At this very moment there are people in the Craft Center: a r/*h Plv, 8 ~r8 Sti! What are you waiting for ? ,s$S> rM' -\t8e & & b*e ren fibep* V CRAFT CENTER roD Lower Level EMU 546-4361 Now Registering for Winter Term !!! We deliver faster than Santa Claus. Capture the brilliance of the holidays See the rich holiday colors and scents of the season Poinsettias • Holiday Arrangements • Gifts /£>» V \ 005140 Eugene’s Flower Home 610 East 13th 485-3655 1(800) 478-3655 Let us do the shopping for you. We send flowers all over the world. Slopes offer escape from Eugene Skiing and snowboarding are a short jaunt down the highway By G. Jarros lor Ihe Emerald Snow is falling, and the powder is piling up. Time to sharpen the edges and dig out the polypropy lene. Ski and snowboard season is here, and a winter wonderland is just hours away from Eugene at Willamette Pass, Hoodoo and Mount Bachelor ski resorts. These resorts offer fun and excitement for first-timers as well as experi enced racers. “It’s so much fun just being up on the mountain and having the freedom to do whatever with your friends — and go fast,” said Tom Nelson, University ski team coor dinator. "When you have an epic pow der day with a couple new feet of snow, it's just face shots and fun,” Nelson said. “Sweet powder days are probably the best. ” And sweet powder days are here with all three resorts open and reporting new snow daily. Willamette Pass The resort is 90 minutes from Eugene on Highway 58 and offers the best opportunity for non-dri vers to reach the slopes from the Eugene area. The Willamette Pass-Express ski bus leaves daily from Ullr Ski Shop, 207 Coburg Road. Berg’s Ski shop, 367 W. 13th Ave., also offers buses on week ends and holidays. Willamette has five chair lifts and one special lift for “tubing.” It has 29 runs and a vertical drop of 1,563 feet. Vertical drop measures the distance from the top of the highest chair lift to the bottom of Hoodoo, Willamette Pass and Mount Bachelor are a8 within a three-hour drive ot Eugene. Make sure to check snow and weather conditions before traveling. SOURCE: Mt. Bachelor 1998-99 Program Guide. Willamette Pass Press Fan '98, Hoodoo Ski Area brochure the lowest chair lift. Willamette also offers daycare and night ski ing. Adult lift tickets are $31. Groomed and marked cross-coun try ski trails are available for $6. “Willamette is good for begin ners and advanced skiers and boarders,” said Nelson, who prac tices there with the ski team. Mount Bachelor Mount Bachelor, three hours from Eugene, can be reached by Highway 58 or Highway 20. If you do not drive, try the “hookey-bus” that leaves from the fairgrounds Wednesday mornings. Bachelor is the largest of the three resorts with 13 lifts, 70 runs and a vertical drop of 3,365 feet. It also offers daycare. There is no night skiing at Mount Bachelor. Lift tickets are $39, and cross country trail passes are $10.50. “Bachelor is a wonderful area,” Turn to SKI RESORTS, Page 21A Katie Ness&Ememld More information Best prices: LIFT TICKET: $26, Hoodoo CROSS-COUNTRY TRAIL PASS: $6, Willamette Pass and Hoodoo DOWNHILL RENTALS: (includes skis, boots and poles): $10 first day and $8 each day after, Berg’s Ski Shop SNOWBOARDS AND BOOTS: $20, Lazar’s Bazar CROSS-COUNRY RENTALS: $7, Anderson’s Sporting Goods Snow and weather conditions: STATE POLICE ROAD CONDITIONS: (541) 976-7277 or (541) 889-3999 MOUNT BACHELOR: (541)382 7888, www.mtbachelor.com HOODOO: (541) 822-3337, www.hoodoo.com WILLAMETTE PASS: (541) 345-SNOW, www.willamettepass.com