Oregon's Cascade Mountains are well known for their wintertime recreational offerings and bountiful snow packs. Mount Hood and Mount Bachelor draw a constant stream of local skiers and snowboarders to schuss and carve down their lift-served slopes. Beyond the ski resorts, however, among the peaklets, ridges, buttes and glades that flow along and near the Cascade Crest is another wintertime gem: pockets of powder-filled backcountry stashes. While this terrain requires some effort to reach and necessitates experience to travel through safely, Oregon's winter backcountry opens up a new world of skiing and splitboarding possibilities.
Backcountry skiing is accessible in multiple areas around the state, from the Wallowas and Blue Mountains in the east to the southern Oregon Cascades, but it is the areas around Mount Hood and Central Oregon that offer some of the best variety and winter road access. Here you'll find beginner to advanced terrain from low angle tree skiing to big alpine descents. The following list will help orient you to what's out there.
Mount Hood Area:
Eyeing a drop in on Mount Hood's east side. Photo by Matthew King.
Tilly Jane Trail: Northeast side of Hood. Low angle terrain through forest to Tilly Jane Shelter. Good beginner route.
Cooper Spur Shelter: Continues beyond Tilly Jane Trail. Incredible views of Mount Hood on clear day.
Tom Dick + Harry Mountain: Adjacent to Ski Bowl. Short bowls and tree skiing. Needs cold storms and a low snow level.
Skinning up ona . blue bird day in the Wallowas. Photo by Benjamin Krause.
The Wallowas have long been considered the underrated little sibling to Oregon's better-known Cascade Range. There's no denying that the Cascades offer dramatic volcanic peaks and great year-round skiing, but the Wallowas' vast terrain offers backcountry skiers with the rare opportunity to be enveloped by the mountains and get away from it all.
Learn more about our favorite backcountry tours in Oregon's Wallowa Mountains here.
While winter backcountry adventures can be a fun and intriguing way to explore the winter wilderness, they can also quickly become dangerous outdoor activities that pose significant and life-threatening risks as conditions affecting safety (i.e. weather, snow pack stability, avalanche hazard) are constantly changing. Prior to engaging in these activities, each individual should get the proper training to make safe decisions (including knowing when not to go), and be prepared/equipped for backcountry navigation and to employ avalanche training and tools. Expert backcountry guides are also available throughout the state to help you get oriented and travel safely. There is an etiquette to backcountry travel that helps keep yourself and others safe. Please visit our Backcountry Skiing and Avalanche Safety post to learn more. Experience, knowledge and informed and safe decision making are the means to a long-lasting and healthy relationship with the winter backcountry.
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