Ski Season Preview: Oregon’s Best Ski Resorts

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Jesse Cornett, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Photo Credit: Lauren Manning via Compfight cc

Okay folks, it’s time to pray for snow, do a snow dance, burn a pair of skis or perform any other pre-snow ritual you may have. Ski season is off to a late start this year in most of the Northwest. That’s too bad. The economics of ski areas require them to open sometime around Thanksgiving in the hopes of turning a healthy profit. In the thick of the season, resorts have all kinds of worries that slow down operations from heavy winds to ice and even white out conditions. Earlier in the year, the worry esd lack of snow and now their worst fears are being realized.

Mt. Hood’s ski areas have tried to open. Let’s call it fits and starts. Staffs are hired. The rental equipment is waxed. But the snow has yet to agree. Timberline’s upper areas are open, but let’s face it, you can ride there in August because it’s on a glacier (at least until Al Gore’s climate change predictions prove true). Mount Hood Meadows opened a couple runs for a few days only to be thwarted by rain. Ski Bowl typically opens later than the rest and their season opening still remains uncertain.

Worry not, though, for the diehard among us, options still exist. Mt. Bachelor in Bend has been open since Thanksgiving. While the terrain at Timberline Lodge is not considered very challenging, both are viable options to start getting your legs in shape for the first big powder day of the year on Mt. Hood. Perhaps I will see you at Mt. Bachelor this weekend? Until then, here are Oregon’s best ski areas and couple facts about each.

Mt. Hood Meadows

Mt. Hood Meadows hits the sweet spot when it comes to a ski area: they’ve got great lifts, they are close enough to Portland, as well as offer great amenities and meals. They seem to remain at the cutting edge of adding new lifts – and lift technology – to their resort. One of the busiest ski areas, the lines remain astonishingly short.

Lift ticket price: $69
Total skiable acres: 2,150
Drive time from downtown Portland: 90 minutes
Status: Closed pending more snow

Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge is a great place to visit. It has the best food, the best views and, of course, the best lodge, a public works era behemoth worthy of the drive by itself. It offers one of the few places in Oregon where you can stay overnight at the ski area (just don’t watch The Shining before your stay).

Lift ticket price: $70
Total skiable acres: 1,650
Drive time from downtown Portland: 90 minutes
Status: Open

Skibowl

Skibowl boasts that is it the country’s largest night ski area. Neat. They are also the closest ski area to Portland. By far at the lowest elevation on Mt. Hood, Skibowl has the shortest season. They have no modern chairlifts but arguably the best terrain on all of Mount Hood.

Lift ticket price: $53
Total skiable acres: 960
Drive time from downtown Portland: 75 minutes
Status: Closed pending more snow

Mt. Bachelor

Far away and worth the drive, Mt. Bachelor feels more like a posh “resort” than any other ski area in Oregon. While you can’t easily drive there and back in a day, a night in Bend should be icing on the ski weekend cake. Don’t let the lift ticket price scare you off: their ski area is more than twice the size of the next closest in total acreage.

Lift ticket price: $79
Total skiable acres: 3,700
Drive time from downtown Portland: Just under 4 hours
Status: Open

Willamette Pass

Located outside Eugene, Willamette Pass is neither close nor really that noteworthy, which is exactly why you should go there. The crowds are small and the night runs are a hoot. It’s small, personable and if you are heading down the valley anyway, it’s worth a visit.

Lift ticket price: $49
Total skiable acres: 555
Drive time from downtown Portland: 3 hours
Status: Open Wednesday-Sunday

Jesse is an East Portland resident, political junkie, snowboard fanatic, and former pub owner.

Banner Photo Credit: bixentro via Compfight cc

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