Coming soon to a Mt. Hood Ski Bowl lift tower near you…

Snowrider is pleased to award the Crag Law Center with the 2009 Stellar Dendrite Award, given annually to an individual or organization that demonstrates strong stewardship of the Mt. Hood region. Crag is highly deserving of the award due to its influential work in the expansion of the Mt. Hood Wilderness. H.R. 146:The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama March 30, 2009. The 127,000 acre expansion of Mt Hood Wilderness was approved as part of a hard-fought bill protecting over 2 million acres of wilderness throughout 9 states, which also includes the designation of 80 miles of river in the Mt Hood region as “wild and scenic”. The wilderness designation provides the highest level of protection status available for public lands and intends for the land to be preserved for the “use and enjoyment in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.” The status prohibits operation of vehicles or mechanical equipment as well as the construction of new roads or structures.

Crag’s founders, Chris Winter and Ralph Bloemers were instrumental in bringing together key stakeholders during the negotiation process to develop an amenable bill and lobby on its behalf to protect land along Mt Hood’s Cooper Spur. Mr. Bloemers stated that Crag’s success is a product of the tremendous efforts of their clients, supporters, and community groups. In specific reference to the Mt Hood Wilderness success, Mr. Bloemers credits the Cooper Spur Wild and Free Coalition and Mazamas for coalescing support of the outdoor recreation community to lobby for the wilderness area, as well as other stakeholders representing interests in watershed stewardship, timber sales, and ski industry.
The Crag Law Center is a non-profit organization, founded by Bloemers and Winter in 2001, representing over 60 organizations and subsistence native peoples throughout Oregon, Washington and Alaska.  The three program areas under which Crag focuses its actions are Livable Communities, Clean Water, and Public Lands protection. Some of their current projects include assisting native peoples in the protection of their subsistence fishing grounds from oil development along Alaska’s North Slope; halting illegal pollution on the Tualatin, Willamette, Columbia tributary systems in Oregon and Washington and recovering penalties to fund clean up and restoration; and working on behalf of local citizens, conservation groups and public lands advocates to defend roadless areas and old growth forests in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

By awarding Crag with the 2009 Stellar Dendrite Award, Snowrider brings attention to the tremendous services Crag Law Center provides in preserving and protecting wild lands and watersheds in the Northwest. Snowrider recognizes Crag as an invaluable asset to the winter recreation and outdoor mountain community and hopes to continue its productive working relationship for protecting the pristine recreation areas of Oregon.

-Michael Harrison

Last night’s raffle at the Portland premiere of Powderwhore Productions’ new flick Flakes was a success. The Snowrider Project raised just south of a grand and the 2009 Stellar Dendrite award was given to Portland’s Crag Law Center. The Stellar Dendrite Award is given annually to an individual, group of individuals or organization that demonstrates good stewardship of Mt. Hood and the surrounding region. We will follow up soon with a story about Crag and their Mt. Hood work.
Big thanks go out to the Powderwhores, The Crag Law Center, Black Diamond, Next Adventure, Lanny Shuler, Steven Lenhart Photography, Cobra Dogs, the Kennedy School and every single one of you who purchased a raffle ticket. Merci beaucoup!

Howdy Folks,

This is a friendly reminder of the upcoming Portland Premier of Powderwhore Productions’ dope new film Flakes. Read a nice review of the film on Andrew McClean’s blog. Please come early, enjoy some brew, buy some raffle tickets and swill some free heel snow stoke brought to you by the Howell brothers aka. Powderwhore Productions. The show’s at Portland’s Kennedy School located at 5736 NE 33rd Ave in NE Portland and starts at 7:30pm. The kidlets must be left at home as this show is for those age 21 and above.

The Snowrider Project will announce it’s annual Stellar Dendrite Award winner as well as conduct a tasty gear raffle. One of the hottest raffle items is a pair of Black Diamond model 09-10 Justice boards.

We’d like to thank in advance Powderwhore Productions, Black Diamond LTD, Resource Revival, Kennedy School, Lanny Shuler, Next Adventure, The Mountain Shop, and Cobra Dogs among others for helping out.

Cheers,

Michael

Winter has come to an end for Mt Hood ski areas and we can be thankful for a yet another great snow year and a relatively calm and safe season for Oregon’s skiers. This was the first season for Mt Hood Meadows Ski Area to use Howitzer artillery shells in avalanche control, yet its sensibility has already been called into question by snow safety practitioners.

Artillery control has been used by larger, steeper resorts like Alta and Jackson Hole for nearly 60 years by shooting and detonating a 105mm artillery shell to induce avalanches. While this type of avalanche control has allowed ski patrollers to remotely trigger high-risk avalanche targets in steeper, harder-to-access terrain, it is being reconsidered by snow safety officials at these areas because of the unintended danger the process poses to other mountain users.

It seems archaic and untimely that Oregon’s Mt. Hood Meadows would now begin this form of avalanche control when industry-leading snow safety specialists are reconsidering or abandoning it due to public safety concerns. This, coupled with Mt Hood Meadows’ prohibition of backcountry access through ski area boundaries, leads us to question the integrity and consideration of safety in Mt. Hood Meadows’ snow control policy.

Increasingly, ski areas throughout the nation are being forced to share their terrain with a rapidly growing population of backcountry skiers. According to industry trends research, backcountry ski equipment sales have increased an average of 129% annually since 2001 with a 53% increase in sales of accessories. Most ski areas are accommodating this trend, taking a holistic approach and allowing ski area users to access backcountry terrain through resort boundaries in exchange for signing a liability waiver. Whitewater Ski Area in Nelson, British Columbia operates on this system while many other ski areas also allow access after a quick check-in with ski patrol prior to exiting ski area boundaries to verify an awareness of current avalanche conditions.

Snowrider PDX is encouraging Mt Hood Meadows to think proactively about future development and land usage and seek new methods of avalanche control and backcountry access that do not endanger backcountry skiers and adventurers. Additionally, we are urging Mt Hood Meadows, the U.S. Forest Service, and Hood River County to spend the 2009 summer and fall devising new, safe methods for avalanche control that ensure the safety of all mountain recreationalists. As the lessons of Alta and Jackson Hole have shown, while snow sports grow in popularity, a new, holistic approach to ski area operations is absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of all.

-Michael Harrison
herzogsiesta [at] yahoo [dot] com

Portland’s Snowrider Project is proud to present a Portland showing of Nils Larsen’s documentary Skiing In The Shadow of Genghis Khan-Timeless Skiers of the Altai:

When: Wednesday, March 4th @ 7pm(doors at 6:30)
Where: Solstice Outdoor 2415 N. Ross Ave., Portland, Oregon
What: Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and juniors under 16. The film will start at 7pm, is 46 minutes long and will be followed by a Q&A session with Nils. Extracto Coffee and a limited-edition Voodoo Doughnut will be served.
Why: To learn about the origins of skiing in the Altai Mountains of western China and to raise funds for the Portland chapter of the Surfrider Foundation’s Snowrider Project.

Seating is limited to 60 people. We hope to see you and yours next Wednesday night!

The Snowrider Project gives a tip ‘o the hat to Portland Monthly Magazine for getting it right. Well, at least for getting it right once a Snowrider Project volunteer corrected them. PMM published a puff piece on Mt. Hood Meadows’ weapon in their December issue and a Snowrider volunteer noticed the weak story during a visit to the dentist. Here’s Eric’s letter to the editor as PMM published it:

Mt Hood Howitzers

ERIC JEFFCOAT
The Snowrider Project
Northeast Portland

Thank you for getting it right Portland Monthly and for publishing our letter.

On February 5, 2009, the Crag Law Center will be sponsoring a movie night at the Hollywood Theater to benefit the Madrone Wall Preservation Committee. Come out and join other folks from the climbing and outdoor recreation community to support local activists working to preserve one of the Portland area’s premiere climbing spots.

Representatives from Mt. Hood Meadows will be on hand during intermission to discuss avalanche control, backcountry access and uphill travel within the ski area. Many people have contacted us over the past year with questions on these issues, so this is your opportunity to hear from Meadows about their management of the ski area and to let them know what you think.

We hope to see you next Thursday evening at the Hollywood Theatre.

Thanks to Mike McCann and the Snowrider Project Seattle Chapter we’ve got some new stickers:

Click the thumbnail above to see a larger picture. Let us know if you’d like some–> snowriderpdx[at]gmail[dot]com

Or look for us on Mt. Hood.

One of the Portland chapter’s fall initiatives this year was to produce a short Public Service Announcement that focused on keeping garbage off the mountain. We teamed up with U.S. Snowboard Team members, Tommy Czeschin, Hannah Teter and U.S. Snowboard Team Freestyle Coach Mike Jankowski to get the message out. Thanks again to Tommy, Hannah, and Mike for donating their time and thoughts for the project as well as Portland Snowrider Chapter members Ciea Palmer, Eric Jeffcoat, Pat Hanson, Michael Halle and Surfrider Foundation Oregon Field Coordinator Charlie Plybon for making it happen! Please pass the word: