Oregon April 2023.

[Sbooker]

I wasn’t going to do a trip report because our brief jaunt to Oregon was only partly about skiing.
@jamesdeluxe said he was impressed with our dedication to travel to ski. It’s no big chore.
We have pretty mundane lives when at home. It’s mostly work and running around after two teenagers. We’re in a busy phase of our lives. And we certainly don’t live a lavish lifestyle when at home. We’re a normal family living in the burbs of Brisbane.
I worked 6 or 7 days a week for many years without any holidays. Certainly without overseas holidays. I first went overseas (a huge 3 hour flight) to Queenstown New Zealand when I was 38. We quickly caught the ski and travel bug and 6 months later went on our first big trip to the USA. That was Christmas 2010 from memory. We did mostly tourist things in the south west (Vegas, Highway 1, San Fran and Disney) but also skied at Northstar where we caught a 3 foot storm. The ski addiction was born.

We flew Air Canada so swapped planes in Vancouver for the short flight to Portland. We grabbed a car and drove straight down to Bend. We stopped at Smith Rock State Park on the way.

Kylie was always a vodka and soda drinker but ‘learned’ to drink beer in the lead up to our first trip to Europe about 6 years ago. She wanted to be able to enjoy a beer at the halls in Munich. Like me she is now a very enthusiastic beer drinker and that is partly the reason we came to Oregon. There is a ‘Bend Ale Trail’. We’re trying to go to a couple of breweries per night for just one drink at each. There are some cool breweries and bars and restaurants here.

Two beers (they are generally big IPA’s so strong) and a drink with dinner still allows for an early start so we can get things done during the day.

I posted a few photos from Mt Bachelor in the ‘spring skiing’ thread. There is not much to see aside from snow and trees. Unfortunately the cloud didn’t allow for any views. Perhaps tomorrow. This isn’t California or Utah but they’ve had some snow this season.

 

[Sbooker]

Came half way around the world for corn snow but had to contend myself with this.

Gotta go. Full report later.

 

[Sbooker]

Just having a quick break. Definitely a top 5 ski day ever for me. Best ever April ski day I’ve had that’s for sure. Snow is only about 8 inches deep (deeper in areas) but it’s good quality. Still finding powder turns. Skiing straight on to lifts.

^^^
Impressive cornice.

 

[Sbooker]

Bend really is a great town. There’s a nice atmosphere, friendly people and a fantastic food and beer scene. We have had some top notch meals. Check out Zydeco and Wild Rose Northern Thai. We love the great variety of cuisine available. Much better than the bread ham and cheese so common in Europe.

A few random photos.

A surfer on the Deschutes river.

The walks along the river are nice.

Plenty of cute houses. Many with flags. Something we rarely see in Australia.

Very touristy I know but…..the last ever Blockbuster.

Some great breweries.

They’ve got some RV festival at the hill this weekend.

We walked up Pilot Butte that overlooks town late yesterday.

Off to a trivia night at Deschutes Brewing tonight. I’m no chance at getting any correct answers to American sports trivia. Hopefully there is a lot of music and general knowledge questions.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

the last ever Blockbuster.

Did you go in? Do they still offer DVDs? This recent article gives an update on the company.

That's ^^ a Dutch Colonial home. They're very prevalent in the northeastern US. I don't see them very often in the west. In my New Jersey town, I'd estimate that at least a third of the housing stock looks similar to that one.

Congratulations on scoring excellent conditions.

 

[tseeb]

Looks like Summit could be open today before it starts snow again tonight. Too late for you?

 

[Sbooker]

Did you go in? Do they still offer DVDs? This recent article gives an update on the company.

We did. Our 17 year old daughter is a throw back to last century. She is heavily into everything retro. We bought her a ‘Last ever Blockbuster. Be kind - Rewind’ T shirt.
I spoke with the chap that served us. They still rent DVDs and videos but they make much more revenue from merchandise sales than they do from rental.

That's ^^ a Dutch Colonial home. They're very prevalent in the northeastern US. I don't see them very often in the west. In my New Jersey town, I'd estimate that at least a third of the housing stock looks similar to that one.

There is quite a lot of those houses along the river area. Makes for a nice stroll through the park that borders the river.

Looks like Summit could be open today before it starts snow again tonight. Too late for you?

I spoke with a patrol fellow yesterday. He said the summit lift would not open until next week due to forecasted breezy conditions. They haven’t been running the Outback lift either. I’m guessing it’s a factor of so few punters on the hill and them trying to save the cost of running all lifts.
Luckily the North West lift has been open. It’s a great lift that serves the best (aside from the summit I suppose) terrain. Seemed the snow was deeper in that area too.

 

[jasoncapecod]

Bend is one of my fav places...Great skiing ,MTB , fishing and rock climbing..Oh and real restaurants...

 

[Sbooker]

Oh. And at the top of the North West lift when turning right (heading west) there is a sign saying that having avalanche gear is recommended. Being gapers we didn’t have it. I’m assuming it’s still controlled?

 

[Tony Crocker]

Yes it would be roped off if patrol believed it was dangerous. Or the NW lift would be closed.

Outback lift is redundant if NW is open. NW did not exist when I first skied Bachelor in 1985.

 

[Sbooker]

You ski tragics will be aghast that we didn’t ski today. I’d be happy to ski every day but Kylie is open to other activities.
We wanted to check out Tumalo falls but the road was closed. We chose to park and hike anyway. It was nearly 3 miles each way. But worth it.

Spent the afternoon collecting some souvenirs to take home. Got some stuff for the kids and some brewery hats, T shirts, stubbie coolers and the like.
Now at McMenamins brewery. We’ll have a beer here and then at another brewery around the corner so we check off all the downtown breweries on the Bend Ale Trail app. We’ll be eligible for a prize that we collect from the visitor centre. Probably a sticker I’m guessing.

These brews are seriously good. And cheap. These big alcohol pint size brews would be at least $14 in a pub in Australia.

 

[Tony Crocker]

You should check each morning in case Summit opens before you leave the area. It's far from unreasonable to do something else on a multiday trip if Summit is closed every day, especially if there is no new snow.

 

[Sbooker]

You should check each morning in case Summit opens before you leave the area. It's far from unreasonable to do something else on a multiday trip if Summit is closed every day, especially if there is no new snow.

We’re driving to Portland today. Will go up through Sisters and Salem. It’s unfortunate we’ve not got to see the top of the hill or any views but we’ve been lucky to get unexpected powder.
We’ll be back to Bend that is for certain. What an amazing place. And very nice people too. Even though we are pretty much nerds and relatively socially mundane the obvious progressive nature of a lot of the people here is not overbearing. We’ve had some really pleasant conversations.

 

[Sbooker]

We drove to Portland. Had an underwhelming breakfast in Sisters.
Portland. The city is a contrast to Bend. A bit confronting for Australian suburbanites.
We walked up to Washington Park and checked out the Japanese gardens. Nice but not as good as the Japanese gardens in Toowoomba.
Just having a beer at the roof top beer garden at 10 Barrel brewing. I’m disappointed to discover they are now owned by the big corporation that owns Bud.
Going to ski at Mt Hood Meadows tomorrow.

Farewell Bend. We’ll be back.

Some really nice houses in the west side area (Goose Hollow).

 

[Sbooker]

Definite spring conditions here at Mt Hood today. It didn’t freeze overnight. My skiing ability is not advanced enough to do these conditions justice. I struggle off the groomers in the chunky snow. I will say that I find the soft bumps better than winter bumps though.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Didn't recognise your wife without the sunglasses!

 

[Sbooker]

Didn't recognise your wife without the sunglasses!

She struggles with glare. Meanwhile I rarely wear sunnies.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Bachelor's extra altitude (plus the wind sublimation) makes for better spring conditions than other PNW areas most of the time.

 

[Sbooker]

Bachelor's extra altitude (plus the wind sublimation) makes for better spring conditions than other PNW areas most of the time.

Mt Hood isn’t exactly ideal being primarily south facing.
I’ve never experienced snow quite as heavy. Even in Thredbo in late September.
Kylie had a crash because she projected forward when her skis stopped in the snow.

 

[Sbooker]

Just thinking about the skiing experience in different parts of the world. I have come to the conclusion that the North American model of a fully controlled mountain offering unlimited relative safety is best for me.
That is not to say that we won’t go to Europe and Japan to ski in the future of course.

It has been a while since we have visited the States or Canada but this trip has reinvigorated our love for western North America as a holiday destination.