Honey, it don’t matter that most of the glacier is about as challenging as your average blue run at an East Coast resort. It always feels good when you haven’t had it for a while, right? When it’s been three months since you last strapped in, making those first few turns is like falling in love all over again.

Summer riding at Hood is all about the halfpipes, which are fairly well maintained at all the camps—they salt ’em, and the diggers work on them at least once a day to get rid of kinks and keep them smooth and fast. There’re also plenty of kickers. But beware of corn rash—that glacial slush will shred your skin like a cheese grater if you’re not careful.

What if it rains?

You can always count on rain in Oregon, but the camps have it covered. "Rain day" activities cover just about anything you can think of, from skating at Burnside in Portland to paintball. Rain days also come in handy when you’re sore, tired, and sunburned.

— Alison Berkley