Emilio has skied eleven ski resorts in Oregon

SKI OREGON CHALLENGE
"RACE TO THE FINISH"
 

Emilio Trampuz and McCoy Smith tied for second in the Ski Oregon Challenge behind David Schor who was the first to complete the “Race to the Finish” by snowboarding at all of Oregon’s ski resorts by February 19, 2006.  As of March 30th, Emilio and McCoy had skied all eleven of Oregon ski resorts listed on the Ski Oregon Challenge - Anthony Lakes, Cooper Spur, Mt. Ashland, Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood Meadows, Spout Springs, Timberline, Warner Canyon, Willamette Pass, Mt. Hood Skibowl and Hoodoo.  Below are some observations from Emilio's journal.

Read the Complete Composite Diary by all participants - Click Here.

If you have a story to tell about skiing Oregon's ski resorts let us know – Send to Steve at sacoxen@aol.com

Excerpts from Emilio's Journal

Spout Springs
On the way home from my trip to Schweitzer and Mt. Bachelor, I got to ski at Spout Springs.  I was very pleasantly surprised.   I got there on a perfect powder day.  The snow at both Schweitzer and Mt. Bachelor was rather wet and melting into my clothes, because the temperature at the base was about 34 - 35 degrees.  But, at Spout Springs, it was about 12 degrees cooler.  Perfectly dry snow.  At least a foot of fresh snow and no crowds.  There were maybe 20 people on the beginner lift, and only about 5 or 6 people on their more advanced/intermediate lift.  And this was on a Sunday!  

I had the place almost to myself!  600 vertical feet of fresh, untouched powder.  I was laying down fresh tracks long into the afternoon. There were several slopes that required a bit of walking (traversing along the ridge), so nobody had skied them when I first cut some tracks there around 1:30 pm.  About half an hour later, I re-visited the same slope, and laid down a second set of tracks around 2:00 pm.   Maybe someone saw me going there, because it was only after that, later in the afternoon, that I saw one more set of tracks there that were not mine!  By then, I was cutting more fresh tracks on yet another untouched adjacent slope.

Best of all, the powder was so light that the wind was kicking it around everywhere, gradually covering up the old tracks and providing a fresh look to the slopes.  And it wasn't really very windy at all; just enough to kick up the light powder.  On the slopes, several clusters of trees were left standing in places, providing lots of opportunities to explore different lines between those trees.  Other places, there were tall shrubs growing in the middle of the trail, again providing for interesting slalom obstacles.

I even showed off on the beginner slopes too.  The terrain right under the beginner lift is actually quite steep close to the top of the lift. Beginners get on a road circling this steeper part.  This leaves a very wide steep swath of terrain totally untouched near the lift.  I cut it up with pleasure, in several places!

I had a blast!  I would recommend Spout Springs to everyone, especially on a powder day.  Just remember that they are only open on weekends.  I think it's Friday - Sunday, plus holidays.

Cooper Spur
I skied Cooper Spur on December 31^st. It started off with a soft drizzle, but soon turned to snow, and snowed heavily most of the day.  Ten runs earned me a total of 3,380 vertical feet.  That’s 338’ per run. 

At last year’s Far West Ski Association Convention, Glen Plake spoke about our need to support the small ski areas, the local hills where future Olympians are being nurtured.  This nurturing of future racers is very much alive at Cooper Spur.  The day I visited, about 60 or more kids of all ages were at the end of a 5 day ski camp, where they honed their skills and topped it off with a final race.  Smiles were everywhere.

Cooper Spur is small and intimate.  Bring a friend to ski with.  The old T-bar has been replaced with a double chairlift, and the old lodge (which burned down several years ago) was re-built as a much nicer lodge.

Warner Canyon
February 3, 2006.  The best powder experience of the season for me, so far, was at Warner Canyon.  I drove there on a Friday.  The area is closed Monday - Thursday, so nobody had touched the fresh powder all week.  I arrived an hour and a half late, expecting to see it all carved up already.  Instead, there was only a single track on the mountain's face.  I immediately drew figure 8s on top of the track, and then proceeded to cut more fresh tracks everywhere.  There were a dozen there, and only 4 or 5 of them were powder skiers!  What fun!  Over a thousand feet of pure powder!  All mine!