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Get out of your ’hood and up to Mt. Hood
V/edNEsdAy, J anuary X), 2002
The ClAckAMAS P rint
JEFFHEILMAN
Staff Writer
Mt. Hondk^.
SKIBOWL
110"base
$26 Full-day
MT. HOOD
Ml MEADOWS
154"base
$44 Full-day
169”base
$38 Full-day
INTERNET PHOTO
This snowboarder is catching some phat air in a half pipe.
As the winter season of
2002 proceeds, snow condi
tions are looking up at Mt.
Hood.
Although lift-ticket prices at
Mt. Hood Meadows have
risen for day passes, the price
for night passes has dropped.
Snowboarding was a lot
cheaper four years ago when
the price was $3O-$35 for a
day pass. Currently the price
is $44. That gives you from 8
a.m. until 4 p.m.; a pass from
12 p.m. until 4 p.m. is $37. The
night pass, from 4 p.m. until
10 p.m., has been lowered this
year to a very reasonable $20,
opposed to $30; and Saturday
nights are Safeway club card
nights. Visit any Safeway gro
cery store and acquire a
Safeway club card and you
can get Saturday nights half-
off.
Snow conditions this year
for Meadows are the best they
have been in three years, with
138 inches of snow at the base
and 154 inches on the upper
elevations. A lot of fresh
snow has been dumped and a
lot more is expected. With this
in mind, the best time to start
is When there is a lot of fresh,
soft snow on the mountain.
Traveling north on the moun
tain you will find yourself at
Timberline. As the elevation
gets higher you might also find
the snow getting deeper. That
is because Timberline is the
highest resort on the mountain.
With a base of 169 inches and
constant snowfall, T-line is
going to be a very powdery
place. For the past few days,
27 inches of fresh snow has
been the average. Hence,'soft,
fluffy riding.
Traveling back down the
mountain a little ways, you will
find Mt. Hood Ski Bowl. Ski
Bowl is known as America’s
largest night ski area. With a
base of 110 inches and con
stant flurries of powder, Ski
Bowl is also snow-saturated.
Keep in mind that Ski Bowl is
the lowest elevated resort on
the mountain; so be careful for
wet, hard and possibly icy
snow conditions.
If you are wondering about
getting up to the mountain this
year, stop wondering and make
it happen, because if you’re not
careful, this spectacular snow
season just might pass you by.
Students learn about life in Death Valley
DAISY BAIN
A & E Editor
Students who are interested in biol
ogy and geology have a first-hand
chance to study animals, plants, and
rocks in Death Valley, a place where
the temperature can reach between 90-
100 degrees this time of year.
TheCCC science department is giv
ing a three-credit field course in Natu
ral History of Southwestern Deserts
(B165) during spring break (March 21-
30). The cost of the trip is $220 and
includes travel expenses, lodging and
most of the food.
Clackamas has been offering this
course for about 25 years. John
Snively, Life/Physical Science instruc-
tor, andJenniferPorter, biology instruc-
tor, will
head this
year’s
course.
The class
will also in
clude two
or three
guest
speakers.
Both in
structors
have cho
sen Death
Valley because of what you can learn
from a desert.
‘Deserts are incredible places,” said
Porter. “There are no plants to cover
up the rocks and no soil,
so you get to see rocks that
have been folded and
rocks that have been
stretched. What’s great for
biology is that Death Val
ley is such a harsh place
that if anything can survive
they have got to be incred
ibly adapted to that envi
ronment. You can see any
thing from coyotes, ro
dents, bighorn sheep, in
sects and plants,” said
Porter.
“It is really intense; it’s 10 days of
learning from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Most
students come back and say they
have learned more in those 10 days
than in their entire college career,” he
added. There is some fun involved
too. Hikes include Golden Canyon,
which is a two-hour hike (all downhill)
and Marble Canyon, which has pol
ished marble that is so smooth stu
dents use it like a slide.
Part of the course includes hunting
for snakes, lizards and scorpions. If
it’s been a wet year, the wild flowers
should be in bloom.
Each student will present topics,
participate in activities, and compile
journals of information while camping.
A final exam is required for comple
tion.
Students must be enrolled at
Clackamas, be 18 or older and have a
verbal teacher recommendation. Stu
dents will also have a small interview
with either Porter or Snively. Thedead-
line to sign up is still undetermined but
will be coming up in 2-3 weeks. Cred
its earned will be applied to the spring
term.
“We have students that go back
year after year. At night we will be
sitting around the campfire and stu
dents will pop by from ten years ago.
"It’s great camaraderie. When you
get dope it’s like family. We’ve had
people find their husbands and wives.
We’ve had it all,” laughed Porto-.
Look out for alternative media sources
JESSE GURZYNSKI
Staff Writer
In Portland there are several
media sources that cater to
points of view that are largely
or wholly disregarded by the
mainstream media. I will briefly
tell you here of three of them:
the Portland Alliance newspa
per, Portland Street Roots
newspaper, and KBOO radio
station.
The Alliance comes out
monthly, serving as an outlet
for viewpoints not found in the
mainstream media. It was origi-
rially part of a larger organiza
tion, the purpose of which was
to create an alternative infor
mation coalition. While the
larger project dissolved, the
newspaper remained and has
been published for 21 years now.
Operated by a board of direc
tors made up of writers and ac
tivists, the Alliance likes to
choose for board members
people who are closely con
nected with the community.
“We’re organized as a non
profit corporation, the North
west Alliance for Alternative
Media, the sole purpose of which
is the publishing of the newspa
per,” said Alliance Editor Dave
Mazza. “The Alliance serves a
very important niche, that’s why
we’ve been around for 21 years.”
Another alternative newspa
per is Portland Street Roots,
which gives the homeless a
voice. About 95 percent of the
writing in Street Roots is by
homeless people, according to
Dale Hughes, a member of the
newspaper’s board of directors
and a staff writer.
Street Roots was started three
years ago as the Burnside
Cadillac so that disenfranchised
people could have their thoughts
and feelings published. Street
Roots also features the Rose City
Resource, a listing of various
services that are useful to poor
and homeless people. This
shows homeless people where
they can turn for help, which is
especially important for the newly
homeless who are likely con
fused and lost. Hughes said
that, “becoming homeless, that
can happen instantaneously.”
Street Roots’ mission state
ment is the following: “We ad
vocate for the homeless, pas
sionately striving for justice,
equality, and freedom. Through
a voice that can be heard, we
raise social awareness, build
community, and create unique
career and income opportuni
ties to help the homeless help
themselves.”
KBOO 90.7 FM is a locally
owned and operated, listener-
supported community radio
station. Started in 1968, KBOO
serves communities that would
be otherwise underrepresented
in radio broadcasts. It features
many different musical styles,
as well as progressive news
programming. “There’s some
thing for almost everyone,”
said KBOO’s Bill McKibben.
Unlike public broadcasting,
KBOO is mostly locally pro
duced programming and so is
more directly related to the
community. It is also more
democratically operated than
public broadcasting: KBOO
members vote for the members
of the board of directors, and
committee meetings are open to
the public.
“I think if anyone turns on the
five o’clock tube, they’ll quickly
figure out that there’s a prob
lem,” said Mazza. “The news
doesn’t, cover the real stories.”
Mazza also spoke on the idea
of objective journalism. “One of
the sort of hallowed traditions in
journalism is that journalists
should be objective, and that
newspapers like The Oregonian
are objective. In reality, they’re
advocacy journalists just like we
are; they’re advocating the sta
tus quo. Reaily, all newspapers
are advocacy journalists. We’re
honest about it, they’re not.”