2022/2023 update: Snowblast Tubing Park is closed for the season. 

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We all know the skiing at Mt. Bachelor is ridiculously, magnificently, brain-numbingly, pee-your-pants fantastic.

But there’s only so much good stuff you can take before your head explodes.

Head explosions are something to avoid on vacation, which is one reason the Snowblast Tubing Park at Mt. Bachelor is such a great thing for snow enthusiasts of all ages.

My extended family is an odd mix of hardcore ski bums and slugs who’d prefer to sit in the lodge sipping schnapps-laced cocoa. The Snowblast Tubing Park was the perfect option for all of us.

Here’s how it works: buy your ticket, grab a tube, and head over to the rope line where you sit your lazy butt in a big rubber donut and wait for the friendly attendant to clip you in. Then you watch the world go by as you’re pulled to the top of the 800-foot slope.

Certainly beats hoofing it up your neighborhood sledding hill.

Once you reach the top, you head for of one of the runs and get ready to fly. Since the Fenske family seeks every opportunity to secure bragging rights over one another, we soon turned it into a competition, with several members racing head-to-head on different lanes. There was much discussion about which slope is fastest, which colored tube is the best, and the advantages of different body positions and tube inflation levels.

The debate may have concluded with the forceful application of snowballs.

The great thing about Snowblast Tubing Park is that it’s perfect for all ages. My retired parents loved it as much as the grade-school kids in line behind us (though if you think we let them beat us in head-to-head races, you’re sorely mistaken – when playing with small children, play to win).

Sessions on the Snowblast Tubing Park hill do sell out, so check the website for ticket prices and info on buying them ahead. Kids must be at least 42” tall, and those under 18 need a signed parent/guardian release.

Snowblast tubing is open Friday through Sunday and during holidays (including Dec. 18 through Jan. 3). Sessions go from 10 a.m. to noon, noon to 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

If you want a break from your other forms of snow-play, I can promise the Snowblast Tubing Park is a great option.

I can also promise that if I see you at the top, I will show no mercy. Prepare to be defeated in a head-to-head race. That’s just how we roll.