Hi Folks,
Have you ever gotten caught in a traffic jam on Hwy. 26?
This rarely occurs mid-week but on certain weekends and holidays getting to Mt. Hood ski areas or back home if you live in the Portland/Vancouver area can be difficult, to say the least. It seems the return trip to Portland can be the biggest problem but even getting to the ski resort in the morning can be difficult. Sunday nights can be the worst because of all the traffic coming back to Portland from Bend on Hwy. 26.
There is an alternative route that is almost never a problem – and takes no extra time. As opposed to taking Hwy. 26 through Sandy to Hwy. 35 to access Mt. Hood Meadows, consider taking I-84 to Hood River instead, then take Hwy. 35 south to Mt. Hood Meadows.
Last summer (in perfect driving conditions and no traffic) I measured one route verses the other from the Wood Village / I-84 intersection to Mt. Hood Meadows. It is 12 miles longer to go the Hood River route but here is the amazing difference, on the Sandy route there are 23 stop lights between the Wood Village / I-84 exit and Mt. Hood Meadows. If you go through Hood River, there are no stop lights and only 2 stop signs you have to deal with. So, the time you spend sitting at 23 stop lights taking the Sandy route offsets the time of driving the extra 12 miles taking the Hood River route. You save no gas going through Sandy because your car is idling at each stop light. On dry summer roads, it took me exactly the same amount of time on either route to access Mt. Hood Meadows.
Some people say that the Columbia River Gorge (I-84) is hazardous in the winter. The reality is that the Gorge can be a nightmare if an ice storm is occurring but that is infrequent. The trick is to simply watch the weather reports. If there is an ice storm in the Gorge the local television stations go crazy covering the event. You will know when it’s happening. If that occurs, avoid the Gorge. The rest of the time, its better to go through the Gorge because it takes essentially the same amount of time in the car and you will avoid the possibility of getting caught in a 3 hour pile up on Hwy. 26.
If you drive home to Portland through Hood River, you can stop at The Spur Steak House at Cooper Spur Mountain Resort for dinner and still get home earlier than the people who used Hwy. 26 on most weekend evenings!
Give it a try sometime. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Sincerely,
Dave Riley
Vice President / General Manager
Hi Folks,
We're open!
And what a day. All three parking lots were filled to capacity which has never happened before on opening day.
Its great to see everyone so excited and ready to get on the slopes but the lines at the season pass office (which has been relocated to the Finish Line) were unacceptably long. For this Saturday and Sunday if you have purchased a season pass online and need to have your picture taken and pass printed please be sure to bring your confirmation card/number and photo ID to help us move things along as quickly as possible.
We processed over 3,800 season passes at the Portland Ski Show last weekend and have been taking pictures on the weekends up at Mt. Hood Meadows since early October. Nevertheless, we still had a long wait for many people today who were trying to get their season pass or ten time pass. We distributed hundreds of day tickets to people in the line who had their confirmation card and ID in order to get them out on the slopes. Many came back at the end of the day to get their picture pass. In prior years we used to have a season pass camera at our Portland Sales and Marketing office but a small percentage of season pass holders took advantage of it. In November and December of 2004 we processed a total of 3,900 passes at the ski show plus those taken at the Portland office before we opened. We'll likely go back to taking pictures at the Portland office next year and in Hood River on a particular weekend and will encourage more people to take advantage of those alternatives. We'll also be seeking other ways to avoid this crunch for next season.
I applogize to the season pass holders and ten time pass holders for the long line today.
On a more positive note, its snowing and 27 degrees as I write this blog (4:30 p.m. 11/11) and the forecast is for approximately a foot of new snow tonight and tomorrow. This coming week the forecast is for some sunny weather so those of you who enjoy working on your ski face - you're in luck!
Sincerely,
Dave Riley
Vice President / General Manager
Hi Folks,
It looks fantastic at the Meadows!
Absent some unforeseeable event, the season starts November 11, 2005 - 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We've received over 3 feet of snow at the main base area and much more up above.
I've had a few people ask why we didn't open this weekend. Here's the inside story. Admittedly, we may be overly cautious this year about snow but there's nothing wrong with being cautious.
We're doing several things to maximize the snow base this week. This is the reason for waiting to open until 11/11/05. The way we manage that is to first 'track pack' the snow with snowcats leaving ridges in between the passes. These ridges act as a snow fence, catching more of the wind-transported snow and new accumulation. Then, after it snows again we come back and track pack it once more, leaving grouser marks to catch more wind transport and new accumulation. This is done without a tiller attachment leaving a very rough surface. Then, after it snows again we groom it with a tiller attachment which creates the smooth packed corduroy surface we all love. Time allows the snow crystals to consolidate and bond. This multi-step process will maximize the base depth, durability, and surface quality that you will experience this Friday when we open. Last Friday night we looked at the weather forecasts and saw the opporunity to follow this procedure. Obviously, it is not appropriate to open without a smooth tilled surface. Rob Gayman, Grooming Manager, and his crew of experineced cat operators are carefully implementing this plan.
Jason Stankevich, Freestyle Terrain Manager and Jake Ingle are putting a plan together this week to place approximately 20 rails in Ball Park and build some terrain features in City Park for opening day. We're bringing in members of the park crew to help set the rails and build the ramps.
Steve Warila, Director of Mountain Operations and Planning, along with the help of Rob and the crew are making snow on Eric's Corner every minute the tempurature allows. Today the temperature never rose above 29 degrees so we've been making snow all day. When you come up Friday you'll see the new snowmaking machines on Eric's corner. Another machine is at the top of Reservior Hill which is making a pile of snow for the construction of the snow bridge to Whoopee. These SMI SuperWizards are state-of-the-art computer automated snowmakers that automatically adjust the air/water mixture to optimize the productivity of the machine. Older machines require a person to adjust the air/water mixture which is an imperfect science. The SuperWizards are also capable of making snow at higher temperatures (near 32 degrees) and make less noise than the old fashioned technology.
Finishing touches are being put on the restaurants, but otherwise everything in the lodges is pretty much ready to go. The retail stores have been open since early October so they're looking good with some really nice new clothing and hard goods. Elizabeth Whelan, Retail Operations Director, still has some of last year's demo skis if you're interested in a great deal. She's also got a supply of gift cards for early holiday shopping, or that hard to buy for person.
Mark Fellows, Food and Beverage Director, along with his team have completed some great changes to the menus with an emphasis on using trans-fat free oils and other healthy as well as local products. I think you'll like what you see.
Woody Hoye, Ticketing Manager, will offer a large season pass computer network in the Finish Line (top level of the North Lodge) for picture taking this week. That will stay in place at least through opening weekend to speed the process of getting everyone's season passes.
Marsha Davis, Snow Sports Learning Center Director, had a huge training session with over 150 returning coaches yesterday at the ski show. You should have felt the energy in that room! All the adult and children's areas will be operating on opening day including the EpiCenter, Daycare, Snow Rangers, Snow Monsters, and the Fun Zone.
The rental shop crew is busy waxing and tuning hundreds of snowboards and skis under the leadership of Greg Highkin, Rental Shop Manager.
Mel Toney, Patrol Manager is busy leading the set up of all of the rope lines and signs. She's got lots of returning pro patrollers though who know the mountain like the top of their skis.
We'll be running training sessions for new hires this weekend. Fortunately, we've got plenty of returning employees to operate the resort while we train people who are new to the ski area. Our training sessions won't impact your experience.
The Ski Fever Show in Portland was very well attended this year. It seems the energy is very high in the community. The Meadows staff is really excited about the early snow and are looking forward to getting an early opening. An early opening is great for the skiers and riders but also good for employment in the rural mountain towns. Restaurants, hotels, retailers, and dozens of support companies on the mountain are all going to breathe a huge sigh of relief with the ski area's opening well before Thanksgiving.
Opening day is also Veteran's Day. We're going to provide complimentary lift tickets this Friday (11/11/05) for all service/vets who have their ID. It's the least we can do to show our appreciation for these strong men and women.
I'm very anxious to carve some turns myself. See you on the slopes!
Dave Riley, Vice President and General Manager