Meadows Blog

Marked Improvements and Suggestions for More

1/10/2010 4:30:00 PM by Ken M. in Guestimonials | 6 comments

As a frequent visitor, and critic, of MHM, I must commend management for the consistently outstanding grooming operations. Whether fresh new snow or old beaten snow, the grooming crew has been providing stellar conditions.

Employee attitudes in the 2009-2010 season are a pleasant reversal from the surly and unfriendly atmosphere of past years. Lift op crews have been outstanding.

MHM still needs to address the antiquated and cumbersome lift ticket system. Constantly fumbling for tickets buried under layers of clothing and poorly operating scanners create bottlenecks in lift queues and tensions among patrons and employees. Installation of modern ticket scanning technology utilizing readily available RFID systems would lesson hassles and ultimately prove cost effective as employee head count would be reduced, violators more easily identified, and statistical analysis of lift usage would be more accurate.

Again, positive acknowledgment of operational improvements. Now, all we need is for nature to cooperate and send some more snow our direction!

-- Ken M.

6 Comments

  1. Bob Pengraph

    January 13, 2010

    I agree completely with Ken regarding the lift ticket scanning. This is the only negative experience that I have had while visiting MHM, but is an issue that makes me rethink buying a season pass next year.

    Meadows: Thanks Bob and Ken. There is a considerable expense in obtaining the gated access equipment that allows RFID techonology to work. We're considering (and evaluating) the different options. Meanwhile we'll try to make the lift line / scanning experience as guest friendly as possible.

  2. Teddy

    January 13, 2010

    I have a suggestion regarding your Conditions page updates, specifically the NOAA forecast you so frequent rely on.

    Your current link to the NOAA site gives a point forecast for an area that only encompasses a sliver of Meadows' terrain, specifically the far western edge accessible by Vista and Cascade.

    I think you should change your link to the following, which encompasses far more of Meadows. Although no Mt. Hood forecast is completely accurate, the following link has provided a more accurate forecast more often than the one you're using.

    http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=45.34116643213393&lon=-121.66500091552734&site=pqr&smap=1&marine=0&unit=0&lg=en

    Meadows: We'll take a look at it. The slight change in the coordinates does have some very subtle changes when comparing the two forecasts side-by-side.

  3. Elliott

    January 13, 2010

    My only comment is regarding skiing at Meadows. I love meadows but I spend almost my whole time in the ungrooomed parts like the reserve, heathers and the woods in between. The one thing I would love to see is a mogul field or a slalom course set up.

    Snowboarders get terrain parks and half pipes and all sorts of junk, how about a few flags and half a run for some skiers who like to slalom? Or setting aside half a steep run for skiers so we can get some real moguls that haven't been decapitated by a snowboard? I know there's a lot of boarders these days but there's still a lot of us on skis too.

    Meadows: Thanks Elliott. We are exploring different runs for Mogul fields and have some talented grooming crew that could put together some good courses.

  4. Mark

    January 15, 2010

    Was considering a spring pass this year. The whole concept has changed in the favor of MHM and not the skier it seems. Buy now or pay more later. In the past the pass was available throughout the spring season, and last year is was just $99 on 2/28 with a much better snow year! Please comment on the new policy, cause the minute I read read it, my thoughts on buying the pass changed.

    Meadows: The spring pass at $99 last season was indeed a great price. So is a pass at $119 - the January online special price. That's the price of the season pass from two seasons ago. We established the $179 price (if purchased at the ski area in March) based on the cost of purchasing three individual days. Those that want to come more than three times should purchase the spring pass. Considering the pass allows access for 56 days in March and April, you'd only need to come up once every other weekend to pay for it.
    We offered the early purchase plan for those who know for sure that know they're going to Meadows for spring skiing and riding this season. Those that aren't as certain can wait until February - as the pass can be purchased online for $149 February 1 - 28.
    Bottom line, if you think you're going to ski or snowboard three days or more during the 56 days of March and April operations, you should purchase it online now for $119. If you're not sure then waiting until February 28 to see what the conditions are like and purchase for $149.
    The $179 price for two months is also a great value and is more consistent with the cost of providing services. It is also more in line with our Unlimited Season Pass early season pricing which provides the entire season (166 days or more) for $499 (about $3 / day). The $179 for 56 days or more comes out to about $3 / day.
    So long story short, we are pricing these products to more realistically reflect the cost of providing services, but want to give incentives for those willing to make early commitments.
    We hope you'll still consider the spring pass purchase.

  5. M L

    January 20, 2010

    Why is Daisy perpetually closed for night skiing? Decreasing the amount of open trails goes against your "Meadows After Dark" promotion. I brought an out of town relative to Meadows this last weekend and we were disappointed with the amount of trails open compared to years past. If your answer is that Stadium replaces Daisy, it's a poor substitute because with no grooming and wet heavy snow Stadium was unskiable for us.

    Meadows: The terrain Daisy accessess is also served by the Mt. Hood Express high speed quad. We also run Easy Rider at night as well. We have run Daisy on evenings that business levels require.

  6. Powhound

    February 4, 2010

    @Elliott
    Last I checked, the terrain parks, etc were for skiers too.

    But I agree that the moguls should be kept on a separate run. That way I can avoid them easier.

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