MAZAMA NORDIC SKI SCHOOL

by Nordic Committee

If you’re looking for a new way to get outside this winter, have you considered Nordic skiing? Nordic skiing, also known as cross-country skiing, is an excellent way to experience the quiet beauty of our winter forests, without lift lines or crowds. It’s a great low-impact cardio workout—Nordic skiing can burn upwards of 500 calories per hour! Nordic equipment also costs quite a bit less than downhill or alpine touring, and you can go farther and faster than you can on snowshoes.

If Nordic skiing is new to you, or you’re looking to improve your skills, the Mazama Nordic Ski School teaches 60–70 students each winter. Nordic skiing is easy to learn— if you can walk, you can ski! But it’s also hard to master. There is always something more to learn that can improve your efficiency, speed, and enjoyment. We break up into groups of about eight students per two instructors. Groups are divided by skill level—beginner, novice, intermediate, and backcountry Nordic. Each class meets for three consecutive weekends between MLK Day and Presidents’ Day. We’ve already filled our classes for winter 2025, but remember us for next year!

If you already know how to Nordic ski, or would like to try on your own, there are many places you can go! Trails are marked with blue diamonds, and are rated green (easy), blue (intermediate), and black (advanced), just like downhill ski runs.

Groomed Nordic skiing options within two hours of Portland:

• Mt. Hood Meadows Nordic has 9 miles of groomed trails and offers rentals and lessons. Daily pass $24–29, season pass $139. Oregon Sno-Park Pass required. (www.skihood.com/explore/Nordic)

• Teacup Nordic has 14.9 miles of groomed trails. Daily pass $25, season pass $200. Oregon Sno-Park Pass required. (teacupnordic.org)

• Oldman Pass, Koshko, McClellan, and Meadows Sno-Parks (north of Carson, WA) have 16 miles of trails, and Pineside Sno-Park (north of Trout Lake, WA) also has 16 miles of trails that are not shared with snowmobiles. The only required fee is a Washington Sno-Park Pass, for $25 daily or $50 annually. These are only groomed once or twice a week and are at a lower elevation, but avoiding the traffic on Mt. Hood can be a nice change! (parks.wa.gov)

If you’d rather break your own trail, or have a dog that would like to tag along, pretty much any Forest Service road with Sno-Park access can be a Nordic ski trail! Trillium Lake, Bennett Pass, White River, and Pocket Creek Sno-Parks are all popular options, and all you need is an Oregon Sno-Park Pass—$4 for one day, $9 for three consecutive days, or $25 annually.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to the Oregon Nordic Club PDX chapter. Many of our Mazama Nordic instructors are also active in this organization. They lead multiple day tours per week, and organize overnight trips to exciting Nordic skiing destinations further afield. Membership is only $30 per year, and you don’t need to be a member to go on day tours. Their website also has a ton of really helpful information about Nordic skiing—what to wear, maps, where to get rentals, and more. (onc-pdx. org)

If you’d like to share your love of Nordic skiing with the Mazama community, you can get involved!

• If you’re a Mazama hike or climb leader, you can lead a Nordic ski tour.

• If you’re interested in volunteering as a Nordic instructor or in joining the Nordic Committee to help organize Ski School, please email nordic@mazamas.org.