Willamette Pass has expanded its ability to make snow ahead of the ‘26-’27 ski season.
The resort—which lies on the Lane/Klamath County line along in the Oregon Cascades, has doubled its inventory of snowmaking guns and expanded the terrain where it is able to use those guns by 70 acres.
And while the expansion comes after a ski season that saw multiple temporary closures and times where not all runs were open, the timing is not linked.
“This has been years in the making, from doing all of our environmental work with the U.S. Forest Service, to working with the state water board, as well as getting our master development plan accepted,” said Willamette Pass General Manager Mindy Ingebretson-Wolowicz. “And even though we’re coming off of an historically low year, this isn’t a knee-jerk reaction."
She said the ski resort has used snowmaking in past years to help it counteract the damage done by the sun on its south-facing runs.
“We’ve used [snowmaking] to augment areas that tend to melt out a bit faster because of the angle of the sun,” said Ingebretson-Wolowicz. “But if we want to continue to operate year after year, snowmaking is one of the ways that we can provide a more consistent season.”
While the ski resort is coming off of a down season, not all recent years have been difficult. The 2024-2025 season was the resort’s longest on record.
