For several Oregonians, when the wintertime is underway it is time to bring out the snowboard or skis and hit the mountain. This year, however, has been a little different.
Due to a lack of snowfall, the Willamette Pass, Hoodoo and several other mountains and ski resorts have yet to open to the public for the ski season. Willamette is standing at six inches of snow atop the mountain, and needs at least two feet to open for public use.
Although Hoodoo has several areas for sledding and campsite usage, the lack of snowfall has drastically affected the mountain’s opening as well. Hoodoo is currently sitting at 7.8 inches of snow, needing 24 inches at the least to open to the public, as well.
Bachelor and Timberline are currently open for the snow season. However, the snow is not ideal for boarding or skiing, as University of Oregon junior and avid snowboarder Mike Morris said.
“The parks at the mountain are much smaller. There are no tree runs because most of the snow around the trees is all ice,” he said. “Groom runs and park runs are the only runs that you can go on right now.”
Morris misses being able to shred down the mountain on his favorite routes, as well as having days on the mountain with fresh powder.
Most mountains open mid-December and stay open until mid-March. Mountains like Hoodoo and Willamette are at a lower elevation than others, and have encountered a warmer climate this year in terms of temperature.
Mount Bachelor, located in Bend, is arguably Oregon’s best mountain to board or ski in the wintertime. And although Bachelor has received snow this year, it isn’t turning out to be the snow that boarders and skiers have been waiting for. Morris stated that he doesn’t want to drive three hours from Eugene to have to board a mountain that is covered in ice, so he has been waiting for blue skies and fresh powder to hit the mountain this year.
Willamette Pass is the closest mountain outside of Eugene, just shy of an hour away. Whereas Mount Bachelor and Timberline take about three or more hours to travel. The lack of snowfall is affecting boarders and skiers in Eugene more than ever this year due to travel.
Some mountains have stated that they are able to stay open later than mid-March if the snow waves in, but the resorts have lost a lot of money this season due to the lack of snowfall and hope to make some of this up later in the season.