The opening of the Jeff Flood Express chairlift at Timberline this winter will open up some 220 acres of lower-mountain terrain in the Mt. Hood ski area's Still Creek Basin.
A grand opening of the Still Creek Basin and Jeff Flood Express is scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 8-9, at which time Timberline will mark the occasion with festivities, commemorative giveaways and a ribbon cutting. (Timberline reports the new high-speed quad lift will begin operating as soon as enough snow falls to cover Still Creek Basin).
Still Creek Basin, in the lower portion of Timberline's permitted area, lies between the Stormin' Norman and Pucci chairlifts. Its opening more than doubles the ski area's lower-mountain acreage open to skiing and marks the first major development of terrain at Timberline since the 1970s.
The basin features eight new alpine trails that, according to Timberline officials, "will provide connectivity to existing terrain, making our trail system on the lower mountain longer, more fun, and more sheltered from the weather."
All told, the new trails add about 5.8 miles--including the nearly 1.5-mile-long Kruser trail--to Timberline's network and give the ski area the most vertical feet of skiing in the Pacific Northwest behind British Columbia's Whistler/Blackcomb. From the top of the Palmer lift to the bottom of the Jeff Flood Express, skiers and riders will have access to 3,620 vertical feet.
Other new trails in Still Creek Basin include Mustang Sally, JoJaMai, Brother Beau, Waterline, Buzz Cut and Uncle John's Band.
Notes a spokesman for Timberline: "This area also offers new opportunities to explore natural terrain features. Chutes, glades and tree skiing areas abound in the Still Creek Basin."
Moreover, the opening of Still Creek Basin offers new opportunity at Timberline for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. The new Snowshoe Trail runs from the lodge, through the woods and to the bottom of the new lift, providing a Nordic experience that gives users the option of continuing downhill to Government Camp via a connection to West Leg Road, or riding the Jeff Flood Express back to the top. (Single-ride lift tickets sell for $12 in the Wy'East Day Lodge.)
The Jeff Flood Express is named for a popular longtime Timberline employee.
"As Timberline's head snow groomer for many years, `Floodo'took great pride in laying down the corduroy and making sure the slopes were in top for very day," a spokesman said. "He also was known as a pioneer of shaping freestyle terrain. His innovation and hard work went on to be appreciated by the growing snowboard industry as well as some of the world's top athletes, when Jeff was asked to be on the slope grooming team for both the Winter Olympics and the Winter X Games."
The Doppelmayr express chairlift named in Flood's honor is 6,270 feet long (about 1.2 miles), making it the longest chairlift on Mt. Hood. Ride time from bottom to top, however, will run a brisk six minutes, according to Timberline officials.
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