April 18-20,2007 Bachelor,Timberline,Hood Meadows

Last weeks forecast was for a low freezing level and snow, which seemed ideal for a road trip to ski areas with a high base elevation for lift skiing. We still had a few Shell 2 for 1 coupons and the lifts were still turning at Bachelor, Timberline and Mt. Hood Meadows. I must admit we do enjoy riding lifts when it’s cheap and appropriate. We convinced another, younger, retired couple to join us for the trip. They have a campervan identical to ours so the vans looked like a pair of twins in the ski area parking lots. The trip down to Bachelor was a mix of rain, sun and snow flurries.

Wednesday is Shell day at Bachelor. We parked at the base at 6300’, and it was blowing and snowing lightly, with occasional sun breaks. Perfect! The Summit chair did not open, but the remaining quads were running including the Northwest Express. There was about 4” of new and the place was deserted. We skied from 9am to 2:30pm and never saw more than 1 or 2 other skiers/riders on any trail. It was a day of cruising on powder and packed powder with the wind and snow flurries covering our tracks after every run. Mid winter conditions in mid April. Great! Bachelor has excellent conditions and the Shell coupons are good until May 23.

The drive to Timberline was a repeat of yesterday - sun, rain and snow flurries. The 6 mile drive from Government Camp to Timberline was on a snow covered road with 5” of fresh powder. We arrived at the deserted parking lot in a blizzard. Fantastic!

Thursday was a Shell day and we bought 2 lift tickets for $36. We found a few inches of powder, sunshine and no wind. Three quads, the Palmer, Magic Mile and Stormin Norman, were running. The best snow was on Stormin Norman in the trees. Although it is a lower lift with mellow terrain, the tree skiing was wonderful. After a couple of hours, we cruised the upper quads and found that the groomers were packed powder and off the groomed it was stiff and crusty. Timberline runs 3 lifts daily depending on conditions and the coverage is excellent. I noticed the ridgelines are currently bare. The Shell coupons are valid Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday through May 24.

We decided to spend the evening at the nearby White River Snow Park with a great view of Mt. Hood. Friday was a sunny and brisk day. It was the last weekday at Mt. Hood Meadows, and we received a $10 discount by showing one of our season passes from another area. All of the quads, except Hood River Express, were operating. Conditions were packed powder on the upper slopes and corn on the lower slopes. I had forgotten how much terrain is available at Meadows. We cruised all over the mountain with excellent coverage. After lunch, we entered Heather Canyon through the A-Zone. WOW, perfect corn. Heather Canyon is gigantic and has so many steep lines that you could burn your quads within a few hours cycling the terrain. I can only imagine the frenzy on a powder day. By 2:30pm, we were ready to stop and start heading for White Pass and a backcountry tour. Meadows is currently operating only on weekends. It was a great spring powder adventure.

Thanks for the good report. I'll think I'll use my last Shell vouchers for Timberline.

Great photos!!