2008 | Our terrific 25: Ways to enjoy the outdoors without buying a lift ticket

THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Last updated: October 16th, 2009 03:49 PM (PDT)

Here are 25 ways other than Alpine skiing or snowboarding to have a good time this season:

1. NORDIC SKI JUMPING IN LEAVENWORTH

Whistler Blackcomb finished installing its ski jump for the 2010 Olympics last year, so Leavenworth’s modest ski hill no longer has the Northwest’s only ski jump. However, it’s the only one you can use. While Nordic skis are ideal for this jump, many use Alpine skis on the two hills.

SkiLeavenworth.com

2. GO TUBING

You don’t need to know how to ski to zip down a snowy slope. You can do the same with an inner tube from your local tire store. The Summit at Snoqualmie has a tubing hill (you’ll have to use its tubes). But you can find free tubing hills at Paradise and the Hyak Sno-Park.

summitatsnoqualmie.com, parks.wa.gov/winter, parks.gov/mora

3. VISIT SUN MOUNTAIN LODGE

Tucked away in the Methow Valley, Sun Mountain Lodge is considered by many to be the ultimate base camp for a cross-country skiing adventure. From the lodge you’ll find easy access to an ice rink, more than 200 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails and more than a dozen snowshoe trails.

SunMountainLodge.com

4. TAKE A BIATHLON LESSON

You don’t have to go to Europe to try the biathlon. The Washington Biathlon Association, based at Stevens Pass, has events throughout the winter open to all skill levels – even gun-shy rookies.

wabiathlon.org

5. SCOTTISH LAKES HIGH CAMP

You can ski or snowshoe five miles into the backcountry on Stevens Pass to stay in one of nine private cabins, or you can hire a snowmobile driver for $60 per person. Cabins are $70 to 80 per person per night.

scottishlakes.com

6. FREE SNOWSHOE TOURS

You can join free snowshoe tours at Hurricane Ridge and Paradise each winter. While it costs $15 per vehicle to enter the national parks, the free tours include use of snowshoes. Check the national park Web sites for schedules.

nps.gov/mora, nps.gov/olym

7. POLAR BEAR JUMP

You might need to be a little off center – not to mention thick skinned – to enjoy this New Year’s Day tradition. Olalla Lagoon is home to the state’s biggest Polar Bear Club. When a cannon signals, participants dash into the frigid water. Why? Who knows?

Al’s Grocery Store, 253-851-4955

8. TRY CURLING

Curling might look like shuffleboard on ice, but you might be surprised how fun the Scottish game can be. The Granite Curling Club in Seattle, the Northwest’s only curling club, offers open houses Dec. 13, Feb. 21 and March 7 for $10 per person or $25 per family.

curlingseattle.org

9. ICE CLIMBING

Apex Resort near Penticton, B.C., offers much more adventure than its famously steep ski runs. The ski area added an ice-climbing tower before the 2007-08 ski season. Apex also has an ice skating trail, where visitors can go skating through the woods.

ApexResort.com

10. GO ZIPLINING

If zipping between tree trunks on your skis makes you nervous, maybe flying through the treetops is more your style. Whistler Blackcomb has an extensive zipline system in the trees between the resort’s two mountains. Ziplining is offered year round. Tours range from $98 to $119.

whistler.com/zipline

11. CHEER THE MUSHERS

See the best athletes in the sport of sled dog racing at the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in downtown Anchorage. Up to 80 mushers behind teams of 12 dogs will run down snow-covered city streets and trails March 7, and fans cheer them on at virtually every corner. Defending champion Lance Mackey will be back, aiming for his third consecutive victory. Mackey, a throat cancer survivor, has changed what mushers thought possible by winning both 1,000-mile northcountry races – the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race – just a few weeks apart.

iditarod.com

12. CHEER THE FASTER MUSHERS

They don’t travel as far as Iditarod dogs, but the animals in the Fur Rendezvous World Champion Sled Dog Race run even faster. They’re sprinters – if you call blasting around a 25-mile course along the streets and trails of Anchorage at more than 20 mph sprinting. The three-day race is the highlight of a winter festival that also includes the Miners and Trappers Ball, fireworks, a poker tournament, a snow sculpture contest, a Native craft show, snowshoe softball, snow machine races and a dog weight-pull contest.

furrondy.net

13. IRON DOG RACE

The Tesoro Iron Dog snow-machine race is the world’s longest and toughest. The race begins Feb. 8 on the frozen surface of Big Lake, an hour north of Anchorage. And it’s always a spectacle, with roaring machines blasting off the starting line at speeds around 80 mph. Relax afterward with food and a drink at Big Lake Lodge and be glad you’re not bumping along through the subzero cold, on your way to Nome or the finish line in Fairbanks a week later.

IronDog.org

14. FISH ON

By March, Alaska anglers are chomping at the bit. To relieve the anxiety and to try to earn thousands of dollars, some head to Homer at the tip of the Kenai Peninsula for the Winter King Salmon Tournament. The increasingly popular tournament is a one-day affair, but it can make the winning angler wealthy. Ninilchik, Alaska, buddies John Forster and George Veney earned more than $16,500 for the winning king last year, a 34-pounder that Forster caught as Veney drove the boat.

HomerAlaska.org

15. WINE TOURS

There are dozens of wineries from Yakima to Walla Walla, and most are open year-round. The Washington Wine Commission offers a complete listing of wineries.

washingtonwine.org

16. GOLF

Even in January, temperatures in the Tri-Cities are mild enough to get in 18 holes. There are seven courses in the Tri-Cities.

visittri-cities.com

17. HOLY OLY REVIVAL

A giant snowboarding festival with halfpipe madness – at The Summit at Snoqualmie on Feb. 21, 2009. Some of the best snowboarders on the planet show up and hit big air and crazy stunts on the halfpipe. It’s worth the hourlong-drive from Seattle up Interstate 90 just to see the spectacle.

summitatsnoqualmie.com

18. RIDE THAT SNOW MACHINE

Snowmobliles to most folks are a not-so-quiet sport in the Northwest. In Washington, dozens of Sno-Parks scattered throughout the Cascade Range fill up with growling snow machines and riders decked out in gaudy jumpsuits. There are snow-machine Sno-Parks near most Cascade Range ski areas – and even near Mount St. Helens.

parks.wa.gov/winter

19. VISIT MOUNT RAINIER

Mount Rainier National Park is a great place to snowshoe, sled and even get into a snowball fight. And Mount Rainier is never short of snow – especially at Paradise, where they measure it by the foot. The Paradise Inn is closed for the winter, but rooms might be available at the National Park Inn at Longmire. One catch: The road to Paradise is often closed in the mornings so snowplows can clear a path through the previous night’s drifts.

nps.gov/mora

20. SKI NOOKSACK VALLEY

With 15 miles of trails just off Mount Baker Highway, Salmon Ridge is a haven for local cross-country skiers. The area is maintained by the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club and offers groomed and tracked trails, suitable for those who also want to skate ski, and plenty of untracked landscape.

At an elevation of 2,000 feet, the terrain at Salmon Ridge is relatively flat and ideal for beginners, though it varies throughout the network of trails that offer views of the Nooksack River, Mount Sefrit and Mount Shuksan.

nooksacknordicskiclub.org

21. SNOWMOBILE NEAR BAKER

Snow hounds have 168 miles of trails to explore inside the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Snowmobiling isn’t allowed in wilderness areas, so check maps before heading out. But there are still plenty of tracks to go around.

Local riders take advantage of several Sno-Park areas that have been established in the vicinity by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

www.fs.fed.us – search for “Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest,” then see the “recreational activities” menu

22. SLED AT BAKER

Mount Baker Ski Area seems an obvious place for skiers and snowboarders, but what about sledders? OK, sledding isn’t allowed inside the ski area. But, unofficially, groups of tubers and sledders often have a great time sliding down slopes outside the ski area’s boundaries near Highwood Lake and Picture Lake. The area around Bagley Lake is also popular.

The sledding sites are located just before Heather Meadows Lodge off the Mount Baker Highway. There’s free parking at the lodge.

23. SLEEP IN A YURT

If you’re in the mood for some soft winter camping, Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area near Boise has a yurt available this year. It sleeps 10 and costs $100 a night.

bogusbasin.org – click on “Reserve the yurt”

24. TAKE IN A WINTER CARNIVAL

Giant ice sculptures, food and music are just some of the attractions at this annual event in McCall, Idaho. The event is scheduled for Jan. 30 through Feb. 8.

mccallwintercarnival.com

25. SOAK IN AN IDAHO HOT SPRING

Private hot springs such as Gold Fork (goldforkhotsprings.com) outside Donnelly, Idaho, will cost you a couple of bucks, or you can find a number of backcountry springs.

IdahoHotSprings.com

Reported by Craig Hill, The News Tribune; Chester Allen, The Olympian; David Rasbach, The Bellingham Herald; Kevin McCullen, the Tri-City Herald; and Roger Phillips, The Idaho Statesman.

Originally published: November 23rd, 2008 12:54 AM (PST)