Meadows opened for limited operations Sunday, which was met with steady snow through the day, giving snowboarders like Anderson Gould the first powder turns of the season.
Meadows opened for limited operations Sunday, which was met with steady snow through the day, giving snowboarders like Anderson Gould the first powder turns of the season.
Always a good measure of an encouraging start to the season, Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort had people cruising its slopes before Thanksgiving. Although limited to a small section of the resort’s nearly 22,000 acres of terrain, the resort had two lifts (Buttercup and Easy Rider, along with the Magic Carpet) running over the weekend for “Preview Sunday,” and with winter weather bringing a foot of fresh snow through the day, those who made the trip were treated to the first powder turns of the newly- christened season.
With more snow falling through Monday and a base of 19 inches at the lodge and 24 at mid-mountian (as of deadline Tuesday), Meadows announced it would open for similar, limited operations over Thanksgiving weekend (this Friday through Sunday) and possibly extended daily next week, if weather between now and then cooperates.
“We would like more natural snow to bolster our current 19-inch snow depth in the base area,” said Dave Tragethon, Executive Director Social Media and Public Relations. “We are fortunate to have the equipment, expertise and commitment to harvest the parking lot snow, which will help us to build lift ramps and snow depth in the base area to connect to the upper mountain. We are hopeful we’ll have more natural snow on the upper mountain to offer more terrain this weekend.”
Now that the resort has begun lift-serve operations and terrain maintenance, pre-season uphill travel is no longer allowed, except in regular-season designated backcountry areas such as Heather Canyon via the Hood River Meadows access trail.
With the start of its 47th year of operations, here are a few new things to look forward to this season (for more info see www.skihood.com):
Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Baker Exchange: New this year, unlimited season pass holders at Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Baker will get five free days at the other resort.
Increased snow making, farming and grooming: Meadows increased its snowmaking capability by 25 percent with the purchase of a fourth snowmaking fan. The resort will also again take advantage of a custom built dump trailer to haul early-season snow from the parking lot to the slopes to get through times of low snowpack.
For grooming, a new three-year partnership with PistenBully will expand Meadows’ fleet of snow groomers and will provide a better groomed product due to the PistenBully alpine flex tiller, which can actually produce heat by processing the snow with more cutting teeth and a higher cutter bar rpm. This process binds the snow/water molecules to produce a firmer surface to ski on.
Snow Park Technologies collaboration: Due to the success of last spring’s collaboration with Snow Park Technologies (SPT), MHM will collaborate with the company during the 2014-2015 season to develop the next level park riding experience on Shooting Star. Offering new progressions within the resort’s terrain park program, this park will take full advantage of Shooting Star’s run width and length, and can be easily accessed by the Shooting Star Express lift. In addition, the resort has installed a new rope tow at Shipyard that will allow skiers and riders to run repeat laps of the rail park during both day and night sessions.
Hood River Destination: Through the Destination Hood River program, Meadows is offering a special three day pass for $99 when guests stay at certain Hood River lodging properties. The three-day package includes lift tickets, a two-hour lesson and equipment rentals each day.
Southside Pass: A New Southside Season Pass is priced at $289 and offers access to terrain serviced by Vista Express, Daisy, Easy Rider, Buttercup, the Ballroom Carpet and the Shipyard rope tow. Add just $10 to this deal and it comes with unlimited equipment rentals and three lessons.
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