Thursday, January 6th, 2011
We had a choice to make this fall. Snowboard or eat. I’m kidding of course, but after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I let the pre-season discount deadline pass without purchasing anything from Mt. Bachelor. It wasn’t easy.
I did, however, have a back-up plan…We have enjoyed a few nights of snowboarding at Hoodoo over the past few years. I’ve always considered it a good, little family ski hill. So when I penciled out how much season passes would cost the family, how many times we could go snowboarding until 9PM and the cost of the extra gas, I realized that we were going Hoodoo-ing this season.
And what a great decision it’s been. My eight-year-old and I have taken run after run, well into the night. He’s been able to perfect his getting-on-and-getting-off the chairlift technique and take some laps in a great beginner’s terrain park. When I asked a lift-op if I could use the fenced-off lesson area to help teach my four-year-old he told me to make myself at home. That’s a far cry from the response I got asking that question at other, big-mountain resorts. Hoodoo’s lodge is a huge asset as well. You could not find a more relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Families bring their own food and stake out a table for the day. Kids run from the old-school video arcade to the air hockey table. And the staff is friendly to a fault. Want to bring your own Crock Pot and let it stew while you are out making turns? No problem, we’ll even keep an eye on it!
We usually show up late, it’s always a chore to get two kids organized and ready. But we can snowboard all afternoon and into the evening. Hoodoo was open for night riding every night between Christmas and New Year’s. And the New Year’s Eve celebration at Hoodoo was spectacular. We warmed up around a campfire with friends, rode under the lights, came back, grilled some food, rode some more and then watched the most amazing fireworks display after the lifts had closed. I’ve seen bigger fireworks shows, but not at a better setting than Hoodoo, lighting up the snow covered landscape with each blast echoing off the mountains. The fireworks just plain rocked.
Snowboarding with kids is not an extreme sport. Or maybe I should say the skill and adrenaline are not directed in the same manner as big-mountain snowboarding. I don’t claim to be advancing my snowboarding skills this year. But the family and I sure are enjoying a laid-back season at Hoodoo.
My first day at Hoodoo I saw more Carhartts and blue jeans than I did in ten years of riding at Mt. Bachelor. But I also witnessed more snow-covered smiles than I have seen for a long time. Not a bad way to spend a winter.
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