By Aly Ferris
It's that time of year again. You have somehow managed to procure a season pass, a new pair of ski boots, a fancy new jacket and some flashy wool socks. Never mind the fact that your friends and family will all be getting homemade pinecone and peanut butter birdfeeders for Christmas because you spent your present budget on yourself at the Ski Fever and Snowboard Show last weekend. It's time to go skiing.
But how to get from a dorm room full of new ski gear to a chairlift? Luckily for you, as a UP student, you've got options.
Option #1: UP Ski Bus
Tickets will go on sale next week for UP's increasingly popular Ski Bus. Last year, 92 students signed up, enough to fill two buses, according to Brian Dezzani, director of Recreational Services. Tickets have sold out the past two years, so if you're planning on getting one, do it quick.
"It's a great way to spend a Friday afternoon and evening bonding with UP students," Dezzani said in an e-mail. "We have nights when we watched the sun set over the mountains, we have had nights with big, fluffy snowflakes, we have even had rain, but every night we have had fun." Last year, $95 covered night-skiing lift tickets and transportation to Mt. Hood Meadows for four Friday nights in February. Buses leave UP at 3 and 3:30 p.m. and return to campus around midnight. This year's prices have yet to be determined.
Option #2: Carpool
With Mt. Hood only a 90-minute drive from campus, many UP students make their way up the mountain during the winter months, but gas can be expensive. Carpool and the ride up will be cheaper (and more fun) for everybody. Just don't forget to turn off the radio while driving through Silent Rock. You know what happened to those other kids...
Also, don't forget to get your 2008-2009 Sno-Park permit. Prices range from $3 for a single-day permit to $20 for an annual permit if you buy directly from the DMV. You may end up paying a few bucks more if you wait until you get to the mountain to buy your permit. Tickets for not having the permit are $30, making every permit option cheaper than not having one.
Option #3: Park and Ride
Mt. Hood Meadows is offering a shuttle bus from three locations around the Portland Metro area on weekends and holidays this winter. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the web site and are not yet available for the 2008-2009 season. Visit http://www.skihood.com for more information about locations and shuttle times.
Option #4: Craigslist
Under the "Community" heading, click "Rideshare" and search for "Mt. Hood." People have already started posting carpool ads for the upcoming ski season. Just be careful, as with any craigslist find, you never know who is on the other end of the ad. If you're going with this option, take a friend. Two missing people will cause more suspicion than just one.
You've got your gear, you've got your pass, you've got a ride up the mountain and the snow is on its way, according to the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. At their 16th Annual Winter Weather Meeting, held in October at OMSI, the meteorologists traced trends in this winter's weather to trends of previous years that had good snow levels, reported the Mt. Hood Meadows' blog. According to the meteorologists cited on the blog, slightly higher precipitation levels and slightly lower temperatures on the mountain forecast a good snowfall this year for the Pacific Northwest.
However, as of press time, Mt. Hood Meadows had no snow at its base and only two inches at mid-mountain. No opening date has been set, and its online snow report claims, "Waiting for snow to open!" At this point, the only ski resort open on Hood is Timberline Lodge, which opened its Palmer Snowfield for the first time all season last weekend.
