Photo from previous season features the southside terrain that will be open for night skiing this weekend at Mt. Hood Meadows.
Mt. Hood Meadows will kick off the night season Friday, with three lifts scheduled to operate until 9 PM. The launch of nights places the ski area on its regular daily operating schedule of 9 AM - 4 PM Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday through Sunday from 9 AM - 9 PM. The southside terrain serviced by the Daisy, Easy Rider and Buttercup lifts, along with the Ballroom Carpet will be operating until 9 PM. Meadows has a twenty one inch base and early season conditions exist, so skiers and snowboarders need to be aware of unmarked obstacles. With snow in the forecast this weekend, and increasing next week, Meadows expects to operate more lifts and terrain as conditions allow.
A special $28 night lift ticket can be purchased online valid from 3 - 9 PM this Friday, Saturday or Sunday (expires December 18). A ticket purchased at the ski area is $30.
Purchase $28 Ticket Here.
Special night learn to ski and snowboard packages for ages 13 and older that includes a two hour lesson, night lift ticket and equipment rentals can be purchased for $84 ($79 online in advance). Group lessons for all ages are offered each evening at 5 PM and private lessons are available as well.
The Schuss quick-serve grill and the Alpenstube slope-side restaurant and bar will be open until 9 PM for dining. The Preview rail and Fireweed parks are scheduled to be open into the evenings for freestylers.
For the daily lift operational schedule and conditions visit our conditions page.
Original Blog Post below (posted Wednesday, 12/13/17)
Mt. Hood Meadows is making preparations to begin Night operations as early as this Friday, December 15. The schedule would have us extending operations to 9 PM Wednesday through Sunday evenings beginning this Friday. But the start of this season with the high pressure bluebird days and a somewhat marginal forecast heading into the weekend complicates the night operating scenarios.
As much as we’d love to just extend hours into the evening and get the night season underway, we must assess the conditions we will have and the overall experience we can present, from both a fun and a safety perspective. The options we are considering run the gamut, and are highly influenced by what the forecast brings in terms of new snow.
Currently the most likely scenario for Friday evening would be three lifts - Easy Rider, Daisy and Buttercup, along with the Ballroom Carpet. With enough snow Friday and Saturday, Mt. Hood Express could be added, and perhaps we’ll move right into our five night a week night schedule. The 10 day forecast looks very promising for more substantial snow by the middle of next week, which would beef up the base and prepare us for the holidays.
A second scenario would be waiting until Saturday to launch nights - that would be somewhat forecast dependent. If the forecast for the weekend storm changes (stalls out) we may decide to wait a day to put the snow to good use towards night operations.
Another option would be to preview nights this weekend (for a night or two), wait to see what the storm brings us and assess conditions for night operations next week.
And a final (and least favorite) option is to delay the night operations pending new snow.
Bottom line - we are compelled to begin night operations as soon as the conditions allow, and we are doing everything possible to make that happen, even if it is on a limited basis. Our mountain team has been amazing - making the most of the foot of snow we received since Thanksgiving and serving up a fun early season experience. We’re counting on a little help from Mother Nature to extend that experience into the evening.
We’ll continue to update our conditions page and this blog as we have more information.