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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2021
New book highlights backcountry
skiing in the Oregon Cascades
By MARK MORICAL
The Bulletin
Dexter Burke has a sim-
ple answer when asked what
draws him to backcountry
skiing. “Expensive lift tick-
ets,” he said.
For that reason, and cer-
tainly many others, back-
country skiing has become
increasingly popular over the
last few years in Oregon and
throughout the West. Burke,
born and raised in Bend and
a backcountry skier for more
than 20 years, hopes his new
book, “Oregon Ski Atlas,”
will encourage more skiers
and snowboarders to ven-
ture out on some of the more
remote Cascade peaks in
Oregon.
Basically a photographic
guide, and marketed as a cof-
fee table paperback book,
Burke’s fi rst book includes
route names on several prom-
inent peaks and some limited
uphill route information.
“This book was never
meant to blow up secret
stashes or bring more crowds
to already crowded places,”
Burke said. “With the excep-
tion of Broken Top and
Mount Hood, all the volca-
noes in the book rarely get
skied by more than one or
two diff erent groups of peo-
ple at the same time. My hope
is that showing these more
remote peaks will lessen the
crowds at the more popular
areas.”
“Oregon Ski Atlas,” from
Alpenglow Publishing Stu-
dio, is available for $30 at
oregonskiatlas.com
and
select retailers across the
Pacifi c Northwest, including
REI.
The book includes 48
pages with aerial photos of
Mount Mcloughlin, Mount
Thielsen, Diamond Peak,
Broken Top, South Sister,
Middle Sister, North Sister,
Mount Washington, Three
Fingered Jack, Mount Jeff er-
son and Mount Hood.
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Campers walk through the campground at Cape Lookout
State Park on the Oregon Coast.
State to spend $50M on new
campsites, park improvements
By JAMIE HALE
The Oregonian
Kevin Grove
John Sterling, left, and Andrew Orlich, ski along the snow below North Sister during a
backcountry ski trip last year.
These major Oregon vol-
canoes off er an extremely
vast amount of terrain for
backcountry skiers through-
out the year. But Burke said
there is little recorded his-
tory in fi rst descents and
attempts on these rugged
slopes compared with areas
such as the Tetons in Wyo-
ming, the North Cascades in
Washington, the Wasatch in
Utah and the Sierra Nevada
in California.
“My hope is that this book
will draw out some of the old
ski pioneers and they will
share their stories so we can
start to create a better under-
standing of who were the fi rst
brave skiers in the Oregon
Cascades,” Burke said.
He added that while the
“Oregon Ski Atlas” high-
lights certain routes on these
mountains, the backcountry
skier must still fi gure out the
specifi cs and the logistics of
his or her adventure.
“Part of the fun is explor-
ing, and I feel like this book
acts more like a catalyst for
what’s possible,” Burke said,
“but it’s up to the reader to
fi gure out the details and
dangers.”
Snow is already starting
to accumulate in the Ore-
gon Cascades and soon back-
country skiers and snow-
boarders will start planning
their trips for this winter and
spring. Burke said his favor-
ite season for backcoun-
try skiing is late spring/early
summer, when snow still
clings to the high Cascades
and the weather improves.
He said the most challeng-
ing of the peaks in the book
depends on the conditions.
“The unpopular truth is
some days you go out, and
it’s a sheet of ice,” Burke
said. “When that happens,
even a 15-degree slope can
become pretty challenging.”
Avalanche safety should
always be at the forefront
of backcountry plans, and
Burke cautioned that the
“Oregon Ski Atlas” does not
off er information on how
to ski these peaks safely.
Rather, skiers and snow-
boarders should consult the
Central Oregon Avalanche
Center, Oregon Ski Guides
and Three Sisters Backcoun-
try for more information on
avalanche safety.
“Even then, there is
always a risk,” Burke said.
“The best thing you can do is
team up with someone who
has been doing it for a while
and have them show you the
ropes.”
New campsites at Sil-
ver Falls, riverside cabins
at Champoeg and a visitor
center at Kam Wah Chung
are all on tap, as the Ore-
gon’s state parks are set for
a $50 million upgrade over
the next two years.
The Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department on
Thursday released a list of
upcoming projects that are
slated to begin in May 2022
and March 2023, utilizing
money from a bond that was
approved by the state Legis-
lature earlier this year.
The list includes addi-
tional camping at some
of Oregon’s busiest state
parks, as well as new visi-
tor centers, restrooms, park-
ing lots and general main-
tenance upgrades that have
been a long time coming.
The project at Silver
Falls State Park is expected
to be one of the most expen-
sive, estimated to cost $8
million to $10 million. Park
offi cials have proposed a
new North Falls Complex
on the north side of the park
that would include a new
campground, visitor center,
trailhead and parking lot.
A proposed project at
Cape Lookout State Park
is the other big-ticket item,
also projected to cost $8
million to $10 million,
which would relocate the
A and B camping loops to
higher ground, where they
would be safe from the
eroding coastline. Crews
would also need to build
new roads and facilities for
the relocated campsites, and
remove existing buildings
that are currently being lost
to erosion.
Additional
camping
is also being proposed at
Champoeg State Heritage
Area, which will get a new
camping loop and riverside
cabins; Milo McIver State
park, where a new loop
will be added to the camp-
ground; and Nehalem Bay
State Park, which will see
a new cabin loop and addi-
tional tent sites.
In addition to Silver
Falls, two parks will get
new visitors centers, with
work slated to begin in
2022: Kam Wah Chung
State Heritage Site, home
of a historic Chinese med-
ical clinic and community
center in Eastern Oregon,
and Smith Rock State Park,
a popular rock climbing and
hiking destination north of
Bend.
“The
Legislature’s
incredibly generous act
allows us to make signifi cant
and much needed upgrades
to facilities and infrastruc-
ture, as well as modernize
and expand some camp-
grounds,” Lisa Sumption,
director of the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department,
said in a news release. “This
support for the park sys-
tem’s future is especially
meaningful as we com-
memorate our centennial in
2022 and our commitment
to provide world-class park
experiences.”
THANKSGIVING 2021
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