Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon is working hard to get a chairlift back online after it was damaged during a windstorm. The windstorm caused a tree to fall on Heather Chair resulting enough damage to close the chairlift until they can source parts. Mt Hood is going their own inventory and external suppliers to source parts and hopes to fix the chairlift as soon as possible
Until Heather Chair is back in operation, guests who wish to drop into Heather Canyon gates will have to down the Heather all they way to HRM parking lot and use the Hood River Meadows chair to get back up the resort.
Mt. Hood is famous for its tight knit community of skiers and riders who live to ride one of the best resorts in the Northwest and it brightened my spirits to read the comment section on an Instagram post announcing the closure. Instead of belly aching about the inconvenience of the closure, the comments were filled with gratitude for Mt Hood employees and positivity about the terrain getting tracked out slower and the opportunity for extra exercise. The Mt Hood ski community is incredible.
Mt. Hood Meadows Statement:
We are fortunate to have received an impressive amount of snowfall this season and especially as of late, enabling us to build the snow bridges necessary for exiting Heather Canyon and allowing our team access to the area. On Tuesday, the Private Reserve opened, and today (Wednesday), Ski Patrol successfully opened Jack’s Woods, offering exceptional skiing and riding opportunities.
However, we recently experienced a windstorm that caused a tree to fall on the Heather Chair, resulting in damage that requires repairs before the lift can begin operations for that terrain. Our team is actively sourcing the necessary parts, both from our inventory and external suppliers, to expedite the repair process.
We are also working diligently to complete additional snow safety measures, which will allow us to open more of Heather Canyon. Until then, access out will be via the runout, followed by a return on Hood River Express (HRE).
We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our team, who have gone above and beyond during the holiday season to make as much terrain available as possible. We are equally grateful for our loyal guests, whose enthusiasm has made this incredible start to the season even more rewarding.
1/3/2025 @ 5:25 AM:
We’ve got moderate snow fall this morning up at mid-mountain and a more wintry mix lower on the mountain. A south wind should become more westerly later today bringing with it lowering freezing levels and a switch to all snow across the resort by later today and tonight. This weekend looks snowy and stormy.Â
While today’s forecast is not conducive to getting the upper mountain chairs running we did manage to get a couple of Heather Canyon gates open on Thursday, as well as access into the Private Reserve. Please be sure to only enter this terrain through an open gate.Â
We expect similar access today, but if you drop in there keep in mind that the Heather Chair is not operating at this time and you will need to ski down the Heather runout to the HRM parking lot, and then use the Hood River Meadows chair to get back up the resort. Come on up and get your weekend off to a great start. We’ll see you up here today from 9 AM to 9 PM.
With all this snow piled up, we encourage you to practice deep snow safety. Ski and ride with a buddy. Keep them in sight. Carry your avy gear. Stay away from tree wells. Chains or traction tires are required this morning. Finally, it’s not a bad idea to carry a shovel in your car as well. It can be helpful to dig your car out at the end of a stormy day.