This week’s stormy weather has brought snow to higher elevations, a welcome site for ski resort operators that have struggled to open this year due to a lack of snow.
Hoodoo opened Thursday with limited runs and Willamette Pass will re-open Friday, though some trails may remain closed as crews prepare runs.
It was able to open its Sleepy Hollow lift, which serves beginner terrain, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 4, largely on human-made snow.
Lifts at Willamette Pass typically open in early December, according to General Manager Mindy Ingebretson-Wolowicz.
“Looking back in the last 20 years, we’ve had a couple where we’ve had late starts,” she said. “So it’s really kind of a guessing game, and, you know, you are beholden to the weather.”
The delayed opening means several weekends without the 1,500-2,000 people on the slopes.
Ingebretson-Wolowicz did not have to think back too far in her 20-year history at Willamette Pass to find the last time it opened this late in the season. The resort opened on Jan. 10 in the 2023-24 season.
Elsewhere in Oregon, most trails and lifts at Mount Bachelor are open, and the same is true at Mt Hood Meadows, both opened Dec. 23.
Mount Hood Ski Bowl has yet to announce the opening of any runs, though snow tubing is open.
Timberline and Mt Ashland have opened, but with limited terrain.
While not peak season, slopes are often still busy in December despite many people being busy with holiday festivities.
"People are on break, they’re traveling for the holidays to visit family, and one thing that families get to go do together that is pretty awesome is go skiing," she said.
Willamette Pass had to delay hiring some of its seasonal staff while it waited for snow. It employs 200-250 people at peak season.
