Places To Snowshoe

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
Lumpy
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Joined: October 8th, 2012, 9:26 am

Re: Places To Snowshoe

Post by Lumpy » November 21st, 2014, 1:30 am

Thanks for that. It's pretty good motivation.
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mjuliana
Posts: 397
Joined: July 23rd, 2012, 2:32 pm

Re: Places To Snowshoe

Post by mjuliana » November 21st, 2014, 12:04 pm

-Q- wrote:
pdxgene wrote:Twin Lakes has the blue diamond markers and leaves from a maintained lot so that should be listed. Mirror Lake and Tamanawas could be due to no 'official' parking for winter recreation. Those roadside pull out spots tend to be where plowed snow gets piled up.
You can pretty much snowshoe anywhere you can hike (though ski runs are obviously off limits).
Actually, you are technically allowed to snowshoe across ski runs, as well as snowshoe up the sides of the ski runs. They are not off limits.

I have done both many times. Since the ski runs on Hood for example are in National Forests (public land) and the ski resorts only lease the land, they cannot legally tell you not to snowshoe there.

Staying out of the center of the run is good for safety reasons though, and the resorts do request that you stay off to the side.
Most resorts do have an uphill travel policy and will periodically try to enforce them. A couple of years ago Meadows tried to prevent walkers from going from the lodge to the bottom of Stadium to watch ski races. This didn't last long... :D
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-Q-
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Joined: July 5th, 2008, 10:42 pm

Re: Places To Snowshoe

Post by -Q- » November 21st, 2014, 5:54 pm

mjuliana wrote:
-Q- wrote:
pdxgene wrote:Twin Lakes has the blue diamond markers and leaves from a maintained lot so that should be listed. Mirror Lake and Tamanawas could be due to no 'official' parking for winter recreation. Those roadside pull out spots tend to be where plowed snow gets piled up.
You can pretty much snowshoe anywhere you can hike (though ski runs are obviously off limits).
Actually, you are technically allowed to snowshoe across ski runs, as well as snowshoe up the sides of the ski runs. They are not off limits.

I have done both many times. Since the ski runs on Hood for example are in National Forests (public land) and the ski resorts only lease the land, they cannot legally tell you not to snowshoe there.

Staying out of the center of the run is good for safety reasons though, and the resorts do request that you stay off to the side.
Most resorts do have an uphill travel policy and will periodically try to enforce them. A couple of years ago Meadows tried to prevent walkers from going from the lodge to the bottom of Stadium to watch ski races. This didn't last long... :D
Very interesting, and news to me.
I would simply ignore their request to not snowshoe up/down the run, and continue on :mrgreen:
Afterall, its your land, not theirs.

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BurnsideBob
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Joined: May 6th, 2014, 3:15 pm
Location: Mount Angel, Oregon

Re: Places To Snowshoe

Post by BurnsideBob » November 22nd, 2014, 10:44 am

Ski resorts are not good places to snowshoe when they are operating. Yes you can snowshoe inside a ski area but you will be in conflict with the ski area operator. The ski area operator is charged with providing as safe an environment for guests as possible, and incurs liability if he is negligent in doing so. So of course the operator is going to have a restrictive written policy and is not going to be happy with you on the ski runs.

I did an internet search for non-paid access at USFS owned ski areas and found the following:

Once you enter a ski area you are subject to the same laws and regulations as someone who bought a lift ticket. These could be state, federal, or county/local regulations. At MHM you would be subject to Hood River County's regs, which are fairly extensive and incorporate the Skier's Code of Conduct.

Once you enter a ski area you are to obey the ski area operator's personnel and signage--ski patrol, on-slope guides, warning signs, slow speed signs, etc.

You can be categorically excluded from portions of a ski area under certain conditions and cited if you do enter. Examples are:
Closure due to avalanche risk--similar to a fire closure.
Closure due to avalanche control work.
Closure due to ongoing snow grooming or other operations involving mechanized equipment.

There are lots of places to snowshoe. Why go where you don't know if an active closure is in place, run the risk of being clipped by a speeding skier or snowboarder, possibly have an unpleasant encounter with ski patrol or resort representative, etc?
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