Most Recent Mt. High Photos (2008/2009)

See a 10-minute video highlighting almost everything the club has done during the past year. The video is now posted on our Videos page.

Mt. High Seafood Party

September 26, 2009 (Saturday). 

One of our largest in-home parties so far, with over 70 participants. Most people brought food, tons of it, including delicious desserts.  The main course, ie. the seafood (salmon, cod, shellfish) was provided by Peter Troy and Ann Gormley, fresh from Alaska. See their web site: www.petersburgfishingadventures.com.

Thanks to Gordon Lusk's efforts, we now have a new club banner, displayed here for the first time.

Thanks to Violet and Greg Anderson for hosting the party.  And thanks to Debbi Kor, Linda McGavin, and all the volunteers to helped prepare the food.

We apologize for not being able to identify everyone in the photos.  There were several new faces at this party. If you can identify yourself, or your un-named friends, please let Emilio know ASAP, at Emilio2000@earthlink.net. or 1-503-378-0171.

NW Ski Club Council's 30th Anniversary

September 19, 2009.  What a Celebration!  Several great guest speakers, a wonderful ski-inspired dance by the Jefferson Dancers, a great silent auction, and the food was great too.

Unfortunately, we were not prepared to record everything. It was a spur of the moment decision, and we ran out of memory on the camera's flash card (SD memory card). Still, we managed to preserve the following for posterity:

* 18 of the best photos are here;  more photos in our Snapfish Albums.

* A video of the SKIA dance by the Jefferson Dancers. See the Videos page.

* A video of about 75% of Phil Mahre's story (before the camera ran out of memory).

All the proceeds of the evening were donated to the Mt. Hood Museum and Cultural Center in Government Camp, Oregon, which is preserving even more memories!

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

(NOTE: You can now view the photos without logging in!!!)

Also, go to our Videos page to see 2 video clips: of Phil Mahre and the Jefferson Dancers performing "Skia".

Golf at Glendoveer

September 2, 2009.  Our Golf-meister, Cal Eddy says:

Our last golf outing was at Glendoveer.  We had thirteen members, so we had a scramble.

I would like to thank Terry Swan for helping me out a lot this summer. Now Terry Swan and Lana Rulien took lessons and can hit the ball farther then me. Of course that is not saying much. But they both have improved from the beginning of this season.

Terry White and Terry Swan played more then anyone else in our club, they did not miss many throughout the summer.

We will plan a scramble next year in April for our opener, but until then hit the slops and enjoy a good winter.  --  Cal

Rafting on the Deschutes, 2009

August 20-22, 2009.  Gordy organized another great rafting trip, attended by over 60 people!  Wow! That's bigger than any ski bus trip we've organized lately. We spent most of Friday and Saturday rafting down the Deschutes river, from Harpham Flats to Sandy Beach.  The water was somewhat warmer than usual, but also with lots of glacier murkiness below the mouth of the White River tributary.  We had very pleasant weather. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right!  Lou's Q provided some great barbequed goodies, and Richard Horner and "Rich's Bitches" sang songs late into the night. 

The only potential down side was that due to large number of participants, our tents were spread out over a large area, which was not conducive to bringing people together.

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

(NOTE: You can now view the photos without logging in!!!)

Mt. High Picnic

August 16, 2009. (Sunday)  Our annual picnic was well attended.  Only about 14 people went on the bike ride, but many more showed up for the picnic itself. The food was good, the company was great. We even had some beer named "Yard Sale Ale" (you knw, like when a skiers falls, shedding all his gear left and right in the process). We also had fliers for most of our upcoming winter trip, which generated some discussion on the topic.

Ski Pole Rescue Hike

July, 2009.  Linda and Bruce McGavin like to ski steep and deep powder.  Earlier this winter, while skiing the extreme steeps in the S&R Cliffs at Mt. Hood Meadows (off of the Heather Chair, Bruce accidentally lost his pole in the deep snow. After having marked the area with their GPS coordinates, Bruce and Linda returned to the scene this July, along with Bruce's daughter Tracy, to search for the missing pole. They found it submerged in the rushing waters of Clark Creek. They also found the hike more challenging than expected. In place of the easy Heather Canyon run-out, which in the winter looks like a road, now it was just a jumble of brush, fallen trees, and some beautiful fields of wild flowers.

Quinn and Steve Shaw's Wedding

June 20, 2009.  Quinn and Steve Shaw got married after dating for 4 and a half years. Steve proposed and Quinn said "Yes" at Angel's Rest, where they had earlier gone on their first hike together. Let's all wish them many happy years together.

Pizza Party

May 19, 2009. Our annual Pizza Party and Club Elections.  The club paid for the pizza, everybody had a chance to get to know other club members, we elected a new Board, with Gordon Lusk as President and Kurt Krieger as Vice-President.  We also watched a 10-minute video highlighting almost everything the club has done during the past year. The video is now posted on our Videos page.

Line Dancing at Bushwackers

Apr. 23, 2009. An evening of socializing, dancing, and just plain fun!  Held at Bushwackers in Tualatin.  Included was a free lesson in line dancing. It was attended by almost 2 dozen of our members and friends.

Rat Attack 2009

Apr. 17, 2009. (Friday) This was a dinner party for our PACRAT racers. Awards were given to the teams with the most points. Also, the two people who improved the most during the past season were named King and Queen Rat. These were Lisa Ratzlaff (Mt. High club) and Francisco Valdivieso (Bergfreunde ski club).

The theme for the evening was "1984 Class Reunion", celebrating 25 years of PACRAT racing.  Jeannie Hummel, on of the original people who started PACRAT racing in the Portland area was there. Steve Urdeahl, former President of the "Fast Trax" ski club, was also present. The longest running racers who are still active participants are: Diane Hicks and Chuck Westergren.

Heavenly / Lake Tahoe trip

Mar. 28 - Apr.2, 2009. A 5-day trip (Sat. - Thurs.), attended by about 16 people. Another 5 or 6 members of the Altair ski club also joined us on the slopes, though they had separate lodgings. All 5 days were sunny . Only the first day was windy to the point that several lifts at Heavenly were closed, so we skied at Sierra-at-Tahoe. Then two days at Heavenly and one day at Kirkwood. Some people went to Mt. Rose on the last day. Emilio arrived a day early and skied at Donner Ski Ranch, which lies sandwiched between Boreal and Sugarbowl and could easily be linked to both if the resorts wanted to merge.

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

Hope on the Slopes

March 20-21, 2009 (Friday - Saturday) - This was a 24-hour vertical challenge and a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, held at Mt. Hood Skibowl. There was live music, food, prize drawings, and a torchlight parade. A bit of rain at the start of the event soaked us a bit, but couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm. The fog during the torchlight parade actually enhanced the experience by making it look more “mystical”. Bonnie Ell, of the American Cancer Society says:

“We had 133 participants (more than expected), 13 teams and a spectacular Torchlight Ceremony! So far, it looks like we'll be bringing in close to $15,000 in fundraising dollars, in addition to the generous donation from Mt. Hood Skibowl (50 cents per lift ticket sold in the entire month of March) which amounted to $9,686. Thus, the total fund raised are about $24,000. We're looking forward to a bigger and better event next year, and are likely to double in size. The event is scheduled to be held the same weekend next year, with Skibowl's Suds on the Slopes immediately following our event.”

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

See video/slide-show on our Videos page or  on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXXSq8R0TSU

Crystal Mt. bus trip

March 13-15, 2009.  This was our annual weekend bus trip, led by Linda McGavin. 50 of us stayed in Enumclaw, and skied at Crystal Mt. both days. We were joined by 8 members of the Altair ski club (from Eugene). We got more fresh snow than expected. On Sunday morning, we were greeted with about 14 inches of new snow, and it kept snowing all day. The relatively new Northway area was the best, but only for advanced powder skiers, as nothing is groomed in that area.

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

"White" Chocolate Party

February 29, 2009.  This year, we called the Chocolate Party "White" because it was held at Terry White's place. at Terry White’s place.  The club provided hors d'oeuvres, champagne, and soft drinks. Several people brought chocolate desserts. Everybody had fun. Debbi Kor led us into a quiz-type game, which was won by Lisa and Harry, who answered all the questions. There were prizes for the most chocolaty dessert, the most decadent, and the most creative.

Schweitzer Mt. / 49º North bus trip

February 18-22, 2009.  About 30 of our members spent 3 days/nights at Schweitzer Mt. (Idaho), followed by a day at 49 Degrees North (in Washington). The bus ride was fun, as usual, with short, funny videos, with people telling jokes, and sharing food. Richard Horner brought his guitar, and formed a band on the spot, named  “Rich and the Bitches”, and the band collectively wrote a song about us “Born to Ski Schweitzer”.

Troy, Shelly, Colin, Richard, Mike, Diane, Ed, Wally, Bill and George at Schweitzer Mt.

Bowling for Terry

February 7, 2009.  (Saturday)  Monte Carlo bowling at Milwaukie Bowl was fun, and the hall was packed! This was a fund raiser for our club President, Terry White, who was there with us but did not bowl. A couple of months earlier, Terry was incapacitated by a virus, and had to spend several days in a hospital. The virus aggravated a mild heart condition he had had for a long time, and as a result, he now needs heart surgery.

In addition to the bowling, a silent auction was also held, and some people walked away with great deals on boat cruises (provided by Jerry Barnes) and plane rides (provided by John Jessen.)

Whistler cabin trip

January 25-31, 2009.   About 15 of our members enjoyed 6 nights and 5 days at a cabin 5 minutes north of Whistler Village. This trip is organized annually by Bill Leeper. Contact him at 503-639-2603 to reserve for next year. By all accounts, everybody had a great time!

Mt. High Training Day

January 4, 2009.  A free training day was organized for all our club members. Our vice-president, Gordon Lusk arranged the whole thing. Shawn Darris, a Timberline instructor was our coach.   The weather cooperated beautifully, and the landslide on Hwy. 26 was cleared just in time for the road to reopen early on Sunday morning.  About 40 of our members showed up, and everyone had a good time. Shawn will provide mini-training sessions, with gates, at Timberline, every Saturday at 1 pm. See the Ski School desk.

The little whisker gates were positioned to indicate where we should be starting the next turn (to set up for the next real gate).  The whiskers confused some people. To help you understand the best way to make your turns early, check out the "Pick Your Line" article on our Articles page.  It contains a useful diagram, illustrating the best path.

Christmas in Vancouver

December, 2008. Lisa, Lillie and Harry went to Vancouver BC for 5 days over Christmas. The skiing was excellent the first day at Cypress but it snowed on us all day at Grouse Mt. The food was fabulous and the accommodations had a fantastic view. They stayed in a condo found on www.vrbo.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner). They usually require a full week. For shorter periods, go with a hotel.

Canada Ski Safari 2008

December 12-19, 2008.  Once again, just like last year, the snow came a bit late, so most people dropped out of the Ski Safari, but then tons of fresh snow came just in time for Kay and Emilio to enjoy it. We modified our itinerary to go where the snow was, so we started by driving east, to Kimberley and Banff/Lake Louise.

We visited a total of only 6 ski areas (instead of the planned 8 or 9), partly because we got tired, and partly because we were alerted to the freezing rain that was coming to Oregon, so we hurried home before the highways got iced up and closed.

Since we carpooled and shared the lodging expenses, the whole trip, 6 days and 6 nights, cost us only $345 per person for lodging and gas.  Lift tickets were extra. At two places (Sun Peaks & Silver Star) we used the Warren Miller coupons, so the skiing was free.

We "followed the snow". But what is the most reliable indicator of snow conditions? The reported snow base?  Or the hype on the ski areas web site?  Or the number of lifts open? 

Surprisingly, the reported snow base was the least reliable. The hype was actually more reliable. If a ski area was raving about how good it is, it meant they really did have something to offer.  But, the most reliable indicator was the number of lifts and runs open. If everything was open, it meant the conditions were good.

In the end, we didn't care how deep the snow was beneath our skis, as long as we didn't hit any rocks. And there was snow aplenty, especially in the bowls, canyons and gullies. And so much skiable terrain that our legs surrendered long before we managed to ski everything in sight.

After skiing Kimberley and Lake Louise,  we visited Kicking Horse, then Revelstoke Mt. Resort, which now offers 5,600 vertical feet (the most vertical in North America), then Sun Peaks, and finally Silver Star. 

The farther west we went, the temperature got milder, starting from a frigid -30º at Banff, and -20ºF at Lake Louise, to a more moderate +10º at Silver Star.  Also, the snow kept getting better and better!  Several times, we got fresh snow overnight, followed by a blue-sky day! 

Wine Tour

by Debbi Kor

Nov. 29, 2008.(Saturday) This was our 7th annual Wine Tour. Eleven hearty wine connoisseurs departed from the Fred Meyer parking lot in Tigard, bound for a day of memorable tasting of the grape, with our first stop at August Cellars. This is a particular favorite, not only for the wonderful wines, but the yummy hors d'oeuvres and heavenly chocolates by Exquisite Indulgence. If you only go to one winery on Thanksgiving weekend, make it this one. You won't be disappointed.

Next stop….Natalie Estates. This was a new one for our group, but very nice. This scribe only drinks white wine, and found the 2007 Chardonnay to be excellent. I had to rely on the others to let me know that the reds were also top notch.

From there, we hit a couple smaller wineries, but to keep within our budget for the day, we chose to move on to other more main-stream, and well known wineries…..Erath and Sokol Blosser. Erath provided not only some lovely wines to taste and purchase, but a wonderful spot to picnic. We spread our lunch out on two patio tables, and feasted on cheeses, salmon and crab spread, ripe olives, breads, and of course….fine wine. We shared with those around us, including the Erath staff.

Our final stop was at Sokol Blosser. A few sampled the wares, but most of us sat outside enjoying the last rays of sun for the day. A jar of Sauvignon Fudge, from the wonderful kitchens of Sokol Blosser was purchased and sampled by the group, with a rousing "yummmm" from each of us.

Winding our way back to Tigard, we disembarked our lovely 15 passenger van at Fred Meyer and moved across the street to Newport Grill for a light dinner and conversation. We all agreed that it was a great way to spend a most enjoyable day in good company.

Ski Fair at the Monarch

Nov. 17, 2008.(Monday) Except for the NWSCC (which held the Silent Auction) and the Mt. Hood Meadows booth, our club’s booth was probably among the busiest there. Some people renewed their membership, several new ones joined, and some people came just to chat. Haley stood guard and kept us safe with her moose antlers. The winner of our drawing for a free club membership for a year was Robert Burns. Congratulations!