Hoodoo, OR, Backcountry Report: Thankful for a Deep Base

View of the Three Sisters from the summit of Hoodoo. (PC: Nicky Blumm)

Report from Thursday, November 28, 2024

Hoodoo Ski Area, Oregon, opens tomorrow, but we took some early Thanksgiving turns. Hoodoo boasts about being “steep, deep, and cheap,” but last season was especially brutal at the low-elevation resort. Fortunately, this year, the resort appears to be in far better shape— there was consistently 30+ inches throughout the resort.

Our first lap offered surprisingly light snow over the course of the 1,035 feet of vertical to the summit. Despite no snow having fallen yesterday, temperatures remained sufficiently cold to retain the recently deposited light snow.

Katie had to get help from some friendly trees on her second lap. (PC: Nicky Blumm)

On our second lap, Katie had some struggles. We tried ascending through the steepest part of the resort, which was joyful in the powder, but proved a little tricky. We ended up crossing back to the main face to reach the summit a second time.

I am extra grateful that Katie permitted me to take a third lap. Given that she was waiting— along with a Thanksgiving meal— I sped up Hoodoo as fast as I could. It took 21 minutes to reach the summit from the parking lot.