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The options for skiing and riding in Oregon range from the one-lift town hill to the only year-round mountain in the United States – with all kinds of variety in between.

Iconic mountain lodge has it all. (Timberline Lodge/Facebook)

Only one resort in North America spins its lifts in all four seasons. That’s Timberline Lodge Ski & Snowboard Area, hard on the slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood and beneficiary of both high elevations and the largesse of the Northern Pacific storms. 

Cheers to a great season. (Mt Hood Meadows)

Ryan shook his head. "Why would you want to go to Portland when we have great snow in Utah?" he asked. My boyfriend doesn’t get out much and apparently he doesn’t follow the weather. It’s been snowing in Mt. Hood Meadows; a lot. The snowpack at the Oregon resort has surpassed 200 percent of normal. You might wager that Hood has gotten snow at least three days a week, every week this season. The reports of massive dumps began rolling in around Christmas time and kept on rolling.

Ziplines like this one at Whitefish Mountain take kids for high-flying rides at mountain resorts. (Whitefish/Facebook)

Winter resorts across the nation want kids to take up skiing and snowboarding to keep the sports growing. And, many believe that attracting youngsters to the mountains during the summer will help.

The scenic chairlift ride, the downhill mountain bike run and the alpine hiking trek have long been standard fare at summer mountain resorts – but the focus has moved off-mountain lately.

School’s out and the cool mountains present an even cooler line-up of summer activities that can make a hero out of parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles. Just take those active youngsters and teens on a mountain resort vacation and you’ll be amazed at the things you can do together to have fun.

It’s almost 2013. Time to bring out the party favors and noisemakers to welcome in the new and usher out the old. Ski resorts nationwide are celebrating and inviting you and your family to join in.