Timberline Ski Area, Oregon

Our motorhome is still in the shop in Junction City, so we went on a day trip in the car up to Mount Hood.  When we were at the Grand Canyon at the end of April, Dave discovered, as you may remember, that he couldn’t sleep at that altitude.  We cut that part of the trip short and moved south to a lower altitude at Camp Verde, AZ for a few days, and Dave made a quick recovery. 

After talking to a couple of doctors, Dave recently purchased a pulse-oxygen monitor.  It’s small and fits on the tip of your finger, like the ones they use at a doctor’s office or when you are in the hospital.

We drove up to Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood, which is at an elevation of 6000 feet.  It’s the highest place we could think of that is near home (about 1.5 hours each way).  We sat in the parking lot for about a half hour while Dave monitored his oxygen level, which went as low as 93 or 94%.  Interestingly, my oxygen level was 93% also, and I have all the lobes of my lung.  Dave is missing one lobe due to lung cancer surgery. 

When we got back to Government Camp, which is at an elevation of 4000 feet, his oxygen level went back to normal.   Dave will continue to monitor his oxygen level but the true test will be when we can travel to 6000 feet or higher and sleep there. 

Waterfall along the road up to Timberline

The Timberline parking lots were full, and we were surprised to see that some people were snowboarding or skiing.  After we got home, I read on Wikipedia and that Timberline is the only ski area in North America to offer year-round skiing.  Can that be true?

During the half hour we were at Mount Hood, the clouds moved in quickly and this first picture was our best.

In the picture it doesn’t look like there is enough snow for skiing, but (from Wikipedia) skiers, snowboarders, and sightseers ride up the Magic Mile chairlift to the Palmer Glacier and its lift, where most of the summer skiing takes place, particularly later in the season. In contrast to winter operations, the lifts are the busiest during the summer ski season Monday through Friday, mostly due to ski and snowboard camps. Besides organized clinics and camps, any intermediate or more advanced member of the public is welcome to ski or snowboard.

The front entrance of Timberline Lodge

There always seems to be scaffolding at Timberline

Summer ski hours are 7 am to 1:30 pm. During summer ski season, there is no novice or beginner terrain; low-intermediate terrain is available along the Mile. After approximately mid-June, it is necessary to walk at least part of the way to reload the Magic Mile, and feasible to ski to within a few hundred feet of the parking lot until mid-August. On warm days, most skiers leave by late morning due to soft and wet snow conditions. Public skiing is available, but rental gear may be limited. The Palmer lift is limited to skiers and snowboarders only (no foot passengers), with intermediate or greater skills.

The temperature at Timberline was 42 degrees and the wind was strong, which made it feel even colder.  A few people were walking on the trails at the mountain, but we pretty much stayed in the car except to take pictures!