SnowBrains Podcast Ep. 90 | Andrew Gast – General Manager of Mt. Ashland, OR Andrew Gast is the General Manager of Mt. Ashland Ski Area in southern Oregon. This is a very special ski resort because it is not-for-profit. Its one and only goal is to serve its community to the best of its abilities. This episode explores everything Mt. Ashland, along with how non-profit ski areas work in general. About The SnowBrains Podcast: […] Featured Video Podcast | November 12, 2025 0 Comments
Mount Bachelor, OR, Starts Season 2 Weeks Earlier Than Planned Mount Bachelor, Oregon, has announced that it will be starting the season two weeks earlier than initially planned. Thanks to recent snowfalls and efforts by the snowmaking team and mountain operations, the 2024-25 season at Mount Bachelor will kick off on Friday, November 15. It marks the earliest Mount Bachelor has opened in 26 years. Related: All the Latest Updates […] Industry News SnowBrains | November 11, 2024 0 Comments
Avalanche Forecaster Nick Burks Killed in Avalanche Near Anthony Lakes, OR At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, an avalanche accident occurred on the north side of Gunsight Mountain (8,342′) in the Elkhorn Mountains near Anthony Lakes, Oregon. Nick Burks, an avalanche forecaster with the Northwest Avalanche Center and a part of the snow safety team at Mt. Hood Meadows ski area, was killed due to trauma sustained in the […] Avalanche AvyBrains | March 7, 2024 0 Comments
The Top 5 Small Ski Areas in Oregon: Skiing wise, Oregon still remains under the radar. Most skiers and snowboarders from out of state have heard about Mt. Bachelor and Mt. Hood. While most people just call it Mt. Hood, the mountain is actually home to five different ski areas. Most people have heard of it because of the summer skiing offered on the Palmer Snowfield. Oregon has […] Featured Article Jack Lafeman | September 18, 2020 18 Comments
Top 5 Biggest Ski Areas In The Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest is a land of lush evergreen forests, that receive a ton of precipitation with a marine west coast climate. The areas ski resorts gets some of the most snowfall in the U.S. with Mt. Baker, Washington getting the most snowfall in North America last year with 866″. The area is dominated by the Cascade Mountain Range which is […] LadyBrains | November 16, 2017 5 Comments
5 Local Tips on How to Maximize Enjoyment of a Mt. Bachelor, OR Powder Day Mt. Bachelor, OR can get insane storms that often leave behind many feet of fresh powder. That’s why so many powder lovers move to Bend. They do everything they can to make it up for every good powder day of the season. Working a job that they have to be at until 2:00pm to ensure they can ski up every […] Featured Article Jack Lafeman | November 17, 2016 1 Comment
Mt. Hood Meadows Conditions Report 3-17-2016: Full Blown Bottomless Powder Storms really set things off in Oregon recently. El Nino March hit the West Coast hard, and Oregonians have been taking full advantage of the storms. Overnight it snowed 24”+ at Mt. Hood Meadows, making for the BEST powder day of my life. The snow was so deep that you actually had to slow down a little bit. If you skied […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | March 17, 2016 0 Comments
Willamette Pass, Oregon Mega Powder Day Photo Tour If you hadn’t heard, Oregon has been getting hammered. After a couple of really low snow years followed by a couple of sub-par seasons it is more than welcomed. Dear El Nino, you’re welcome to say hello to us in Oregon any time. Willamette Pass is one of the many un-appreciated small resorts in the Pacific Northwest. You can ski […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | January 21, 2016 1 Comment
Mt. Bachelor, OR Conditions Update: 6-Feet of Snow in 6 Days It has been a crazy week of snow at Mt. Bachelor and at ski areas across Oregon. Perhaps the snowfall that didn’t come down last year is finally here. Either way, this El Nino is doing much better for Oregon than what was predicted. The skiing conditions have been incredible during these last five days. In the last six days […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | December 14, 2015 0 Comments
Two of the Most Legit Small Ski Areas in Oregon OPEN This Weekend: Anthony Lakes & Ferguson Ridge Two more Oregon ski resorts are opening up this weekend! In Oregon only Mt. Bachelor and Timberline Lodge are open daily. Mt. Hood Meadows was open last weekend, and might be open this weekend. They have not made an official announcement. Anthony Lakes near Baker City, Oregon and Ferguson Ridge in Joseph, Oregon will be kicking off their ski seasons this […] Industry News Jack Lafeman | December 2, 2015 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR Conditions Report: No One Out Mt. Bachelor has now been open with full operation for five days. During midweek they are running the Pine Marten, Skyliner, and Sunshine Accelerator lifts. They certainly don’t need any more lifts open, as it feels like a ghost town up there. It snowed a skiff overnight, which actually helped the snow surface a lot! Places that have been completely […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | December 1, 2015 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR Official Opening day Conditions Report: Sunshine and Powder Pockets Mt. Bachelor is now open for the 2015/2016 winter season. While there is some fresh powder on the ground, it is early season and there are still a lot of obstacles. The Pine Marten Lift had some good powder pockets in the trees and on the sides of some runs. However, everything above the treeline is windblown. The ice is […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | November 27, 2015 1 Comment
Mt. Bachelor, OR Opens Tomorrow! Mt. Bachelor officially kicks off the 2015/2016 ski season on Friday November 27th. Pine Marten, Skyliner, Sunrise, and Sunshine Accelerator will be open from 9:00am-4:00pm. Mt. Bachelor got 11” of fresh snow out of the last storm, meaning that there is sure to be some solid skiing out on the mountain tomorrow. The snow is light and dry, and we […] Industry News Jack Lafeman | November 26, 2015 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor Conditions Report and Mountain Update: Snowing Hard Today Mt. Bachelor is open with a pre-Thanksgiving terrain park. It is snowing hard right now. Hopefully everything will come together on Friday and more terrain will open. Early season stoke is high at Mt. Bachelor. Currently the mountain is just operating the Sunshine Accelerator Lift from 9:00am-4:00pm. Mt. Bachelor was hoping to open additional terrain beginning tomorrow(Wednesday November 25th), however […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | November 24, 2015 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR Opens 4 Days Early Tomorrow! Mt. Bachelors ski season will kick off 4-days earlier than originally planned. Mt. Bachelor is opening on Saturday November 21st, 2015. This was just announced without any warning this afternoon. They will be running the Sunshine Accelerator Lift until further notice, with a pre-Thanksgiving terrain park. Lift tickets are $35.00 for adults, and $25.00 for youth, teens, and seniors. If you […] Industry News Jack Lafeman | November 20, 2015 0 Comments
Ski Season Starts in Oregon: Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood Meadows Open this Weekend! Timberline Lodge Ski Area will be the first ski area in Oregon to open for the 2015/2016 ski season. They plan to operate Bruno Lift from 9:00am-4:00pm Saturday and Sunday. “Weather and conditions permitting, we are hoping to have a limited opening with Bruno on Saturday & Sunday, 9-4. In the event of an opening, early season conditions will exist. […] Industry News Jack Lafeman | November 19, 2015 0 Comments
Oregon Ski Season is Off to a Great Start: Conditions Report and Photo Tour For those who have been willing to hike for it, Oregon’s ski season has been going since late-October. Now, it’s time to start thinking about Resort openings, and who has the snow to make it happen. Mt. Bachelor now shows 15” on the base snowstake. They are planning to open on Wednesday November 25th if conditions allow. There is some […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | November 17, 2015 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR Conditions Report: Less Baseshots, More Faceshots! No these photos are not re-posts from a powder day last winter. Opening day is rapidly approaching at Mt. Bachelor and things are looking good. Since Monday, an additional 4” of snow has fallen on Mt. Bachelor, making a BIG difference in the quality of skiing on Cinder Cone. The word is getting out. There were a lot of tracks coming […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | November 12, 2015 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR Conditions Report: A Powder Day Without the Crowds Base building snow has arrived at Mt. Bachelor, OR and there are only 15 days until the lifts start spinning at Mt. Bachelor (assuming the weather cooperates). When I arrived at Bachelor today, the amount of snow on the roadside was very little. The only promising sight was some good looking tracks coming off of Cinder Cone. Traversing over towards […] Conditions Report Jack Lafeman | November 9, 2015 0 Comments
Recreational Marijuana is Now Legal in Oregon Recreational Marijuana is now legal in the state of Oregon as of yesterday. Oregon happens to have great skiing, great skiers, and year round glacier skiing on Mt. Hood. The funny thing is, recreational marijuana has kinda been legal in Oregon for a long time: “In populous parts of the state that have long been tolerant of marijuana, police don’t generally bust people using it in private. Most important, though, is that under the new law it’s still illegal to sell recreational marijuana. When Oregon […] Industry News SnowBrains | July 2, 2015 1 Comment