With no new snow forecast until next week – it is unlikely that we will have a preview day or weekend. Our focus remains on opening for the season Friday, November 25. We continue to prepare the mountain for our eventual opening, and last week’s storm is a big part on which we are building our base - and our opening day optimism.
Cold temps have helped us sustain the snow we received a week ago – with a 17-inch depth in the base area and more than 2 feet at mid-mountain. We have track-packed (no tiller) runs such as the Buttercup area to fortify the base – this wind rowing effect also helps capture any wind-driven snow. Fortunately, there was just enough snow to run our snowcats over the snowpack without churning up the dirt. It’s ready for more natural snow to build our base on. Thanks to the cold temps, we’ve also been making snow to provide piles to push or haul into thinly-covered areas.
Parking lot snow has been harvested into piles awaiting transport to the key areas – particularly the bottom of Mt. Hood Express – to build maze queuing. The snow has been pushed to convenient locations where our customized dump-snowcats can be loaded to haul on to the slopes.
When the storm arrives and builds in intensity will determine our opening scenarios, such as how many lifts and how much terrain we can open. With the brunt of the storm forecast starting Wednesday – we will most likely be working through Thanksgiving day to maximize the opening experience for our guests. Keep in mind, this is all speculative - there appears to be some pretty good certainty about next week’s storm, but as always, it’s a combination of getting precipitation with low freezing levels. So keep doing your snow dances!
These options can change with the weather – for now, we encourage all of our guests to prepare for a potential opening day on Friday, November 25.
Winterize Your Vehicle
It’s more than making sure you have your winter tires on. Bridgestone offers up this complete winterizing checklist.
Winterization Tips
Get your gear ready
Time to examine your skis and snowboards, check your boots, make sure your helmet is in good condition and try on your snow gear to see if it still fits. Here’s the essentials from The Manual.
How to prep ski gear
Get yourself ready
Our own Jenn Lockwood with Peak Fitness NW offers a series of conditioning exercises to get your body ready for the mountain. Enjoy the playlist!
And of course – make sure you have your Season Pass!
Season Passes