It’s time to tune those skis and boards ... ski season is starting ahead of schedule this year in some parts of Oregon.
Mt. Bachelor will open Friday through Sunday for season pass-holders only.
Spokesperson Lauren Burke told KLCC they'd been keeping a close eye on the early season conditions. “As we got closer to our scheduled opening day, our team started to look at our snowpack, look at the annual maintenance we still needed to get done, start to kind of have a reality check on if it would be possible for us to open early," she said. "Ultimately, given the snow that we have coming in this week and our current snowpack, we are all so excited to be able to open two weeks early.”
Burke said it’s the earliest opening in 26 years. Two lifts and the Nordic area will be open this weekend. The resort will open to the public the following weekend, and will open daily starting Nov. 29. As of Tuesday, more than 46 inches of snow has fallen at Mt. Bachelor so far this season.
Burke said while the Bachelor Complex fires were brutal this fall, there are no effects from the fires at the resort. The Bachelor Complex started Sept. 6 and burned more than 15,000 acres.
Meanwhile, Willamette Pass’s home page reports an expected opening on Dec. 12, and Hoodoo hasn’t announced an opening date on its website.
Mount Hood Meadows is also opening Friday for a three-day weekend preview. The ski area will look at conditions the following week to assess the operating schedule going forward.
