Get ready for summer. Coaches - reserve your lane space on Palmer now! Campers, your summer snow mecca awaits!
Welcome to summer ski and ride 2012! The only place in the country where you can get on lift-accessible snow throughout the entire summer! The Palmer Snowfield provides amazing skiing and riding above tree line to the 8,540′ level of Mt. Hood. Recommended for advanced intermediate and above skill level – there is nothing quite like carving turns and catching air on a warm summer day!
Please note, the majority of publicly accessible terrain on the Palmer Snowfield is somewhat limited due to many ski race camps that reserve private ‘lane’ space throughout the summer. There will always be one lane available for the public, with the potential for more on days when ski race camp traffic is lighter.
Our Summer Snow Season begins June 1, 2013.
We typically operate our best 2 lifts based on weather and snow conditions. This is most typically our Magic Mile and Palmer lifts.
Lift status and operating hours may change on a daily basis due to weather and snow conditions – please see our conditions page for current information.
Please note, the majority of publicly accessible terrain on the Palmer Snowfield is somewhat limited due to many ski race camps that reserve private ‘lane’ space throughout the summer. There will always be one lane available for the public, with the potential for more on days when ski race camp traffic is lighter.
Our Summer Snow Season begins June 1, 2013.
We typically operate our best 2 lifts based on weather and snow conditions. This is most typically our Magic Mile and Palmer lifts.
Lift status and operating hours may change on a daily basis due to weather and snow conditions – please see our conditions page for current information.
Palmer Lane Reservations:
Reserve your land space on the Palmer Snowfield!
Click here to use our online registration form.
If you have questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us:
Timberline Summer Snow Program
Timberline Lodge, OR 97028
503-272-3158
Camp Leaders and Coaches:
Click to download the 2013 Summer Ski Camp and Coach Manual. This newly revised manual is full of important information, and is quick and easy to read!
Click here to download 1-page liability release.
Hungry? Summer Camp Meal Information
Timberline Lodge strives to provide the most nutritious meals at a reasonable price. Our Black Iron Grill (B.I.G.) located in the Wy’East Day Lodge provides a large menu to order from.
Breakfasts and lunches can be setup for your camp through the Mtn. Services Desk. Group meals this summer are TBD for breakfast and TBD for lunch (per person) – both are served buffet style.
Reserve your land space on the Palmer Snowfield!
Click here to use our online registration form.
If you have questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us:
Timberline Summer Snow Program
Timberline Lodge, OR 97028
503-272-3158
Camp Leaders and Coaches:
Click to download the 2013 Summer Ski Camp and Coach Manual. This newly revised manual is full of important information, and is quick and easy to read!
Click here to download 1-page liability release.
Hungry? Summer Camp Meal Information
Timberline Lodge strives to provide the most nutritious meals at a reasonable price. Our Black Iron Grill (B.I.G.) located in the Wy’East Day Lodge provides a large menu to order from.
Breakfasts and lunches can be setup for your camp through the Mtn. Services Desk. Group meals this summer are TBD for breakfast and TBD for lunch (per person) – both are served buffet style.
The Use of Salt on the Palmer Snowfield
The practice of ensuring a fun and safe ski surface by applying salt to the snow is something that is done at ski areas throughout the world. The salt works by essentially melting the snow crystals at the very top of the ski surface, creating a slurry that quickly refreezes as a smoother, faster skiing surface. As operators of Timberline, we recognize that this practice of salting raises environmental questions and concerns, and we want to address those concerns here.
To determine if salt usage has any site specific detrimental environmental effects, Timberline implemented its first salt monitoring and analysis program as early as 1976. The current comprehensive program has been in place since 1988. The practice of applying salt to the hill is authorized under the terms of a permit issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality under section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The primary purpose of our comprehensive analysis is to study and evaluate any short and long term impacts from the use of salt in the ski area.
Salt is applied to the Palmer Snowfield on nearly a daily basis from late May through approximately Labor Day. An effective annual monitoring plan, as well as an understanding of salt’s effect on the environment needs to carefully consider the area’s site-specific conditions including topography, weather, volume of snow, drainage, soil composition and levels of naturally occurring (background) sodium chloride in the streams and rivers below. On that later point, it is important to keep in mind that salt (sodium chloride) is a mineral which exists naturally, particularly here on a volcano.
To help us with the scientific nature of this work, we hired one of the best…Golder and Associates, a geotechnical consulting firm based out of Redmond, Washington.
The practice of ensuring a fun and safe ski surface by applying salt to the snow is something that is done at ski areas throughout the world. The salt works by essentially melting the snow crystals at the very top of the ski surface, creating a slurry that quickly refreezes as a smoother, faster skiing surface. As operators of Timberline, we recognize that this practice of salting raises environmental questions and concerns, and we want to address those concerns here.
To determine if salt usage has any site specific detrimental environmental effects, Timberline implemented its first salt monitoring and analysis program as early as 1976. The current comprehensive program has been in place since 1988. The practice of applying salt to the hill is authorized under the terms of a permit issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality under section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The primary purpose of our comprehensive analysis is to study and evaluate any short and long term impacts from the use of salt in the ski area.
Salt is applied to the Palmer Snowfield on nearly a daily basis from late May through approximately Labor Day. An effective annual monitoring plan, as well as an understanding of salt’s effect on the environment needs to carefully consider the area’s site-specific conditions including topography, weather, volume of snow, drainage, soil composition and levels of naturally occurring (background) sodium chloride in the streams and rivers below. On that later point, it is important to keep in mind that salt (sodium chloride) is a mineral which exists naturally, particularly here on a volcano.
To help us with the scientific nature of this work, we hired one of the best…Golder and Associates, a geotechnical consulting firm based out of Redmond, Washington.
Golder and Associates coordinates the sampling program, all data collection and the compilation of an annual report that is submitted to the DEQ. The monitoring program consists of continuous flow and conductivity studies and water samples collected and logged from 8 locations in several streams within the Palmer drainage. While perhaps a bit counter-intuitive, we want to, and we do, find sodium chloride in the downstream waters . Monitoring stations show that summertime chloride levels increase during salting and return to normal background levels in the winter months. These findings have led our experts to conclude that the downstream concentration is consistent with the amount of salt being applied to the snowfield in the summer, explaining why we annually see salt levels return to normal background levels as soon as the salting season concludes and additionally there has been no upward trend in chloride levels throughout the life of the study. Test results show that chloride levels in the Palmer drainage remain well below aquatic water-quality standards. Chloride concentrations observed in all monitored streams, at all stations, regardless of elevation, are well below the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality drinking water standard of 250 mg/L and below the EPA water quality of 230 mg/L (chronic) and 860 mg/L (acute) for exposure to salt-sensitive species. It has been concluded that the practice of applying salt to Palmer Snowfield presents no threat to aquatic resources, aquatic biota, wildlife, or drinking water.
Timberline believes that the practice of salting, when done responsibly and in accordance with sight specificity, can be done in an environmentally sensitive way and on a sustainable basis. It plays an important role in our ability to continue to provide a safe quality summer ski experience.
Timberline believes that the practice of salting, when done responsibly and in accordance with sight specificity, can be done in an environmentally sensitive way and on a sustainable basis. It plays an important role in our ability to continue to provide a safe quality summer ski experience.
