Winter Is Far From Over | PNW Volcanoes Worth Skiing This Offseason

Originally published: Unofficial Networks 

Photo credit: Andre Charland

As the days get longer, the snow starts to melt, and the final pond is skimmed, many skiers are left with the same question: what now? If you’re not ready to call it quits just yet, we’ve got some good news: you don’t have to!

Kick off this summer right with the ultimate Pacific Northwest road trip and ski some of the Cascade’s classic volcano lines. The deep maritime snowpack in the Cascades yields some epic skiing through the summer and we’ve created the perfect itinerary for you.

5 PNW VOLCANOES WORTH SKIING THIS OFFSEASON

Mount St. Helens (8,365′)

Route: Worm Flows/Swift Glacier

Mount Saint Helens is a great place to start for first time volcano-skiers. The climb isn’t particularly technical so its a great place to hone your skills. Stand on the crater rim and enjoy views of Rainier, Adams and Hood before you reap your reward with corn turns right off the summit.

Elevation gain: 5,500 ft

Round trip distance: 12 miles

*During the summer season (May 15-October 31) permits are restricted to 100 people per day above 4,800 feet

Mount Adams (12,276′)

Photo credit: Raymond Bucko, SJ

Route: South Rib

A classic, northwest ski, Mount Adams offers some of the best turns you’ll get all summer (and maybe even all year). Ascend the South Rib and enjoy a 4,000-foot sustained descent down the Southwest chutes off Piker’s Peak. This route is crevasse-free and in the right conditions you can walk right to the top.  This route is commonly done in one or two days.

Elevation gain: 6,700 feet

Round trip distance: 12 miles

*A $15 Cascade Volcano Pass is required above 7,000 ft June 1- September 30

Mount Hood (11,239′)

Photo credit: Oregon Department of Transportation

Route: Palmer Glacier

With lift-served skiing all year round, Mount Hood is a popular summertime destination for skiers from around the country. While most of them are sliding rails in the park, climb above the resort towards the legendary cone-shaped peak. If you don’t consider it cheating, you can start your ascent of Hood at 8,540 feet, by taking the Palmer lift up to the top of the resort.

Elevation gain: 5,300 feet

Round trip distance: 8 miles

*An adult day lift ticket for Timberline Lodge is $68

South Sister (10,358′)

Route: South Ridge

Of the famous trio, the South Sister is the highest, youngest and boasts the best skiable terrain. On a clear day, you’ll see half a dozen other skiable peaks from the summit, including Bachelor, Broken Top, and Jefferson. It’s the perfect spot to scout lines for your next summer mission.

Elevation gain: 5,000 feet

Round trip distance: 12 miles

*Really trying to get after it? Try your hand at what’s known as the Three Sisters Marathon, a burly traverse of all three peaks. Most commonly done north to south, the route is 19 miles with over 9,000 feet of climbing.

Mt. McLoughlin (9,495′)

Photo: David Wood

Route: East Ridge

A relatively hidden gem among the volcanoes, Mt McLoughlin boasts some killer terrain that often gets overlooked. With a sustained 45-degree pitch, the Northeast bowls are a seriously fun descent.

Elevation gain: 3,900 feet

Round trip distance: 11 miles

Fat Biking is Here to Stay: A Road to Coexisting

Originally published: Elevation Outdoors Magazine

In the last ten years, fat biking has taken both the cycling and snow sports industries by storm. For avid cyclists, it’s a way to extend the cycling season. For bike shops, a way to make ends meet in the winter. For some, it’s simply a quick and efficient way to commute in a ski town, and for others it’s just a new way to recreate in the winter. Designed for riding across snow, fat bike tires have twice as much tread as most mountain bike tires, ranging from 3.5 to 5 inches wide, and a tire pressure often below 10 PSI. The extra rubber on the ground maintains traction on slick terrain and lower air pressure results in flotation over the snow.

“Since 2007 it’s really exploded,” says Sterling Mudge, president of Cloud City Wheelers, a cycling club in Leadville. “Back then, you hardly ever saw them, now all the racers have a fat bike in their fleet.” What many deemed as just another “crazy cycling fad” a few years ago is now on a fast rise to the forefront of the cycling industry. More and more manufacturers are coming out with their own model and fat bike festivals and races are popping up all over the country. The growth is exponential.

Frisco Freeze Fat Bike Race, Frisco, CO | Photo credit: Joe Kusomoto

The Fat Bike frenzy has the cycling community stoked, but the addition of another cross country winter activity is creating more traffic on the trails. Being a relatively new sport, there aren’t many trails maintained exclusively for fat bikes at this time. Most fat biking is done on multi-use trails, shared by snowshoers and cross-country skiers. Firm, cold conditions are ideal for fat biking and when it warms up too much the tires can disrupt the carefully groomed Nordic tracks.

In an effort to adapt to the surge in fat biking, some Nordic centers and cycling clubs have begun to groom trails specifically for bikers in an attempt to eliminate problems between recreationalists on the trail. Cloud City Wheelers grooms 8 miles of single track in Leadville, and Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash has designated 15 kilometers of their Nordic trails for bikers.

While bike-specific trails have helped alleviate tension in certain areas, the land available for winter biking is limited. As of right now, bikes are only allowed on Forest Service land during the summer season, from May 21 through November 22. Approved in 2011, the Travel Management Plan for the White River National Forest prohibits the use of all mechanized and motor vehicles on trails in the winter. This eliminates a large portion of trails for bikers, pushing them onto overcrowded Nordic trails. “When the Forest approved our travel plan in 2011, fat biking wasn’t that popular, so it hadn’t been taken into account. As it’s grown so much, things have changed and we’re reevaluating” explains Kay Hopkins, recreation planner for White River National Forest.

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has been working with the National Forest to propose a list of routes to be considered for winter fat bike use on Forest Service land. The proposal aims to open up a huge amount of land for bikers in the winter season. “Processes like these involving so many different parties can take a while,” says Hopkins, “but I’m confident we’ll land in a place that will work for everyone.”

Frisco Freeze Fat Bike Race, Frisco, CO | Photo credit: Joe Kusomoto

To encourage proper etiquette on the busy trails, IMBA recently released a list of best practices for winter fat biking — which highlights courtesies such as staying out of classic tracks for skiers and yielding to other trail users. Even with more trail space for fat biking, it’s inevitable that multi-use winter trails will still see a lot of overlap between skiers, bikers and snowshoers. “There are always growing pains figuring out how to deal with something new,” says a representative at Devils Thumb Ranch. “I would say for the most part it’s pretty smoothed over as people learn how to use the bikes correctly.”

It’s been a long road to thoughtfully introduce fat biking to the winter sports community, but there’s no denying it: the sport is here to stay.

Eat, Sleep, Play: Copper Mountain, Colorado

Originally published: Elevation Outdoors Magazine

75 miles west of Denver along the infamous I-70 corridor, Copper Mountain has somehow achieved the perfect equilibrium of hardcore skiing complimented by a welcoming, family-friendly vibe. The village is intimate without feeling too remote, and the amenities are just enough to please the resort skier yet small enough to keep the anti-establishment powder-hound from grumbling too loudly. The staff is friendly, the food is great, and the terrain is all time. It’s easy to see why people keep coming back to Copper Mountain. Spend a weekend here, and we guarantee you won’t want to leave.

EAT:

Get your day started with a breakfast burrito or a bagel at Camp Hale located right next to the ticket office at the base of the Center Village. Camp Hale also has locations in the East Village as well as Solitude Station mid-mountain and serves breakfast all day. Grab lunch at Endo’s Adrenaline Bar & Grill, a lively and inviting sports bar right at the base of the American Eagle lift. Endo’s serves sandwiches, salads, burgers, and a towering plate of nachos that you’ll need some help polishing off. If the weather’s nice, enjoy your meal on the patio with front row seats of the slopes. If you’re feeling bold order the Bad-Ass Bloody Mary, the ultimate cocktail featuring Endo’s signature spicy Bloody Mary mix and an Old Bay salted rim, topped with a pickle, pepperoncini, olive, celery, hickory smoked beef sick, cheese curd and two shrimp… need we say more? Hang out on the patio and enjoy views of the slopes and some prime-time people watching. For dinner head to JJ’s Rocky Mountain Tavern next to the Super Bee lift at the base of the East Village for classic American dishes, friendly staff, and the longest bar in Summit County. If you’re in the mood for a marg, Casa Sanchez, located in the Village Square Condo serves up generous portions of hearty, authentic Mexican food. A family owned restaurant, they have classics such as Arroz con Pollo, and traditional mole sauce as well as burritos, tacos, and sizzling fajitas. After dinner, make like a local and head to Mulligan’s Irish Pub in the Center Village for a car bomb or a PBR, where lifties and destination skiers rub shoulders on a crowded dance floor.

SLEEP:

Without huge skyscraping hotels, most of Copper’s lodging consists of condo-style apartments or privately owned homes. With your own kitchen and living room, it doesn’t take long to feel completely at home relaxing by a warm fireplace after an epic day on the hill. If you want to be in the center of all the action, the Burning Stones Plazaoffers some of the best condos, just a stone’s throw from the lifts. Taylor’s Crossing has some great condos and the building is equipped with a hot tub, sauna and gym. For a quieter escape, the Wheeler Neighborhood condos in the East Village are slightly more private, with the Super Bee lift still steps away.

PLAY:

With 2,490 acres of skiable terrain, over 140 trails and topping out at 12, 313 feet, Copper Mountain is a slice of heaven for skiers of all abilities. For the adventure-seekers, head to the backside and wait for the Tucker Mountain Snowcat for a complimentary ride up to steep chutes and high alpine bowls. The west side of the mountain features great beginner and intermediate terrain, with groomers and open glades. Kids and adults alike will love the Copper Tubing Hill in the East Village, with banked turns that up the excitement factor of your average tubing hill. Sign up for an intro session at Woodward, a 19,000-square foot barn filled with Olympic trampolines, spring floors, foam pits, jumps, and a pump track. Instructors will walk you through progressions to learn tricks that will make you feel like a pro

All Skiers Could Learn From These PNW Hacks

Originally published: Unofficial Networks

Rain down low, snow up high-- PNWer's are equal opportunity skiers | Photo: Stevens Pass

You call in sick, wake up at the crack of dawn, book it up to the resort for first chair only to find that the freezing level is 1,000 feet too high and that 10 inches of fresh snow is now a leg burning monstrosity of Cascade Concrete.

Sound familiar? You probably grew up skiing in the Pacific Northwest.

With our maritime snowpack and more days of rain than sunshine, the northwest has a reputation for variable snow conditions. When it’s good, it’s really good. Surfing through powder is hard to beat, and the northwest has some all-time terrain. But when it rises just above 32°F-- You suck it up, put on a trash bag and remember that there’s no such thing as a bad day with skis on your feet.

*Here are a few of our best tips on how to battle the infamous northwest weather. After all, the best defense is a good offense.

Gore-Tex, Gore-Tex, Gore-Tex

PNW skiers only use gear that holds up under all conditions | Photo: Ruth Hartnup

Need we state the obvious? You won’t see many northwest skiers (even the jibbers) ripping around the hill without this choice material on their back. Use a touch of Nikwax to bring your Gore-Tex back to life when it stops beading moisture. Also, each time you clean Gore-Tex it get's more water-repellent-- MIND BLOWN.

*Don’t want to shell out the dough for an expensive jacket?

PNW Pro Tip: A large multipurpose trash bag will do the trick. (Plus, you’ll look like the raddest skier on the mountain)

Fat Skis + Gradual Rocker/Reverse Camber

Whether it's a deep day or just stupid slushy, powder sticks are the daily driver in the PNW. A gradual rocker/reverse camber profile goes a long way towards surfing on top of that deep, dense snow or sticky stuff.

Unofficial PNW Powder Pick: Volkl 100 Eight

Light On The Heels

Sticky, wet snow will toss you around if you don’t stay engaged. Keep a strong stance and enough speed to maintain your balance. While you don’t want to ski in the backseat, weight your heels slightly more than usual to avoid catching your tips on that low elevation, shag carpet snow.

Underwear Is Everything

Rainy days @Crystal | Photo: Peter Stevens

Good outerwear is useless without proper base layers. Synthetics work the best for wet, humid days, wicking moisture to keep you dry. Merino Wool is another good option, but better for slightly cooler weather.

Always Bring Reinforcements

It's never a bad idea to carry a small pack with a few pieces of dry gear. A spare pair of gloves and an extra balaclava will give you a few extra hours at the end of the day when everyone else is soaking wet and ready to call it quits.