Mt. Ashland will be making a number of improvements to the mountain this summer. More parking is going to be developed and they are going to ease the gradient of the runs off the Sonnet chair to make them much easier for novice skiers and boarders to handle. If you want to help them out with raising funds for these and other improvements, they would LOVE to talk to you. Click on the link below to get more information, or to get in touch with them.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mt-ashland-improvement-project
THE SKI REPORTS WILL BE UPDATED FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. SKI REPORTS WILL END FOR THE SEASON THIS SUNDAY THE 26TH.
There are two ski areas left open in the state of Oregon. Mt. Bachelor, and Timberline. Mt. Bachelor is running seven days a week until Sunday May 26. Timberline is open daily through May 27th, and then serving race camps after that until the second week of July when they will close for the season.
In California, Mammoth Mountain in the southern Sierra will be running daily through Memorial Day the 27th of May. In Washington State, there are resorts still open. Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass, and Snowqualamie Summit are still going strong on weekends.
Up north in British Columbia, mega resort Whistler will continue daily operations through May 27th.
For current daily conditions Monday through Thursday, click on the link to the websites of the ski areas
MT. BACHELOR CURRENT CONDITIONS:
http://www.mtbachelor.com/winter/mountain/snow_report
Mt. Bachelor is on a reduced operations schedule. Only West Village lodge, Pine Marten Lift, and Skyliner lift are open. The Summit Chair will run conditions permitting. They operate daily from 9 am to 2 pm. They will operate seven days a week through the closing date of Sunday, the 26th.
The forecast this week looks to have the mountain going out on a very high note. If the forecasts are right, this looks to be an amazing week up here with fresh powder coming down. Going to be an excellent final week of the season.
TIMBERLINE RESORT CURRENT CONDITIONS:
http://www.timberlinelodge.com/conditions/
Winter is far from done at Timberline. They will operate daily through the 27th of May. After the 27th of May, they will be open for ski and snowboard racing and training camps until the second week of July.
Look for winter storms to hit the mountain this week and several feet of snow are expected. Looks like there will be fresh powder with mid winter conditions.
There are two chairs left operating now. The Palmer, and Magic Mile Chairs. Pucci chair will be a standby. They also have opened up the Mile Halfpipe and the Magic terrain Park
Check out this special deal from Timberline.....click on the picture to get the details. And by the way, this IS the lodge where the movie "The Shining" was filmed at.
Timberline Resort is located on Mt. Hood here in Oregon. It might have the longest ski season in the world with lifts running from the beginning of November through July. In my ski racing days, we trained at Timberline from late May through July. Timberline can and does get snow during all 12 months out of the year. In really snowy years it would be possible to do year round skiing on natural snow. The long ski season is what makes Timberline unique. It is not a big ski area in terms of acreage or lifts. But, if you feel that need to ski on the 4th of July...here is where you can do it with chairlifts running.
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN CURRENT CONDITIONS:
http://www.mammothmountain.com/MyMammoth/#tabs_conditions-snow
Mammoth is now on very reduced operations for the remainder of the season. The Canyon and Eagle Lodges are now closed, as are the lifts out of them. However, the Main Lodge and it's lift complex will be open daily until May 27th. There will be access to much of the terrain on the mountain and there will be top to bottom lift service out of Main Lodge.
Mammoth Mountain is located in the southern Sierras of California. This is the closest major ski area to the Los Angeles and Las Vegas metro areas. As such it can get very crowded in the base areas. Traffic to and from the mountain on weekends can be a nightmare. But, the mountain itself is huge and it can spread people out well. Mammoth is well known for running late into the season for skiing. Many years Mammoth can offer skiing on the 4th of July. Mammoth is also used as a spring time training center for ski racers. The US Ski Team has been coming here for decades to train during April, May, and even into June.
WHISTLER BLACKCOMB, BRITISH COLUMBIA CURRENT CONDITIONS
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weather/cams/whistler/index.htm
Whistler is on their Spring operations schedule. They will be open daily through May 27th. After May 27th they will be open for race and training camps only.
BIG NEWS!! Whistler Blackcomb has announced that they are going to be installing 2 new chairs that will be ready to go for next season. Each mountain will get one. Here are the photos of where the Chairs will be going
Whistler Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, Canada, is a world class destination resort. It hosted the alpine ski racing events during the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. It is a very large area in terms of acreage and spans two mountains. Blackcomb Mountain, and Whistler Mountain. There is a village at the base of the two mountains that reminds me somewhat of Vail, Colorado. They can accommodate crowds very easily. You find the biggest lift lines in the mornings at the base of the Gondolas and the other lifts coming out of the villages. Once you get people up on the mountains lift lines become very short due to the capacity they have to move people. Whistler also has one of the largest grooming fleets in the world and usually offers more groomed runs than most ski areas have for runs in total. They do a great job of providing an excellent experience. Once you come here for the first time, you WILL want to come back.
MT. ASHLAND CURRENT CONDITIONS:
http://mtashland.com/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=14#cam
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
They are working on their summer projects which will bring a number of improvements including more parking, and improvements to the runs. This will include easing the gradient of the runs off Sonnet to make them easier for novice skiers to handle. With heavy equipment working, debris from the tree falling, and the log decks stacked.....you are asked not to visit the ski area at this time. Hiking and biking is open on the surrounding Forest service lands.
MT. SHASTA SKI PARK CURRENT CONDITIONS
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Thanks to everyone for coming up this season. Check out the Summer Season Events including the Slush, Bike and Hike race today, The Volcano Downhill July 20th, and the Volcano Mud Run on July 27th.
WILLAMETTE PASS SKI AREA
http://willamettepass.com/mountain/snowreport.php
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Willamette Pass is located in the Cascades east of Eugene along Highway 58 right on the crest of the Cascades. Willamatte Pass is one of Oregon's largest resorts with a total of 6 chairs. It is a very diverse ski area in terms of the terrain. It has very gentle beginner terrain,but it also has one of the very toughest lift served runs in the country in RTS, which stands for Rough, Tough, Steep. It absolutely is. If you can conquer the top of this thing, you can ski or ride ANYTHING! Willamette Pass is very family friendly and lift tickets are modestly priced. If you have never been here before, make sure to put it on your list for next season. During the summer the Eagle Peak Accelerator Chair runs to provide access to miles of hiking and biking trails. They also have a number of activities that occur.
SUGAR BOWL SKI RESORT CURRENT CONDITIONS:
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Sugar Bowl is a personal favorite of mine from my early skiing days. It is a popular ski area for those in the Sacramento area, and also the Bay Area of Northern California. Sugar Bowl is in the north end of the Tahoe basin off of I 80. For something very unique. Park in the old parking lots of the Donner Park Highway and ride the gondola into the ski area. This used to be the only way to get to the lodge at Sugar Bowl.
HEAVENLY SKI AREA CURRENT CONDITIONS
http://www.skiheavenly.com/the-mountain/snow-report/snow-report.aspx
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Heavenly is one of the best ski and snowboarding vacation destinations in the entire world. Sitting right on the border between California and Nevada, you do literally ski and ride from one state into another. With Mott Canyon and Killebrew Canyon you get some of the greatest lift served back country terrain in the United States. This makes it an ideal place for experts. If you tire of getting a workout on Heavenly's terrain you can always take time off in the casinos at the bottom of the mountain in Nevada. A gondola serves that area now so you can get whisked right back to skiing and riding when you are ready. With the combination of the casinos, you get an experience that does not get duplicated anywhere else in the world. Ski or ride all day and then head to the casinos for outstanding dining, gaming, and entertainment. Big name performers are always on stage on the South Shore at the base of Heavenly. This is by far my favorite place to take an unwind ski vacation that mixes in so much more than just being on the mountain.
