2013/2014 Mt. High Photos

See a 6-minute video highlighting almost everything the club has done in a single year. The video is now posted on our Videos page, under the title: "Mountain High Club 2011-2012".

NWSCC Ski Fair

Nov. 7, 2014  (Monday)

The annual Ski Fair is organized by the NW Ski Club Council.  It was held from 6:00 - 9:30 pm at the Conference Center next to the Airport Holiday inn on Columbia Blvd. This is a non-commercial event, organized by skiers for skiers. Each local ski club had a free booth here.  The theme was "Winter Wonderland", and our club was proclaimed the winner, as the most well decorated booth.  Thanks to all the volunteers who helped set it up and staff it throughout the evening.  Several new people joined the club this evening, and a lot of existing club members came to renew their membership and sign up for ski trips and/or for PACRAT racing.

We also held a drawing for a year of free club membership and the winner's name was drawn from the box at the end of the evening.  The winner is Al Hilliker, a new member!  Congratulations, Al.  Make the most of it!

Portland Ski Fever & Snowboard Show

Nov. 14-16, 2014  (Friday-Sunday)

It appeared that this year's show was somewhat less well attended and with somewhat fewer exhibitors.  The latter was probably because the Seattle Show was held on the same weekend, so ski resorts had to decide whether to attend the Portland or the Seattle show. The NW Ski Club Council booth was well decorated and there were flyers from various local ski clubs on the table.  A lot of volunteers from different ski clubs helped to staf the booth in 3 hour shifts.

Warren Miller Movie and a dinner

Oct. 24, 2014  (Friday)

This dinner and a movie event has been a tradition in our club for the past 10 or 20 years.  It's a great way to get the new ski season started. Sandra Smith organized the event.  She purchased 66 movie tickets, and about 30 people came to the pre-movie dinner.  Our usual venue for the dinner, the Silver Spoon Bistro (formerly known as the Trees Restaurant, and earlier as "Madison on 5th") went out of business unexpectedly, so we had to find an alternate loaction at the last minute.  We ended up going going to Pastini Pastaria, where the service was fast and efficient. Some of us enjoyed visiting with members of the Bergfreunde club who were also there, in a different section of the restaurant.  Later, the Warren Miller movie "No Turning Back" was full of death defying stunts and incredible steeps, as usual. It's all part of the tradition!  One of the new aspects of skiing covered this year was "Speed Riding" or "Spreed Flying", or "3D Skiing", combining parasailing and skiing.

Mt. High Seafood Party

Sept. 27, 2014  (Saturday)

Approximately 50 people attended our annual Seafood Party. This year, for the first time, it was held at the Community Center in Willsonville, just 2 minutes from the I-5 freeway.  Good company and good food.  The food came in 3 waves: first the appetizers, then the main course, and then dessert.  Most people brought something to share, and it was perfect!

Salmon Headwaters Cleanup

Sept. 13, 2014  (Saturday)

Over 30 people from all walks of life participated in this 4th annual cleanup of the Salmon Headwaters near Timberline's parking lot.  We met at the lower parking lot, the first one you come across, where Mt. Hood climbers usually park. We had a slow start, but got going by about 10:30 am, and we worked till about 1 pm.  We split up into two groups. One group was taken up to Silcox hut to help cleanup that area. The rest of us went into the first little canyon below the parking lot, where a lot of stuff gets blown into by the wind.

See a short 2-minute video / slide-show summarizing the whole event at: http://youtu.be/BAOTSxGJ6PE

This was not a Mountain High activity.  It was organized by the Snowrider Project.  See their Facebook Page.  But a couple of our members, Laura Whitehorn and Emilio Trampuz, participated.  This is just one of several charitable projects in which our members are involved, including Hope on the Slopes, the Oregon Cancer Ski Out, Ski to Defeat ALS, and others. On top of that our club also organizes a cleanup of 2 miles of Highway 26 just west of Government Camp (mileposts 51-53) twice a year.

See a short 2-minute video / slide-show summarizing the whole event at:

http://youtu.be/BAOTSxGJ6PE

Rafting weekend on the Deschutes River

Aug 21-24, 2014.

About 40 people attended this long weekend of rafting and frolicking in the sun on the Deschutes River at Maupin, Oregon.  On Saturday evening, a BBQ dinner was included. Gordon Lusk, the event organizer, did most of the cooking.
After dinner, Bruce Kuper showed his pictures and videos taken during the trip. This was projected onto an improvised large screen and it attracted a lot of attention from other campers at Maupin City Park.

Mt. High Picnic & bike ride

August 16, 2014  (Saturday)

It was a wonderful, sunny day.  Warm, but not too hot. The pre-picnic bike ride along the Willamette River from Sellwood bridge to the Steel Bridge and back was attended by 17 people.  Larry Bennett led the way.

Approximately 30 people showed up for the picnic, and lots of them brought fresh fruit and desserts. Yummy!  Thanks everyone!  We'll do it again next year!  See short video of the picnic and bike ride at: http://youtu.be/iQcFLZV1ooo.

See short video of the picnic and bike ride at: http://youtu.be/iQcFLZV1ooo

History Bike Tour

Timberline to Rhododendron

August 2, 2014  (Saturday)

There were 22 participants n thhis bike ride through the history of Oregon.  We rode on all the 3 historically significant roads on Mt. Hood, each representing a period of Oregon's history.

1. Barlow Road was part of the Oregon trail. Pioneers followed it to Oregon City.  (1845 - 1923)

2. Mt. Hood Loop Highway, the first real road around Mt. Hood (1923 - 1959)

3. Highway 26, the modern day highway that replaced the old Mt. Hood Loop Highway (1959 - today).

We all joined together for the middle part of this ride, from Government Camp over Laurel Hill to Kiwanis Camp Road. That was the historical part of the tour.  But, in addition to this, for the first few miles (from Timberline) and the last few miles (before Rhododendron), we split up into two groups.  Mountain bikers, led by Lisa Miller, followed a relatively narrow mountain bike trail, the Timberline to Town tail, while the road bikers, led by Emilio Trampuz, followed a paved road all the way (starting with West Leg Road, and ending with Road 39 which parallels highway 26. Everyone also experienced at least a portion of the Pioneer Bridle Trail.

Everybody had a good time.  The weather was perfect.  Warm but not too hot, and we spent a lot of time in the shade of trees.. We ended the tour with a lunch at the Still Creek Inn in Rhododendron.

At the end of this bicycle tour, we treated ourselves to a nice lunch at the Still Creek Inn in Rhododendron.

Bike to Dike Ride

July 19, 2014  (Saturday)

22 miles, 2 lakes, 1 park, 1 dike.   This fun ride was attended by about a dozen of us.  We started from Linneman Station in Gresham - right next to the Springwater trail, but we immediately took of to the north and north-east, without ever touching the Springwater trail.

We rode by Fairview lake (private) and through the Blue Lake park (public), and then along a dike behind Troutdale airport. Back in Gresham, we ended the ride with a lunch at the Cedarville Inn, where the food was excellent.

Row River / Dorena Lake Bike Ride

July 13, 2014  (Sunday)

Another fun bike ride in perfect weather!  But why only 4 people showed up?  It's probably another example of people being paralyzed by the weather forecast, which said it would be a very hot day, with temperatures in the 90s.

In reality, it was pleasantly cool.  Early in the morning, the temperature in Salem was only 61ºF.  By the time we reached Eugene, it had warmed up to 62º, but Cottage Grove is at the foothills of some cool hills, so the temperature went down to 60ºF. The hilltops were covered in a cool mist.  As the day progressed, the sun came out, and it did warm up to a comfortable 73ºF. At the end of the ride, by the time we had lunch at a picnic table in the shade of trees at the trailhead, it had warmed up to about 78º.   So much for a hot day!  It was as pleasant as it could be!  Don't let yourself be dissuaded by the weather forecast next time!

Those of us who showed up had a great bike ride.  The rails to trails bike path was perfectly paved.  The views of Dorena Lake were magnificent.  And we also saw 2 or 3 covered bridges.  Karen and Terry saw more of them after lunch, but Patricia and Emilio decided to head home.  Note that the trail has been officially designated as a "Scenic bikeway".

Champoeg Park Bike Ride

June 28, 2014  (Saturday)

What a fun bike ride this was!  Too bad only 2 people showed up.  Why?  There could be two possible explanations:

a)  The weather.  Sure, it rained or drizzled in Portland from time to time. But, that was not a problem at all. The microscopic drizzle did not affect us at all. It was so insignificant, we barely noticed it.  Also, much of the ride was under the tree canopy, so we were protected from any moisture from above.  On top of that, the drizzle stopped and then we had some sunshine!  It was perfect.  Not too hot.  Just right!

b)   Could it be that people thought this would be a boring straight ride like in the old days?  If you rode your bike between Champoeg Park and Butteville some 20 years ago, the path was indeed straight and somewhat boring.  But that old path has been retired and returned to nature a long time ago.  It was replaced by this wonderful new paved trail that meanders through the forest in very interesting ways, passes very close to the Willamette River, and is a delight to ride.  If you missed it this time, don't miss it next time!

Mt. High Highway Cleanup

June 21, 2014  (Saturday)

Eleven people showed up for the twice-a-year highway cleanup.  This was our Spring cleaning.  We will have another one in the Fall, most likely in October.  We spent two hours picking up garbage along our 2 adopted miles of Highway 26 just west of Government Camp, between mileposts 51 and 53.  Afe that, we had lunch at the Taco Shoppe. Excellent burritos!  Did you know that all Mt. High members can get  $3 off any burrito.  Just identify yourself as a Mountain High members by showing your membership card.  See more member benfits on our Membership page.

NWSCC 35th Anniversary

June 18, 2014  (Wednesday)

The NW Ski Club Council is celebrating its 35th anniversary, so a cake was brought to the regular meeting, where the main focus was on recapping the Far West Convention, and holding elections for both the NWSCC and for the PACRAT Board.  

Far West Ski Association

Convention

June 12-15, 2014  (Sunday)

The annual FWSA Convention was held in Bend, Oregon this year, at the Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center. It was hosted by the Northwest Ski Club Council (NWSCC).   It was a busy long weekend (Thursday - Sunday) with lots of activities, starting with a Pub Crawl (hosted and led by Debbi Kor and the Mountain High Club). There was also hiking, golf, a shopping and dining excursion through Bend, and a Pool/River party.   This was followed by more serious work, such as the Silent Auction, the Travel Expo, the Educational seminars, a Public Affairs discussion, awards for Man and Woman of the Year, Safety Person of the Year, Club and Council Communications awards, and more.

Among the special guests were Billy Kidd (1964 Olympic silver medalist), Jess McMillan (Freeskiing World Tour Champion), Greg Coulter (Boots and More Performance), Curtis Norsen (Mt. Bachelor Patrol Diector and Risk Manager), John Gifford (President, Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association), Jordan Schweitzer (Mt. Bachelor Ski Team and FWSA Scholarship recipient), John Allen (Forest Supervisor, Deschutes National Forest), Matthew Drake (Mt. Hood Meadows CEO and National Ski & Snowboard Association Director for the Pacific Northwest),  Dave Ludwig (Hope on the Slopes Founder), and Ben Jacklett (Journalist, founder of ShredHood.org web site). At the Convention, Ben Jacklett won the Bill Berry Award for journalistic coverage of skiing and snowboarding, in the Hard News category.
 

See more Convention photos in the following Photobucket Album:

http://s1080.photobucket.com/user/mthigh/library/2014-FWSA-Convention

Mt. High

Silver Falls Hike

June 1, 2014  (Sunday)

Chris Brooks led this hike and 21 people attended. We hiked to 9 of the 10 waterfalls at the Silver Falls State Park. It was very good. Perfect hiking weather, warm but not too hot.  Great views of the waterfalls. We took lots of pictures. Chris treated us to some snacks both before we started on the hike as well as at the tail end.

Mt. High

Quarterly Social & Annual Elections

May 21, 2014  (Wednesday)

Approximately 50 - 60 people attended our quarterly social event at the Acapulco Restaurant, not far from Mall 205.

Debbi Kor was elected our club's President, replacing Kurt Krueger, who has served as President for the past 3 years. Debbi has been actively involved with our club for many, many years, mostly in the capacity of Social Activities Director, and NWSCC representative or liaison. She has also led Mt. High ski trips. She started the Highway Cleanup project for our club adopting 2 miles of Highway 26 near Government Camp.

For many years, she has also been active in the NWSCC (as Director of Special Events), and in the FWSA (as VP of Marketing). At the upcoming FWSA Convention, she will be leading the Pub Crawl event.

Timberline Side-country Adventures

April - May, 2014 

Almost every Saturday (and an occasional other day of the week)  during April and May, Emilio organized guided adventures in and around the Timberline ski area. Depending on which lifts were open and what the snow and the weather were like, each day was somewhat different.  Sometimes we skied down to Government Camp, following either the Alpine, Glade, or Blossom trails.  When the upper lifts were open (Palmer and Magic Mile) we explored portions of Zig Zag canyon, Little Zig Zag and Sand canyons, as well as a lot of the trees and meadows in between. When the snow, weather and lifts were not cooperating, we skied on groomed trails all over Timberline, always looking for some new way to ski it, some undiscovered corner.

MORE INFO:  See more info about all of Timberline's trails and canyons and the history of the area in the following article on Timberline side-country with pictures.

VIDEOS:  Kenny Brundidge used his helmet-mounted camcorder pointing behind him to record these videos during our recent Timberline adventures:

PACRAT "Rat Attack" Awards Party

April 18, 2014  (Friday)

The Mountain High club fielded 13 teams in the PACRAT racing league this season.  Everyone enjoyed racing, sharing the camaraderie and the after race events and parties.  After participating in 5 races this season (2 of them held on the same day), the end of season Awards party was held at the Oaks Park Dance Pavilion, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland, OR 97202.  Awards were given to the top 10 teams.  Also, the two racers (a man and a woman) who improved their own handicap the most during the season were named:

Queen Rat -- Pat Barry  (Lab Rats team)  and

King Rat  --  Frank Hadella (Rattitudes team)

This was the 30^th annual "Rat Attack" party!  The theme of the party was "The Great Ratsby".

See these and more of Bruce Kuper's Rat Attack photos at:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.296122707211951&type=1

These Facebook photos are higher resolution and can be easily downloaded. Simply right click on them and select "Save As"

See the PACRAT Racing multimedia show created by Bruce Kuper and shown at the Rat Attack:

http://youtu.be/6_-q8oodXYY

Leavenworth bus trip

(Mission Ridge and Stevens Pass)

March 21-23, 2014

Leavenworth is always a good trip destination.  The Bavarian-style town itself is interesting to experience, and it provides easy access to two nearby ski areas: Mission Ridge and Stevens Pass. We had a full bus, with 50 people, plus a few others drove up in their own cars. Bill Maltby drove up from Spokane, Nancy Cottle drove from Yakima, and John and Jewel Andrew drove from Renton (WA).

We had sunny weather on both days. We skied at Mission Ridge on Saturday.  We started the day with a group photo at the wing of the World War 2 bomber that crashed there on a training mission in 1949.  The groomed snow was perfect, but the ungroomed seemed a bit too icy, so we didn't plan on skiing it, ... but then the snow softened up a bit and several individuals decided to try traversing above the Bomber cliffs and skiing through one of the openings among the cliffs.

Saturday night, back in Leavenworth, we had dinner at King Ludwig's, with a live band and dancing, and traditional Bavarian food. 

After dinner, several of us visited with John and Jewel Andrew, who showed us a map of North America with pins indicating all the 525+ ski areas they had skied at so far.  They also showed us a complete set of quilts, made by Jewel, on which they have affixed pins and patches from all the ski areas they had visited.

At Stevens Pass, the lift tickets were free for anyone who had a Fusion Pass (a season pass for Timberline and Skibowl), which about 20 of us had.  At the end of the day, on the drive back home, we stopped for dinner at the Old Country Inn in Bellevue, WA.  It was a buffet with lots of choices, and everyone was satisfied.   Great trip!

Chocolate Party

March 8, 2014

Barbara Bousom brought the spoon candy and won most chocolaty. Lana Rulien brought the torte and won for most creative. Chuck Westergren brought the gingerbread cookies which were second runner-up for creative along with the chocolate bacon. Dave Myers brought the strawberries and won for most healthy.

Chuck Westergren brought two entries to the Chocolate Party – his winning gingerbread cookies and a bouquet of “roses”. He really got creative for this entry. Chuck cooked bacon, dipped it in chocolate, and then rolled it up to create rosebuds. He bought a bouquet of silk red roses and he removed the center petals and replaced them with the chocolate bacon roses. We didn’t get a good photo of them but you had to look twice to realize what they were. They really looked like roses and were a tasty experience too!

Ski the Glade Trail Day

March 1, 2014

Approximately 60 or 70 people participated in this once-a-year opportunity to ski the historic Glade Trail the entire length from Timberline to Government Camp (about 3 miles).  Among our current and/or former members, or people you might know and recognize, were Lisa Miller, Richard Rizk, Yon Sheldon, and Emilio Trampuz. Also present were Dave Crockatt and Buzz Bowman (the famous ski patroller who has a trail named after him at Timberline).

The entire Glade trail was groomed for the occasion (the only day of the year they fully groom it), but  it also snowed almost all day, and with each passing hour, the slopes had a softer, more carpeted feeling.  Breakfast, lunch, and an apres ski party were included in the event. 

This event benefits the Mt. Hood Museum and Cultural Center. The Museum's curator, Lloyd Musser greeted us, supervised the whole event, and distributed lots of door prizes at the end.  Everyone had a great time.  Some of us also took the opportunity to ski portions of the Blossom trail, a marked but ungroomed trail through the trees more or less paralleling the Glade Trail. 

Mt. Bachelor trip

February 21-23, 2014

This weekend ski trip was attended by 34 people. The bus was lively.  The slopes were sunny, .. and the summit chair was open!   The weather was absolutely beautiful as far as having a lot of sunshine, and we had some excellent skiers along. On Sunday, Bruce McGavn and Bruce McCracken hiked up from the Summit chair and skied the Cirque.Linda tried to do it too, but the wind was blowing so hard on the hike that it kept blowing her backwards, so she gave up. However, the snow was awesome, just like sugar going down. We had found that type of snow on the groomed runs along the Summit chair, and skied it all afternoon.

The bus was smaller, but had a perfect place for the large cooler right in the middle of the bus. People would sit on it (see the 3 women); or Gerry or Kay were often sitting on it, just getting up when people needed something from inside.

It was a good trip.

North Idaho trip

January 27 - February 1, 2014

This 5 nights /5 days ski trip was attended by 34 people. We had a large 56 passenger bus, so there was plenty of room to move around and socialize on the bus, but since some people had lots of luggage and more than one pair of skis, the luggage compartment was completely full.

We skied and stayed at Schweitzer Mt. for 3 days and nights, enjoying the ski-in/ski-out on-mountain village.  Then we moved to Kellogg, Idaho, and stayed in the GuestHouse Inn near the base of the Silver Mt. gondola. The next day, we skied at Lookout Pass on the Idaho-Montana border. We skied all 3 sides of the mountain (Idaho, Montana, and the North side). There was lots of fresh snow on the ground, but the skies started clearing out ans we saw some blue sky.

We had great luck with the snow.  The first day at Schweitzer, we had packed powder.  Then it started snowing, both day and night.  We had 3 powder days in a row. Finally, on the last day, when we skied at Silver Mt., the skies had cleared and we had perfect sunshine.

On the second night at Schweitzer Mt., right after a pizza dinner, we had a music night.  Three of our club members had brought their instruments with them on the trip: Richard Horner, Carl Schnoor, and John Davis.

There was entertainment on the bus, as usual.  Several short videos were shown, some serious and some funny, including a video on each of the three ski areas, a safety message, a cartoon about a frozen logger, a video demonstrating that skis were never "straight", etc. We also showed a longer, full featured film, one of the first ski films ever produced. It was in German with English sub-titles. It is called "White Ecstasy" ("Der Weisse Rausch").  It was filmed in 1931, starring Hannes Schneider (yes, the famous ski instructor) and Leni Reinfenstahl.  Interestingly, in later years, Hannes and Leni went in opposite directions.  Hannes was imprisoned by the Hitler regime, while Leni went on to produce propaganda films for the Nazis.

Several meals were included on the trip, including a Chinese lunch, a Pizza night, a steak house family restaurant, and finally an American style buffet dinner in Kennewick, WA, on the drive back home.

Everyone had a great time.  Let the pictures speak for themselves.

More Idaho photos and higher resolution versions of these photos are posted in our Photobucket album. 

Here's the link to it:  http://s1080.photobucket.com/user/mthigh/library/2014 North Idaho trip

Kickoff Party

November 20, 2013 (Wednesday). 

Approximately 125 people showed up, probably the most at any Kickoff Party so far.  There were plenty of chairs and tables so that everyone could get a seat.  There as enough food for everyone.  And everyone got a ticket for a drink. People renewed their membership, or joined the club for the first time. Lots of people signed up for ski trips, and for PACRAT racing.  Among the new members, there were several interested in racing.

Everyone who paid their membership dues received a membership card and a club business card (with a small inclinometer printed on the back). Also, 46 inclinometer stickers were sold, at 50 cents a piece.  The stickers were specifically designed to fit on a ski pole.

Several people made varius club announcements.  Bruce Kuper showed a video presentation of PACRAT racing.

Ski Fair

November 18, 2013 (Monday). 

The Ski Fair was held at the Convention Center adjacent to the PDX Airport Holiday Inn on Columbia Blvd.. This is a NW Ski Club Council event, organized by skiers for skiers, with each ski club having its own both.

Thanks to Jaxine Harris, our booth was much better decorated than in previous years.  The theme of the evening was "Convention Paradise", reflecting the theme of the next Far West Ski Association Convention to be held in Bend in June 2014, where the theme will be ""Volcanic Paradise".  So, Jaxine decorated our booth with a volcano, a Christmas tree, and lots of animals, with Bullcrinkle the moose (our club's mascot) a black bear, a beaver, a crow and a bluebird. 

Among the helpers in our booth were Kurt Krueger, Chuck Westergren, Terry Swan, Debbie Thomas and Emilio Trampuz.  On the NW Ski Club Council level, Mary Olhausen, Linda McGavin and Debbi Kor put the whole event together, including a Silent Auction, where many items and some trips could be won for very low prices.

Bruce Kuper and Jan Siverts-Smith were there too and also helped out, but they also had the PACRAT Racing booth to take care of as well.  NOTE: All of the above mentioned people are Mountain High members!  Thanks to everyone who helped set up and staff the booths, and also thanks to all who came and visited!

Lots of new people showed up, as well as existing club members who renewed their membership, signed up for trips, or racing, or both.  Also, this year, for the first time, we made a simple inclinometer available to our club members, in two versions:  a pocket sized version printed on the back of a Mt. High business card, and also a slightly larger version printed on stickers that can be applied to a ski pole.  These inclinometers will make it easier for each person to determine the kind of slope angle one prefers to ski.  It also warns you of the avalanche danger zone between 30 and 45 degrees, which is where most avalanches happen.

See more photos (and/or order prints or CDs) in our Snapfish and Photobucket Photo Albums

On Snapfish, you can now view the photos without logging in. Just enter as a "guest".

Photobucket doesn't require signing in to view the photos.

Also, see a lot more about our club activities on our Videos page.