Here are seven unusual things you can do this winter to embrace the Northwest’s most maligned season. How unusual they are, of course, depends on how unusual you are already.
Vary the Ski Routine
Let’s face it, while many of us wait around for the winters to be over, a lot of us are secretly hoping they never end. While it lasts, we recommend mixing up your ski routine. Are you a die-hard downhiller? Quit riding the lifts and try backcountry free-heel touring. A tried-and true cross country skier? Investigate skate skiing, or try riding the lifts and see what you can do with your heels down. Go different places. Do different things.
Hit The Water
Paddling might seem like a summer sport, but paddling is often at its best in the Northwest in winter. Whitewater rivers are rising after the long summer drought. The Lower Columbia River Water Trail, which can be crowded in summer, offers solitude, bald eagles and hordes of waterfowl.
Hang Out By the Sea
While everyone else is heading for the mountains, go the other direction. Head for the coast. Raw and rugged , you’ll see things you won’t often see in summer: empty beaches, big storms, raw ocean powers. Yes, there will be some rain. But we’re Northwesterners.
Get Wet In the Gorge
Forget the skis and go for a simple hike. Layer on the rain gear, and don’t forget that the Columbia Gorge and mountain foothill trails are at their best in the winter. The waterfalls will be full, dramatic, and at their cataclysmic best. Hiking in winter is just like hiking in summer, but with more clothes and a thermos of tea.
Try a Weird Winter Sport
Go whole-hog into winter. Try some weird winter sports, like dogsledding, skijoring, shovel racing, ice-climbing or a polar bear plunge. Some of them are just strange, some require specialized skills or gear, and may take some hunting to figure out how to do or what they really are. But try one.
Sit On The Porch
We get a lot less fresh air in the winter, and that can’t be good for us. Tempting as it is to huddle inside, make part of your morning ritual going outside. Use all that fancy outdoor technical clothing to do the most basic of outdoor activities: sitting on your front porch. It will be a bit chilly at first, but you’ll be happier the rest of the day.
Be A Kid Again
Last but far from least, rediscover the winter you loved as a kid. Forget about carefully tuning your skis and go romp in the snow. Have snowball fights. Build snow forts. Climb up a hill and tumble down or slide down on a makeshift sled. Have fun. Rediscover the simple joys of horsing around outside in the snow.
