We are not immune to the surging Omicron COVID variant wave which most of the country is experiencing. Meadows follows very strict protocols, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Oregon Health Authority, which encourage team members to report symptoms and test when they feel they may have been exposed. Meadows provides COVID-specific sick leave for team members to use so they can stay at home and isolate rather than come to work and potentially spread the virus to other team members.
Due to suspected off-premise exposures, a number of our culinary team has been asked to quarantine and as a result, we’ve made the difficult but appropriate decision to temporarily discontinue evening restaurant operations.
This will allow affected team members to go through the precautionary COVID protocols and return to work healthy. Those who aren’t affected will be used to assist in daytime restaurant operations. We expect to resume night restaurant operations as soon as practicable, possibly by next week.
Meadows lift operations are not affected by this precautionary measure and will follow the normal schedule of 9 AM - 9 PM Wednesdays through Sundays and 9 AM - 4 PM Mondays and Tuesdays.
Contributing to the decision to suspend night restaurant operations is the behavior of some guests who refuse or resist correctly wearing a mask when entering our lodges.
For some reason, there is more defiant behavior exhibited by some of our night guests, which is making our indoor team members feel uncomfortable, threatened and endangered. This behavior from a relative few will not be tolerated and we remind everyone that lift access for skiing and snowboarding is a privilege - and a revokable one at that. We expect cooperation and compliance from all of our guests regarding wearing their masks indoors, as well as respecting our Team members. As the Meadows Code of Conduct states, “Treat self, others and Mt. Hood with courtesy and respect.” Failure to follow the Code of Conduct may result in, but is not limited to, loss of pass privileges. And it may impact our future night restaurant operations.
Lodges will be open for restrooms and brownbag space, but masks are required when entering buildings.
So while lifts run to 9 PM Wednesdays through Sundays, restaurants will be closed to the public. Vending machines in the North and South lodges will still be available, and guests may brownbag on the second level of the North and South lodges (the Schuss and Fresh Tracks areas). Restrooms on the first level of the north and south lodges will be available as well, but everyone will still be required to put a mask on before entering our lodge, and wear it unless seated and eating (in the areas mentioned above).
Through the pandemic, Mt. Hood Meadows has prioritized the health and wellbeing of Team members and this precautionary action is demonstrative of that commitment. We value our Team as well as our guests - we are all in this together and we need everyone to be on board and in compliance with the public health measures we are enforcing.
A sincere thank you to the vast majority of guests who comply with and support our public health measures.
We thank all those who responsibly comply with our facemask guidance - there are way more of you than those that we need to continuously remind. Our Team thanks you for your support.