Mt. Hood Snow Sports

Last week, I took a trip from Portland to Mt. Hood Meadows and only paid 10 bucks for it. Oh yeah and I slept most of the way there and back. Not only that, but not one gallon of petroleum was harmed in the process! No, I did not make a pact with the devil for the power of teleportation. Far from it. I made a deal with Mike Parziale and his Greasebus and he's got room for you, too. It might be the least expensive, most feel-good way to shred since hiking. And this isn't just some flash in the pan venture, either. Greasebus is the fruit of many thousands of miles of petro-free trial and error with numerous different vehicles. And Mike isn't one to be complacent. Even though it's his best bus yet, he's got bigger plans. First, though, let's start from the start.

Mike isn't just some greasy businessman trying to cash in on the green movement. He's been shredding one board or another since day one. When it was time to take his shred show on the road, he bought a pickup camper from a junkyard for $60. Only problem was, he didn't even have a pickup yet. All in due time. On a trip to Telluride, CO, he found out from some friends of friends about biodiesel and vegetable oil power. He had an epiphany. Why didn't everyone know about this? He immediately bought a diesel pickup and began learning everything he could about vegetable oil conversions. Problem was, the information was scant. A few companies had 'universal systems' that didn't work very well. "Universal systems really aren't," says Mike, "because everyone has different needs." When he brought his problems to his father, a mechanic, he found out that dad didn't know any more than he did. A graphic designer by trade, Mike grew frustrated until he decided that he was going to have to start making things himself. You see, most of what he wanted wasn't commercially available, at least not for vehicles. Not a whole lot of people were out there running cars on discarded soybean oil. Luckily the man likes to tinker. He learned to weld and fabricated his own oil tanks. He discovered a fryer that recirculated its oil and borrowed some parts from that. He contacted a water filtration company to make filters to his specifications. Eventually, through more trial and error than OJ, he came to solutions and workable vehicles. His first few road trips were held back by his flawed systems. He would eventually get where he was going, but used mostly diesel and only 10 or 20% vegetable oil. After several vehicles and thousands of miles, he finally got everything just right and made his first fully veggie-powered trip: Grease Not Gas was born.

From there he made over a dozen trips across the country with various groups and bands. You may have heard of the Wheels on Meals tour or the Clif Bar Save our Snow tour. Well, after several years of successful tours Clif decided to reschedlue this winters tour for the fall, leaving Mike free for the winter. What would he do with a veggie oil bus and his own free time? Why not shuttle kids to the mountain? He was going to go anyway. Enter Greasebus. Mike had scarcely put down the phone from hearing that the SOS tour was canceled before he was back on it with his contacts at Clif. This time, he was asking for Greasebus sponsorship. Clif has been down since the start, so it was a given that they're on board once again. Another company that is hopping on the bus is Mervin Manufacturing, the mad scientists gave Mike some Lib Tech and Gnu boards for bus riders to demo. In fact, co-founders Pete Saari and Mike Olson keep in touch with Mike on the regular to see what's happening. For now, Mike's keeping the sponsors tight. He's been approached by some bigger companies, but he wants to keep it local and not be part of anyone's greenwashing agenda.

What does the future hold for Greasebus? That's up to you. Mike's got big plans, "I don't see any reason this can't be franchised," he says. He's thinking about a bus to Timberline, one from Hood River, and maybe a Seattle or Bellingham bus. The possibilities are really endless. First things first, this year is the test. It's been slow to start, but the word is just getting out through a largely grassroots, word-of-mouth campaign. Looking out at a packed main lot at Meadows, I find it hard to believe that this eco-friendly alternative bus wasn't just as packed. Seriously, how can you beat $10!? This isn't your standard school bus, either. It's more of a shuttle-style charter with reclining seats and seat belts. The sponsor perks are evident, besides the Lib and Gnu boards to demo, Clif supplied the snacks and Airblaster hooked up some DVDs. Every trip Mike also gives away a bigger prize, last week it was a pair of Dakine gloves. Beats the flu you caught on your last ski bus. Mike really goes above and beyond to help out his riders, too. Whether it's trading Clif Bars for board tunes on the mountain or giving kids a ride straight to their houses at the end of the day, he's just an all around nice guy.

In case it isn't abundantly clear by now, you're not going to find a better deal to get to Mt. Hood than the Greasebus. The low price of 10 bucks gets you round-trip passage, on-hill snackage and some parting gifts in your pocket. To top it all off, the bus driver isn't some surly, "don't make me turn this thing around" old lady. He's a dude who's out to shred, just like you. Now, do yourself a favor and get to Greasebus.com and sign up. It sure beats the hell out of that pact with the devil...