For winter outdoor enthusiasts looking for mountain offerings besides skiing and snowboarding, Mt. Hood Meadows offers several snowshoe tours.
Tour tickets include a guided tour and snowshoe rentals and walking poles, although participants can bring their own snowshoes if they choose.
The Vista Snowshoe Tour makes its return on Sunday, Feb. 9 and will be available at 1 p.m. every Sunday through March.
The 90-minute guided tour starts with a ride up to the 6,600-foot elevation via the Vista Express chairlift and descends along Vista Ridge trail through the Mitchell Creek area and back to base, finishing with a meal at Sahale Lodge. Ticket includes a food voucher.
Other available tours include:
The Sahalie Falls tour: A two-hour tour for beginner and intermediate snowshoers that departs at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Umbrella Falls tour: A two-hour tour for beginner and intermediate snowshowers that departs at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Illumination tour: A 90-minute tour for beginner and intermediate snowshoers that departs at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays through February.
Grand Falls tour: A more difficult tour that last three to four hours that departs at 1 p.m. on Fridays in February.
Snowshoe tours cost $29 to $39, except for the Vista Tour, which costs $99.
For more information, go to skihood.com.
Fresh snow on mountain
With six consecutive days of snowfall totaling over 2 feet, Mt. Bachelor in Central Oregon is ranked among the top five resorts in North America for deepest base depth (116 inches) mid-mountain depth, and season-to-date snowfall (275 inches).
Since the storm rolled in on Jan. 31, guests at Mt. Bachelor have enjoyed fresh tracks and light, dry snow daily. Teams opened Northwest lift on Monday afternoon, offering untouched turns in wide-open glades and thrilling tree runs through expert-only terrain.
With more snow in the forecast, there will be plenty more powder days ahead this week and into the weekend. Mt. Bachelor encourages guests to beware of tree wells and snow immersion suffocation risks on the slopes.
