Swimming pools & skiing weather (Portland, Bend: home, school, moving to)

[eastgear]

My family is thinking of moving to the West Linn/Portland area this summer. We currently have a pool at our home in New York that our kids are in all summer long (mid June-Aug). It seems that not as many people have pools in the Portland area. Is this because the weather is not hot enough in these same summer months? Would it be a waste to install one?

We are also avid skiers. We visited Mt Bachelor back in Feb and had 3 great sunny days. I know the Mt Hood areas and Mt Bachelor get plenty of snow but does the weather ever break? Is Bachelor better weather than Mt Hood?

thanks

[Rob Allen]

I have friends who have a pool; it gets used from May to September.

Can't answer about the weather; I'm not a skier.

[EnricoV]

We have a pool in the family, and always have had (of varying qualities) since I was just a kid. It's heated,and gets constant use once it's "fired up" for the summer. That usually doesn't happen until the kids are out of school (mid-June) just because it doesn't get used earlier.

If you're looking for skiing in the sunshine - it does happen. Or if you're desperate, and a good skier, you can ski the glacier on Mt. Hood during the summer.

[looopson]

Mt. Bachelor does get more sunshine than Mt. Hood.

[StealthRabbit]

Bachelor is usually drier snow
Hood is wet snow, it can be quite a difference, but if you haven't been spoiled by Alberta, MT, WY, UT, Colorado, or NM snow, you will likely enjoy either Bachelor or Hood.

Summers vary as to swimming benefit. Some are cooking hot, and pools are popular (Probably at least as much as NY state), BUT... we have cool evenings, so you don't need to sleep in the pool to keep cool + you will want to have a cover for evening, or heat will escape. Some summers are cool with only a few weeks of hot.

I would be hard pressed to consider an outdoor in-ground pool, and would instead figure out how to cover a 'lap pool'.

[John Shaft]

Bachelor is generally considered a better skiing mountain than Hood. It's a bit further away from Portland, though. I have skiied there both in clear sunshine and in heavy fog with 20 ft visibility. Due to central Oregon's sunshine, I think clear/partly-clear sky would be more common, but that is my very unscientific guess.

[nanannie]

We had a pool in Portland, It was NOT worth the expense. We have one in Illinois and have used it far more, at least two months more then in milder Portland ( May and June as well as early Oct. are often swimable here, rarely in Portland). We did ski Hood, but only twice. It was worth the drive to head to Bend.