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!

Cross-Country Skiing

The sun came out this morning and the weather was beautiful.  We drove the fifteen miles to the ski path.  After we got our gear on, we set out.  The first part of the trip was slightly uphill, which was fine with us.  It was the return trip that caused me frustration.  I got going a little too fast on the slight downhill, and fell twice.  When I fell, I couldn't get back up unless I took my skis off.  But I couldn't easily get my skis off.  Since the boots and bindings were new, I'm not as familiar with how to release the boots.  Dave had to help me both times.  I also have a hard time getting back up again once I've fallen.  So the two falls weren't too much fun.

On the up side of the adventure, I didn't have any shortness of breath.  The scenery was beautiful with snow on the trees.  New snow fell last night, so there was a cleanness and freshness to the path.  On the down side, my body from the waist down is aching, probably from the falls as much as from the skiing.  We were on the path for two hours, but part of that time was trying to get back up again. 

We went for a walk around the RV park.  It's a beautiful setting with lots of trees and mountains in the background. 

The pool and fitness center:

The lodge with meeting room and recreation area:

Are We Skiing Yet?

No, not yet.  We are staying at Mt. Hood Village RV Resort in Welches, OR, for a few days.  When we arrived today around noon, our towed car, a Honda CRV, had a dead battery.  Dave got it charged by manuevering the motorhome to charge the car.  Then he sent me off to drive the car to build up a charge on the battery.  I decided to drive the 15 miles or so to Government Camp and check and see how much snow was there.  I scouted out a few places for cross-country skiing and decided that the trail that we used last time at Ski Bowl West is the best spot for us.  The rain that we had all morning was turning to snow in Government Camp, which is at about 4000 feet, and they had quite qa bit of snow on the ground. 

When I got back from the battery charging drive and scouting mission, Dave decided that we should go to Les Schwab in Sandy, OR (about fifteen miles back the direction we had just come) to buy a new battery.  Our battery was five years old and he didn't want to take any chances getting stranded in the cold weather.  By the time we got the new battery installed and had a late lunch, it was after 3, so no skiing for us today!

Instead we did a workout at the very nice fitness center at the park and then went for a swim in the very nice indoor pool, followed by a relaxing sit in the jacuzzi.  It is weird to be in the indoor pool and watch the rain come down outside.  Then we came back to the RV and washed our swimsuits and towels in the very nice Splendide washer-dryer in our rig.  Three hours later, they were washed and dried.  It takes a l..o..n..g time to wash and dry, but that's okay, because it's better than having to rig up a clothesline inside the RV, which we have done many times in the past.