outside For many of us who’ve had to forgo our wild winter ways zizzing down double black diamonds at breakneck speeds, but who don’t want to lose touch with the outdoors this time of year, clambering over snow-covered hills and trails atop these contraptions has opened up a new world of enjoyment. For the beginners among you, you can rent snowshoes from a reputable outdoor store. They can help you get the proper fit, style and size, and even give you a few pointers along the way. If you like it, you can purchase your own pair later. One quick piece of etiquette: Avoid trekking through cross-country ski tracks. Skinny-skiers hate that. And remember: It’s winter out there and gets dark by 4 p.m. Conditions can change quickly. Layer up, take extra outer shells, gloves and socks. Drink plenty of water and eat highcalorie snacks. Wear sunglasses and sunscreen. Know your physical limits. Plan your trip. Don’t travel alone. And don’t ignore the warning signs of hypothermia.
Making Tracks in Winter’s Snowy Wonderland
If you’re ready to hit it, here are three options for some Gorge winter fun, all within an easy drive. Cooper Spur Mountain Resort For those who want to test the snowshoe waters, just 23 miles from Hood River, off Highway 35, Cooper Spur Mountain Resort offers its own Nordic Center with affordable snowshoe rent-
Snowshoeing offers a fun and easy way to enjoy the season
als for adults and juniors and the chance to trek
by don campbell // photos by blaine franger
al Forest trails.
some beautiful back-country Mt. Hood NationThe resort offers a 6.7-kilometer loop just be-
Baby Boomers of a certain age may remember
to make the trek. You may have seen a pair over
hind the resort to the north, that can ultimately
the stylish figure cut by television’s most revered
any fireplace in a rustic ski lodge.
loop you up to the Cooper Spur Ski Area, and
Canadian Mountie, Sergeant Preston of the
The modern sport of snowshoeing has come
for the adventurous, it can connect you with
Yukon. On patrol in the Great North, Preston’s
a long way. Lightweight aluminum frames and
the Polallie Ridge and Tilly Jane trails which can
horse, Rex, and his faithful dog, Yukon King, had
binding attachments, and steel toe crampons
take you all the way up to the famed Cloud Cap
little trouble navigating the perilous snows in
for digging in uphill and down would have
area. The resort has also recently added some
the hunt for nefarious criminals. Preston, more
served our dear sergeant well. The evolution
mountain bike trails that are accessible for
often than not, had to strap on two giant tennis
has put the sport in reach for all age groups. If
snowshoers.
rackets of bent wood and laced beaver sinew
you can walk, you can snowshoe.
38 the gorge magazine // winter 2014
“I’ve snowshoed up there,” says Cooper Spur