It looked like the promised land. As we wound up the two-lane highway from Portland, Oregon toward the towering, forested slopes of massive Mt. Hood more than 9,000 feet above us, the snow piled higher and higher. By the time we pulled into the parking lot at Mt. Hood Meadows, more than 100 inches of the white stuff lay underfoot. With a drought hanging over my home slopes of New Mexico, and snowfall at less than half of the norm, the unbroken white landscape of Mt. Hood looked divine. And it was.
Burying Negative Thoughts in Hood’s Powder
Over the next five hours, my daughter Isabel, her boyfriend Olu, and myself would tour the terrain of this terrific ski area, laying down tracks in fresh powder found on the edges of runs and hidden in the abundant forests and glades. It was the best skiing of the year, so far, as I returned to Santa Fe and yet more warm temps and clear skies—nice but not the right stuff for snowsport enthusiasts, farmers and wildlife. I worry about May and June, New Mexico’s typical fire season, if this keeps up. But that day in February at Mt Hood Meadows, such thoughts were buried under the abundant snow and good times to be had.
Local’s Knowledge for Parking
From Isabel’s experience with the ski area, we chose to park in the lesser-known and smaller base area called Hood River Meadows. There we quickly loaded onto the Hood River Express quad chair, taking us to about mid-mountain. With the ski area’s 2,777 feet of lift-served vertical, this first chair offered up some delightful soft turns back down predominately intermediate runs. After a few laps here, including a fun foray into a long tree run paralleling the terrain park named Forest Park, we decided to head over toward the main base complex.
Mt Hood Meadows is BIG!
This is when the sprawling scope of Mt. Hood Meadows became apparent. Spread over 2,150 acres of skiable terrain, it would take a week or more to explore thoroughly. A network of 11 chairs offers a head spinning option of routes and exposures, almost guaranteeing good conditions on some aspect of the mountain at all times. And even on Superbowl weekend after fresh snow, almost no lift lines. Averaging 430 inches of snow a season, lack of it is rarely a problem, though warm spells can create icy conditions.
The highest chair, the Cascade Express, topping out at an elevation of 7,305 feet, was closed due to fog. But from the summit of the Vista Express, at 6,571 feet, we could gaze onto the rising flanks of Mt. Hood. The vast snowfields, entirely above treeline, rolled upwards in dazzling waves of white and into the bank of clouds shrouding its summit at 11,240 feet.
Bird’s Eye View of Mt Hood’s Other Resort
Turning our view away to the west, we spotted a distant chairlift of Timberline Lodge Ski Area. The historic, huge, handsome, four-storied wood and stone lodge, which lends its name to the ski area, poked above the banks of snow below us. Descending on Vista Ridge, we found more untracked powder on both marked runs and in the trees, and danced our way down to the main base complex. We next headed back to where we’d parked for a tailgate lunch and local brew, and then charged back up the slopes for some final runs.
We ended the day with a long descent into Heather Canyon. Here the more extreme aspect of the ski area became evident. Cliff bands, tight chutes, and steep tree runs dropping off Shooting Star Ridge to the distant canyon floor below, followed by a long, beautiful cruiser back to the parking lot alongside a creek deeply incised into the snowpack.
It was a perfect end to a great day.
Overview of Mt Hood Meadows
Beer, simple foods, and lift tickets are available at the secondary base area (Hood River Meadows), but rentals are only available at the main base complex. The main base has more dining options, a full bar, retail shop and tuning shops, lockers, ski school, a daycare center for kids age 6 weeks to 11 years old, and other amenities. The best terrain for beginners is found at the main base, with the Daisy, Easy Rider, Buttercup, and Stadium Express chairs all accessing easy slopes. There are five terrain parks, including a banked slalom course, with ability levels for all. And if you’re planning to extend your season into April or later Mt Hood Meadows ranks one of the 10 best spring skiing destinations in North America.
Its sector called Private Reserve is a double black diamond enclave of cliffs, creeks, and waterfalls. It is ungroomed and accessed only through control gates and should not be skied solo. There’s also night sliding on some 140 acres of terrain. The Nordic Center, located in the Hood River Meadows base area, offers 15K of groomed trails, rental gear, lessons, as well as snowshoe rentals. Uphill skiing is generally prohibited, except in a few designated zones when open.
The ski area also has a robust special events calendar, with many set for March, April and even into May, including a brewfest on March 22, a banked slalom race on April 5, and a Pond Skim on May 3. As of Feb. 28, their base measured 175 inches at mid-mountain. The area operates a Park and Ride service from Portland, and there is public bus service from Hood River ($5 roundtrip). For details, call 503/337-2222 or visit www.SkiHood.com.
