JANUARY 2007: AROUND THE STATE
A good start for ski resorts
STATEWIDE
A La Niña weather system cooling the waters of
the Pacific Ocean has forecasters predicting above-average
snowfall for the Northwest this winter and Oregonians thinking
about the slopes.
Pass sales are up at all the major resorts, with Mt. Hood
Skibowl and Timberline reporting increases of 80% and 25%,
respectively, thanks to the popular Mt. Hood Fusion Pass, valid
at both resorts. Now in its second year, the Fusion Pass was
available for individuals for the first time this season. Mt.
Hood Meadows and Mt. Bachelor also report that pass sales have
exceeded last year’s numbers.
Resorts around the state invested in a number of improvements
in the off-season, but perhaps the biggest change is the
opening of Timberline’s Still Creek Basin, featuring 220
acres of new terrain with eight trails.
“It’s probably the most significant development in
Oregon since back when Bachelor opened that Northwest
Territory, back in the ’80s,” says Jon Tullis,
director of public affairs for Timberline. “We expect to
attract a lot of folks who typically wouldn’t ski at
Timberline. This is a big opportunity for us.”
The team at Mt. Bachelor is debuting a mobile marketing
campaign that sends conditions reports and special offers to
guests’ cell phones. Other updates include lodge
improvements at Skibowl, a focus on park terrain at Mt.
Bachelor, and a new ski patrol headquarters and peak-day
parking initiative favoring carpoolers at Mt. Hood Meadows.
Thanksgiving came sooner than the snow at some resorts, but
Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline managed to open
at least a few slopes for the holiday weekend.
“It was a little stubborn of a beginning to our season
this year,” Tullis says. “We did have some terrain
open, and we did OK. We would have preferred to be at full
operation, but it tends to even out. I think we’ll make
up for
that.”
JAMIE HARTFORD
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