Report for Friday, June 19, 2026
I’m lucky to live in Oregon, close to Timberline Lodge, which is one of the few places in North America to offer summer skiing.
I hadn’t been on the snow since I went heli skiing in Alaska in mid-April.
It felt so good to make turns again.
Timberline typically stays open until August, but with the historically low snowfall year across the Western U.S. this year, the resort is aiming to stay open only until July 19.
I figured the sooner I got up there, the better for the best conditions.
I took advantage of the Friday holiday to grab both my boys (ages 13 and 11) for a day in the sun and snow.
As we drove up to the parking lot, I could tell it was busy.
There was your typical array of ski team buses and cars with license plates from dozens of states.
I parked right in between two buses that were branded “Team Palisades Tahoe.”
We loaded the Magic Mile lift around 9:30 a.m. and made our way to the Palmer chair to access the high alpine.
Despite the low snow year, the snowfield is in great shape and skiing well.
We spent our first few runs maneuvering around the many ski teams up there training.
There was still plenty of space to make things interesting and, of course, my boys found some places to catch some air.
We had brought our sack lunch with us to the upper mountain and left it amongst the hundreds of ski racer bags.
We found a relaxing spot to eat at 8,500 feet of elevation.
As we overlooked the Cascade Mountains, I couldn’t help but wonder why I hadn’t done lunch this way before.
After eating, the boys even hiked above the lift just for a little extra adventure.
Around 11:30 a.m., the ski racers started to clear out.
The snowfield opened up.
We could now go anywhere we wanted.
This was the best skiing of the day as we did lap after lap, stopping at the Palmer mid-station each time to stay high on the mountain.
We were grinning ear to ear after each lap, especially since the lift lines were now nonexistent.
Eventually, the warm sun helped make the decision to end the day in the early afternoon.
As we downloaded on the Magic Mile lift, it was hard not to appreciate just how special summer skiing at Timberline really is.
In a year when many resorts struggled with low snowfall, the Palmer Snowfield is still providing a chance to make turns, work on skills, and enjoy being in the mountains.
The conditions were far better than expected, the crowds thinned out nicely by midday, and sharing the day with my boys made it even better.
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