Volker,
Thanks you very much for posting this. So far, for years, our mid-week
forum has been dominated by people who ski mostly at Mt.
Hood Meadows. That's perfectly fine, but it's nice to finally get
someone (you) to take an active role in bringing together
Timberline/Skibowl mid-week skiers too. I hope a lot of people
will respond.
It's a good plan to park at the Summit ski area and take the free
Timberline shuttle up. In this way, you avoid the parking
problems and the closures of Timberline Road. Also, at the end of
the day, you can ski all the way down to Government Camp, using
either the Alpine Trail or West Leg Road. West Leg Road is mostly
slow and flat within the Timberline ski area, but it gets a bit
faster after it leaves the ski area, so it's actually fun to ski
it almost effortlessly if you are tired by the end of the day.
I might join you from time to time. But, I actually prefer to ski
on weekends, usually on Saturdays. I totally agree that Saturdays
should be avoided at Meadows, but there are rarely any
significantly long lines at Timberline, even on the busiest
weekends. That's because parking is limited, which limits the
number of skiers. So, there is not real need to avoiud weekends,
except for the fact that you have to arrive at Timberline by about
7:30 am to make sure you can find a parking spot. I usually end
up snoozing in my car for about an hour while waiting for the
lifts to open. Or, at other times, I sometimes park in Govy and
take the Mt. Hood Express up. IT costs just $2, and the bus stops
very near the end of the Glade Trail.
The reason I don't like going up on weekdays is that I don't like
dealing with rush hour traffic both driving up in the morning and
then again driving home in the afternoon. I live in Salem, so I
hit rush hour traffic at more than one place. First in Salem,
then at the notorious congestion around Wilsonville, then again
around Oregon City, and basically all the way to Sandy. The road
finally clears from Sandy to Mt. Hood. And then it's even worse
on the drive back home, especially between Tualatin and
Wilsonville. .
Still, I will probably drive up on an occasional mid-week day.
Emilio