Industry News
The snowfall across much of the U.S. this winter has been disappointing. Although plenty of resorts are open, the average snowpack is well below historical averages.
Perhaps nowhere else is this more apparent than on Mt. Hood, Oregon. The current settled snow at the base at Timberline Lodge is a measly 26 inches. Typically, by January 1 at the resort, the average snowpack is 75 inches measured at the top of the Pucci Chair at 6,000 feet. The entire Mt. Hood area is at only 25% of the historical snowpack for this time of year.
That means nearly 50 inches or four more feet of snow, should be on the ground. The last time there was less snow by January 1 was 34 years ago in the 1989/90 season when only 15 inches of snow was settled at the base. There have been other slow starts to past seasons, but it is also not uncommon to see a 100-inch base at this time.
There has been some snow, as a total of 95 inches has fallen year-to-date, and it looked like it was going to be a solid start to the season in early December. The base at nearby Mt. Hood Meadows reached 36 inches on December 3. Unfortunately, warmer weather and rain followed and decimated the snowpack. Meadows even shut down its operations due to seven inches of rain.
Local skiers and snowboarders are frustrated, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Forecast models agree that the weather will turn cold and wet around the middle of the first week of the year and stay that way for a while. Anywhere from 21 to 46 inches should fall in the first two weeks of the year, and hopefully, that snow sticks around this time. That should allow more terrain and ski areas to open.
The resorts are doing their best with what Mother Nature has handed them. Timberline opened up its Palmer lift to access the upper mountain. Typically, the Palmer lift stays closed all winter until late spring for its summer season of camps and training. Mt. Hood Meadows used its “snow farming” technique to move snow from other parts of the mountain to fill in and patch runs. It finally opened up the new Mt. Hood Express 6-seater chair on Friday, December 29.
The slow start can be partly blamed on the El Niño season, which typically brings warmer, wetter weather to the Pacific Northwest, but that does not mean the entire season is a loss. Snowfall usually improves after the new year, and the snow base typically peaks by April. Let’s look forward to improving conditions on Mt. Hood and across the country.
