Summer Adventure Circuit with Jess - Day 2: Skiing at Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge

The first time I came to Mount Hood was when I was 16 with a Camp Orkila trip - we backpacked around the mountain on the Timberline Trail as part of the camp. I remember being fascinated by the Timberline Lodge and the fact that people ski here all summer and use it as a training area for summer months. Flash forward thirty years and I'm back as a guest and Jess and I planned a ski day for our trip - because the novelty of it is just so thrilling! It is a one-hour drive from the Edgefield and we were skiing at 9:00 on what was promising to be a hot day on the slopes. They have two chairlifts open and service terrain on the Palmer Glacier with the lift running up to 8500'. It is wild to start out at 6000' with lava rock below and no snow underfoot - getting on the chairlift via a carpet situation because there is no snow. But as the chairlift ascends, the glacier appears and there is skiable terrain mixed amongst lava piles. It is quite wild. The cinder cone of Mt. Hood looming above it very dramatic and there are views for miles and miles southwards along the chain of peaks from Jefferson to the Sisters to Bachelor. The snow was not amazing and it got slushy and inconsistent by mid-morning. But it was still so fun to be up skiing on the mountain in the beautiful sunshine and warm weather. I even ran into my friend, Jason, which was a total surprise (last spotted at the javelin area of WESCO South champs). After lunch, Jess and I got back on the slopes for the quintessential bikini ski pictures and they did not disappoint. It wasn't even cold and feeling the wind as we rushed down the slopes was exhilarating. 

Afterwards we checked into the hotel and hung out at the lovely pool and hot tub for the rest of the afternoon before exploring the lodge, getting dinner at the best table in the Ram's Head, and wandering up the slopes to peak at the wildflowers (phlox) and the views. What a treat to stay in this absolutely stunning lodge - built in 1936-38 by the WPA with hundreds of artisans and craftsmen in the "Cascadia" style. It was used for the outside shots of the Overlook Hotel in the "Shining" and we got to pose with the axe from the movie. I hope to come back here sometime in the winter to sit beside the fire in the roaring six-sided fireplace!