Ski Resort lodging

[vanz]

Okay...so I've never been to the mountains and done skiing or snowboarding. I would love to do it between Dec. 29th and Jan. 1...and preferably have a place to lodge for that time. Do you guys have suggestions on where to stay? I tried looking up some resorts and came up with timberline, but the reservation page comes up with no results on availability. I also called them, but was put on hold forever so I just hung up.

Please help, I know you guys have the hookups!(whistle)

[Nyles]

I love timberline, I have no suggestions for lodging, but I did get stuck there in a blizzard and it was a memorable time.

As for snowboarding be prepaired to be pretty sore if you ave never went, and I recommend you getting a lesson unless your really young. there is some pointers that could be very valuble. Did I mention be prepaired to be sore? My wife goes with me sometimes and she usually cant get out of bed the next day.

[vanz]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll be very sore the next day. I'll probably sign up for lessons and go on the bunny hills or something. I practiced a little several years ago with my one of my friends board at the hills behind my college's library. All I did was just go straight down though, sometimes face first...but yeah, it was fun.

[Nyles]

LOL I would take my wife down magic mile (top) and she would digest snow all the way down. So mean.

[vanz]

oh so you must be a pro at snow boarding huh. Is that the diamond trail or whatever you call it?

[impur]

Yah my wife tried snowboarding twice and will never do it again she got so sore. She sticks to skiis. What a wuss. :p

Timerline is great, Mt hood in general is a great place to ski/snowboard. I don't know about lodging though, i imagine if you can get em on the phone they can tell you the best places close by.

Nyles are you a pro shredder?? Hit some air raileys with a Mctwist off the halfpipe? A little 720 action. Hell ya!

[Nyles]

LOL right, I have been known to be seen hitting some big jumps and get some nice ohh's and awwes.

FROM MY CRASHES. LOL!

You can find me in the lodge licking my wounds hourly. LOL

[impur]

LOL yah, thats why i carry a large cooler filled with beer! Makes the crashes not hurt so bad after 5 beers ;)

[Ronjunior]

LOL yah, thats why i carry a large cooler filled with beer! Makes the crashes not hurt so bad after 5 beers ;)

Just take the above with a 4 season tent and a good sleeping back and you'll be just fine! Who needs a lodge! And bring some firewood too.

[impur]

But don't start the fire IN the tent!!!!

[vanz]

I guess I'll just take a day trip up there. What kind of traction devices should I get? Chains? My cars only a FWD. I'm gonna go this weekend and test it out.

[Nyles]

FWD odds are you won't need anything, I only had to cable up my volkswagen once in a blizzard, but I would bring cables with you if needed. Schwabies sells the returnable ones if you dont use them at end of season.

[vanz]

FWD odds are you won't need anything, I only had to cable up my volkswagen once in a blizzard, but I would bring cables with you if needed. Schwabies sells the returnable ones if you dont use them at end of season.

Cool. I should do that. Thanks for the info on Les schwab.

[impur]

Yah you'll probably be fine with FWD. Those Schwab chains are the way to go.

[R-3]

Yeah Scwabbs is a good deal. The problem is though even if a FWD car can make it they will probably make you chain up. Then if you dont have chains you either turn around or spend the night on the pass! Its worth going to Scwabbys. Later Ryan

[Ronjunior]

Yeah Scwabbs is a good deal. The problem is though even if a FWD car can make it they will probably make you chain up. Then if you dont have chains you either turn around or spend the night on the pass! Its worth going to Scwabbys. Later Ryan

Take it from me, carry chains at all costs! I've gotten out of at least 3 jams in snow after getting stuck in my Toyota 4x4. If I didn't have them to put on after the fact, I would have been calling a tow truck.

[Nyles]

Actually I go up all the time, they let the FWD cars keep going. :D We are in a elite group.. we are "special". LOL

[Nyles]

Ya dont be like the guy they found today.... Finally found him today frozen stiff.

[vanz]

Heard about that....1.5 miles from a lodge...sad. If only he headed up northeast to begin with. Whats amazing is that they found his pants and stuff several miles back. How'd he make it that far along in the freezing weather?

So all tires need chains or just the front?

[Nyles]

Just the front and for simplicity I would spend the extra $20 and get cables, not chains. Actually now that I think about it I think thats all they will sell you. Drive them a 1/4 mile pull over and re-tighten them to. Hypothermia does weird things to the body and brain, Im just glad his family made it, they where pretty smart to make it as long as they did.

[vanz]

oh, didn't know there was a difference. Snow cables it is.

If you guys don't hear from me by monday...call the search team!

[R-3]

Yeah later in the season it is required most times to either have studs or chains no matter what. Yeah I think they only sell cables. Also if you've never put them on have the guys a Scwabbs show ya. They are not hard but it will save frustration while standing on the side of the road in the snow. :) Later Ryan

[Ronjunior]

Make sure you test fit them before leaving town. The dealer should tell you this as well.

[vanz]

Okay. So I went to les schwab sat morning to get cables. I guess the one by my place didn't carry any cables. They had something that was like cables, but with chains. Didn't fit my car though, so I bought the diamond something chains. Looks easy enough.

After getting the chains and about to leave, I noticed that my left front tire is flat about 15 psi. So I spent about 2 hours there waiting until they can look at my tires. Seems like nothing was wrong and they just replaced the stem just in case. (scratch)

So off to a late start.

Get there around 2, got lost because mapquest screwed me again (flame) I need to find a better map alternative. It led me through a one way dead end with snow all around me.

Swallowed pride and asked for directions. :D Timberline was awesome! Fresh snow! Dog was freezing so we ended the trip short. Didn't get a chance to do any snow shoeing or boarding or even sledding.

So after a couple of hours there, we start to head home, only this time the parking lot had gotten more icy. I've seen tons of cars lose traction and get stuck, some accidents, even saw someone being locked out of their car while they were putting on chains in the middle of the road I think(scratch) Saw them trying to slim jim their way in.

Well...needless to say, I can't return my chains anymore. Getting out of the parking lot was a *****. Thankfully I got the chains and made getting out of there a breeze.

[Nyles]

Crazy. I could tell you my blizzard story but it would take to long. LOL. Try going down timberline road in a tow truck with the truck being towed passing you repeatedly. LOL. Crazy night, I didn't get home till about 6 am next morning after all said and done.

[vanz]

Crazy. I could tell you my blizzard story but it would take to long. LOL. Try going down timberline road in a tow truck with the truck being towed passing you repeatedly. LOL. Crazy night, I didn't get home till about 6 am next morning after all said and done.

Tell us! I like reading crazy stories. Sounds like it was one hell of a night!

[impur]

Oh man i got a story about leaving that parking lot.

So my buddy and I went up to board for the day. We took his sweet 1980 2wd Dodge D50 pickup, it was that truck or my 1985 2wd Chevy s10 blazer that was lowered to about 3" of the ground. So the day was great, great snow, sun, one of the best boarding days i've had. Gets time to leave and we head out, noticing that the packed snow now had a sheet of ice over it in the parking lot. No matter, the road looked clear, bare pavement. So we head down the road and around the corner. In front of us is a long straightaway, slight downhill, and in the middle of the straightaway there is a car facing the wrong way in our lane, its rear end touching the snow wall. In front of that car was another car perpendicular to the snow wall, its rear end also into the snow wall. So my friend starts pumping the break to slow down and each time the tires just lock and we slide. Ok this is downhill, on ice, in a POS truck, headed right for 2 cars at about 10mph. Can't stop, so i say PUT IT IN THE SNOWBANK!!! He cranks the wheel, we slam into the snowbank, the rear of the truck whips around and slams right into the car!!! So then we think its time to put on the chains, we are stuck and can't backup, neither of the other cars can either. So i'm putting on the chain on the left rear wheel. I am in a triangle of space, the snowwall on one side, car behind me, and my friends truck in front. I'm on the ground and someone yells watch out!!! I jump up, and see a station wagon sliding sideways right at us. I jumped over the car behind me, fell down behind the other car, and the station wagon slams into my friends truck, causing all the cars to slide down the hill slightly, right at ME as i lay on the ground!!! I put my hands up onto the bumper of the car and slid with them a few feet. We finally got all the cars seperated and headed home.

So about 30min into the drive home on hwy 84, his truck starts to smell. Then poof! Smoke. We pull over to a scenic outlook and park it. No phones around, no cell phones, nobody we know around. Pack up all our stuff into the cab and started walking. Now this highway has absolutely no shoulder. Its white line, then about a foot of asphalt, then a guard rail then the river. Have you felt the suction of an 18wheeler whizzing by 18 inches from you at 60mph? Its pretty scary. Not to mention its dark by now. We walked about 8 miles when we finally spotted a phone. We had to run across that highway to get to it, then sit for about 2 hrs till our ride showed up.

That was just an unreal trip. But left me with a good story i guess!

[Nyles]

I will say one thing, you find out who your true friends are when things like that happen. I had to call a friend for help to come get me off timberline, he was in Beaverton at the movies with his wife, he left and got me in a nissan sentra. Chaining up at the bottom in his shorts, thongs, and t-shirt. LOL What are friends for.

[vanz]

Oh man i got a story about leaving that parking lot.

So my buddy and I went up to board for the day. We took his sweet 1980 2wd Dodge D50 pickup, it was that truck or my 1985 2wd Chevy s10 blazer that was lowered to about 3" of the ground. So the day was great, great snow, sun, one of the best boarding days i've had. Gets time to leave and we head out, noticing that the packed snow now had a sheet of ice over it in the parking lot. No matter, the road looked clear, bare pavement. So we head down the road and around the corner. In front of us is a long straightaway, slight downhill, and in the middle of the straightaway there is a car facing the wrong way in our lane, its rear end touching the snow wall. In front of that car was another car perpendicular to the snow wall, its rear end also into the snow wall. So my friend starts pumping the break to slow down and each time the tires just lock and we slide. Ok this is downhill, on ice, in a POS truck, headed right for 2 cars at about 10mph. Can't stop, so i say PUT IT IN THE SNOWBANK!!! He cranks the wheel, we slam into the snowbank, the rear of the truck whips around and slams right into the car!!! So then we think its time to put on the chains, we are stuck and can't backup, neither of the other cars can either. So i'm putting on the chain on the left rear wheel. I am in a triangle of space, the snowwall on one side, car behind me, and my friends truck in front. I'm on the ground and someone yells watch out!!! I jump up, and see a station wagon sliding sideways right at us. I jumped over the car behind me, fell down behind the other car, and the station wagon slams into my friends truck, causing all the cars to slide down the hill slightly, right at ME as i lay on the ground!!! I put my hands up onto the bumper of the car and slid with them a few feet. We finally got all the cars seperated and headed home.

So about 30min into the drive home on hwy 84, his truck starts to smell. Then poof! Smoke. We pull over to a scenic outlook and park it. No phones around, no cell phones, nobody we know around. Pack up all our stuff into the cab and started walking. Now this highway has absolutely no shoulder. Its white line, then about a foot of asphalt, then a guard rail then the river. Have you felt the suction of an 18wheeler whizzing by 18 inches from you at 60mph? Its pretty scary. Not to mention its dark by now. We walked about 8 miles when we finally spotted a phone. We had to run across that highway to get to it, then sit for about 2 hrs till our ride showed up.

That was just an unreal trip. But left me with a good story i guess!

Holy Sh!t:eek: Umm...you freaking me out man. I plan to go again, but after that....(scary) I don't want to lose control and slam my baby into anyone or the other way around. You made it sound like it was no big deal to cream the other vehicle(laugh) No insurance involved?

Sounds like you had near death experiences several times that night. Did you go back there soon after that?

[impur]

Well we weren't going fast enough to get hurt, maybe 10mph at the most. It was all just body damage, except my friends truck when that stationwagon hit it bend the fan which cracked the block. If we had put the chains on FIRST, we wouldn't have had a problem. You were smart and thought ahead, we did not. The worst part was the walking on that highway.

I've been back a few times. I go as much as i can, but its such a long drive from here. I can be at Willamette pass in 60min.

[vanz]

Well we weren't going fast enough to get hurt, maybe 10mph at the most. It was all just body damage, except my friends truck when that stationwagon hit it bend the fan which cracked the block. If we had put the chains on FIRST, we wouldn't have had a problem. You were smart and thought ahead, we did not. The worst part was the walking on that highway.

I've been back a few times. I go as much as i can, but its such a long drive from here. I can be at Willamette pass in 60min.

Well I had to put on chains in the parking lot...car wouldn't budge at all. I took them out as soon as I left the parking lot though because it looked pretty clear and I don't want to hold up traffic if I can only go max 25 with the chains on.

Yeah, don't know what I'll do if my car breaks down like that. I can't picture myself hiking along a highway at night having cars zoom by at high speeds on slippery roads...thats almost suicide. Glad you weren't road kill.

[Ronjunior]

Well...needless to say, I can't return my chains anymore. Getting out of the parking lot was a *****. Thankfully I got the chains and made getting out of there a breeze.
I can't hold back! I told you so!
At least you had them handy!