakridge but there isn't anything to do there either. So all of the people who wrote reviews and rated the apres ski as anything higher than 1 don't know what they are talking about.