Mount Hood SkiBowl is finally opening this weekend for your gravity driven riding pleasure. There still is snow on the upper mountain, but the lower trails will be open.
SkiBowl is one of those gravity parks that has always had excellent terrain with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, like the rest of Oregon, they have had a hard time making progress due to the slow process required by the Forest Service as well protests from anti-bike groups. Fortunately, things may be slowly turning in our favor. According to Troy Fischer of SkiBowl, some good news is on the horizon. SkiBowl recently was approved for the construction of three new freeride oriented trails. The new trails will utilize a number of man made created elements in order to minimize damage to certain elements and increase sustainability, and will be ranked as Blue Square or intermediate level trails. One of the blues will also feature more advanced Black Diamond elements. Construction is expected to be completed this fall.
Many have asked why trails like Gnar-Gnar have never been developed any further to incorporate more grade reversals, grade dips, rollers, or jumps. The main reason for this is that all the trails on the main face need to be groomed once the snow season hits. Because of this, all new trail construction is taking place off the beaten path, much like the new intermediate level shore-style freeride trail that was constructed last year.
Expect to see more trails like this intermediate level freeride oriented trail this year.
In addition, a green level skills development area is planned and in the works, with completion likely taking place by the end of this year’s riding season. A full time trail crew will be working, so remember to give them words of encouragement when you’re out shredding the trails.
The Bike Park will open June 19th.
Download a Mountain Bike Trail Map here. (PDF)
For info on ticket pricing and passes click here.
Haven’t ridden SkiBowl yet? Here’s a clip pulled from Vimeo.
Scotty Graham Memorial – Pro E Downhill – 08 from Wayback Films on Vimeo.
