1. Scott Diamond skiing@scottdiamond.com 503.643.6779 (mobile)
Government Camp Encirclement Oregon Nordic Club Day Tour This route strings together a number of trails in Government Camp area to provide a very solid intermediate level tour. In this big loop we hit most of the popular government camp trails including crosstown, tie snow bunny and summit trails. The distance is 12 miles with 1,400 feet total elevation gain. You need to have good fitness for this tour, plan on being on the snow for more than six hours. Meeting Time: 7 AM Meeting Place: Gateway Transit Center Ski Difficulty Level: Strong Intermediate Dogs are NOT allowed on this tour Carpooling Cost: $15
Scott Diamond
(mobile)

2. More Detailed Route Info Distance 12 miles
This is a solid intermediate ski. There is a fair amount of climbing, a mix of road and trail skiing, and a lot of distance to cover. Conceptually the tour is split into three parts
We start out a Glacier View sno-park at 3,600 feet elevation and get on the Cross Town trail. This trail is single track and somewhat more technically difficult. We climb steadily to the Camp Creek trail (#754). Best case it will take us 1.5 hours to get to this intersection. From there we head up hill to Westleg and then up West Leg even more to the tie trail. This is the high point. We’ve climbed ~1,000 feet to 4,600 and we’ve done the hardest part of this tour.
The next section is a lot more fun as we drop the 1,000 feet we gained. We drop down the Tie trail, cross Timberline road, drop down the snow bunny trail and cross HWY 26 to the Trillium Lake Sno-Park. Best case we’ll be there in 2:45 hours from start. But we continue dropping down steeper trail towards Trillium Lake. We have lunch here at a meadow at 3,600 feet.
At this point the “trail” is a road. We do need to climb 400 feet as we make our way up to Mazama snow park (4,000 feet) but it is scenic, the trail is well groomed and we make good speed. At Mazama the climbing is done. We head on Hemlock trail and cut through Ski Bowl on some nice fast roads. For fun we can even drop down the last couple hundred feet of the main run at Ski Bowl for our finish.
I’ve done this tour twice. One time we zipped through in 4:45 hours and another time (breaking trail in horrible conditions) it took us almost 8 hours.

3. Difficulty Rating Scale5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
Technical Skiing Ability
Skiing Fitness
Isolation/Risk

4. Estimated Timing 7:00 AM Departure from Gateway
Bathroom stop on the way
9:00 AM Start Skiing from Glacier view Snow Park
12:00 PM Trillium Lake trailhead
3:00 PM Finish Skiing
4:30 PM back at Gateway
Note that if you need to rent skis you’ll need to rent them prior to the trip. It takes quite a while to rent and it doesn’t work to split the group and try and regroup when renting on the way

5. MAPS http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5359669.pdf
MAPS

6. S F

7. S F

11. Background Info

12. ONC Carpooling Policy
If we don’t have drivers we don’t have a trip. If you have a snow compatible car then please drive. If we don’t have enough drivers then we’ll do a lottery to see who goes. For passengers, the ONC policy is each passenger contributes 15 cents per mile. For three or more passengers, the maximum total contribution by all passengers is limited to 45 cents per mile. A typical round trip distance to Mt Hood and back is 120 miles = $18/person

13. Ski Rating Novice level Beginning/Easy level Intermediate level
These tours are for the inexperienced skiers. While this is not a lesson, the leader will help new skiers as much as possible. Tour length is 3-5 miles over nearly flat terrain.
Beginning/Easy level
4 to 6 Miles over gentle terrain at a pace comfortable for all participants
Intermediate level
6 to 12 miles. Terrain flat to long hills that are no steeper than found on a road (maximum 10 degrees). Moderate pace. Trail turning skills required, if there are hills.
Advanced level
> 12 miles. Terrain flat to steep hills (> 10 degrees). Moderate to fast pace. Strong turning skills required on the tours with steeper slopes.

14. What to Bring/Gear (click links below for more info)
Ski Rental Options
What to Wear
Tour Essentials
Note that if you need to rent skis you’ll need to rent them prior to the trip. It takes quite a while to rent and it doesn’t work to split the group and try and regroup when renting on the way