We finally got around to joining son Ed (Ted to us) and his GF for some spring touring skiing up on Mt. Hood on this Sunday. It was a perfect sunny, mild and crystal clear day to climb some 3000 vertical feet (several miles in distance) up Palmer Glacier from the historic Timberline Lodge, to about the 9,000′ foot level, and then ski down. The climber’s trail starts in the parking lot, where Ted shot this pristine Dodge A108 van. Not exactly the ultimate snow-mobile, but by now the road was totally dry. A lot nicer than my old A100.
The rest of this post are shots of us working our way up the mountain the hard way, so if that’s not your thing, skip the jump. Well, there is a fine vintage Tucker Snocat too at the end.
Starting out on the long trek up. The destination is Palmer Glacier, below the craggy peak area.
Stephanie had snow shoes, so she peeled off about half way up as we were going to ski down. In case you’re not familiar with touring, we had “skins” on the bottom of our skis, which we peeled off at the top. Andrea has a split-board, whose two halves connect to make a snowboard.
The views were just absolutely stellar. That’s Mt. Jefferson, the next big Cascades volcano to the south about 50 miles off, and beyond it to the left a bit are the Three Sisters, near Eugene, close to 100 miles away. The lens on my old iPhone makes them look much smaller than they looked to the naked eye. The lodge, where we started, can be seen just to the right of the center marking sign.
Here’s looking the other way, with the summit of Mt. Hood (11,250′) behind us. We switched our skis and boots to downhill configuration, and off we went. Let’s just say it took a lot less time (and sweat) than the way up.
We headed for the lodge, which was built in 1935 as a WPA project. Among other things, its famous for being the setting for the movie “The Shining”. It’s one of the finest of its kind, especially so on the inside (the following images are from the web).
It’s full of delightful spaces, massive timber frame construction and fine art and craftsmanship everywhere.
Lobby
One of the dining rooms, straight out of Games of Thrones.
We headed to the main dining room, which has a fine buffet on Sundays. Just the thing to replenish all those spent calories while enjoying the views.
And as we waddled out, there was the 1951 Tucker Snocat sitting prominently just outside the lobby window, with the mountain behind it. A fitting finale to fine day.
My heart just about stopped when I saw this van. I had the near identical 1968 Dodge A-108 Sportsman for years. 318 V-8, 727 auto with dual exhaust. Back in 1988 I sold it to a young guy whom I hoped would love it as much as I did. Well he ignored my warning to fix the oil leak or check the motor oil regularly and after I week I saw it abandoned on a highway pullout where it sat for several days before someone smashed all the windows. From there it went to the impound yard and later to the crusher.
Instant memories for me as well. Dad bought a 1969 A-108 Sportsman in the same beige and white color as pictured. 318 LA V-8 and 727 Loadflite. It became my brother’s first car and he did not abuse it.
Wow, never heard of skins for downhill skis or split snowboards before. Looks like an awesome day!
Speaking of skiing with a son, Mrs DougD and I went X-country skiing for the first time in years recently. Since our son is spending a year at a kid’s adventure camp one of his tasks is being a ski instructor. We visited in February and went skiing and snow shoeing with him. A first, he’d always been more inclined to stay indoors and play video games.
One of the other kids who is working at camp (most are German for some reason) approached us and told us “We enjoy having Derek at camp, because it’s so much fun to make him do outdoor activities that he doesn’t want to do” and we said “And that’s why we sent him here, keep doing it until he enjoys them 🙂 ”
Our accommodation was decent, but nowhere near as good as Timberline Lodge. What a magnificent building!
Nice van too…
I should clarify: these are not regular downhill skis. They are Alpine Touring (“AT”) skis and boots. Trick bindings allow the heel to come up, like a cross country ski. If the boot were still solidly fastened in back, this would be torture. Also, the boots are a bit different, and have a lever in the back that changes them from touring to ski mode. And one doesn’t tighten the boot buckles very much when touring, but does so at the top. So a hybrid of sorts.
Actually, it’s rather similar to what I learned to ski on in Austria as a little kid. We had wood downhill skis, but with cable bindings that had loops on the sides of the ski near the heel. You took the main cable that wrapped around the heel out of the loops for uphill, then put them back in for downhill. But we didn’t have skins. Back then we just traversed, or did herringbone or side step for the deep stretches.
But since I never sat in a ski lift once back then in Austria, the whole idea of going up on your skis and then skiing down is quite familiar. The ski lifts were expensive and for the tourists (or grownups). 🙂
It did teach me the basics of touring and cross country and downhill very early.
Boy, skiing technology sure has changed. I was an avid cross-country skier when I lived in Pennsylvania, but a traditionalist: Hickory skis, cane poles, and gunsmorring on the skis every fall, followed by the complete kit of waxes and klisters to set the skis up properly for every possible snow condition.
And my mates looked at me like I was a madman when I’d rewax in mid-trail. Yet, it worked better in marginal conditions than waxless skis of any generation.
It one of the few regrets I have of moving to Virginia. The skiing died completely within five years of my move.
What a coincidence, my fiance and I were just at Government Camp on Saturday, 5-4-2019 and we ate at Charlie’s Mountain View. We ended up hiking near Tamanawas Falls and not the lovely Mount Hood. Thank you for the photographs including the mountains and I’ve always wanted to see the Three Sisters. I think I have seen that Dodge Van around before.
As kids were joked that Dodge Truck assembly plant workers were required to bring to work all the foil pie-tins they could gather up or lose their jobs… Oh look, another pie-tin headlights Dodge…
They do look like pie tins! Or those chrome things around the stove burners. If that van had a face it would look very very caffeinated…
I wonder if that Snocat looked that good when it left the factory
I see how you can tell it’s a Sno Cat (it’s labeled three times on this side) but how did anyone know it’s a 1951?
I’m also wondering why the internets have been thinking I’m interested in a ComfortStall by HayGain for the past couple of weeks. I don’t have room for one in my apartment, or a horse to go in it. Although I have to say I’m sure they would enjoy it if I did.
That looks like fun. I have never skied, except as a kid on those cheap wooden ones on a sledhill. I fell down a lot.
How was the altitude there? On my first drive through the Rocky mountains when I was 19, I had driven straight from Indiana and while driving through a cloud I got the urge to run up to the top of the mountain I was on. Maybe 9000 feet-ish. I ran full up a steep Rocky grade for several hundred yards and then sat to look down. Then I realized what thin air was. Took me forever to catch my breath, and I was light-headed. That was before I started smoking. I wouldn’t want to try after 25 years of flavor country.
Oh yeah, very nice van too. Unbelievably clean. I never really saw those Dodges that I can remember. I am 48 and the earliest vans I remember were the 1969-ish Ford’s. They were everywhere. When I was about 2 I remember thinking it’s front end looks like my paternal grandfather’s face.
Thankfully, looks-wise I took after my mother. She’s a big bag of crazy but without her DNA I’d probably resemble a fuselage Chrysler.
Are you still reading this? I would’ve stopped a few sentences ago. My tangents know no end…
I never feel out of breath when at Timberline Lodge. Denver though, and Boulder sometimes leave me short of breath.
Hoogeeze…Suddenly it’s 1970! Even the “pie pan” headlight doors are almost perfect. What a honey of a van.
I have family in Bend, always enjoy visiting that area. Beautiful.