Mount Ashland, Ore. – After a late start to the season, where they didn’t open until January, and were forced to close soon thereafter, Mount Ashland is open for spring break, and hoping people come out. With more snow coming in, they’re looking to end the season on a strong note.
Mount Ashland Ski Area was only open for eight days in January and February, but good conditions now have general manager, Hiram Towle, feeling positive that March will be a strong close to the ski season.
“We’ve been posting pretty good numbers, a lot of people showing up and we’ve been filling the parking lot quite frequently,” he said.
College freshman Conley Thome is back home for spring break and excited to be out on Mount Ashland, since he wasn’t able to ski in December.
“I was back home for winter break and it was really disappointing when the mountain didn’t open because I was planning on skiing a lot. Actually had to take a couple day trips to Mt. Bachelor,” he said.
Others on the mountain told me the same thing. Gracen Hokanson’s high school ski team were forced off their home mountain.
“During the dry part of the year I had to go to Mt. Bachelor every weekend for training, so this is awesome because I don’t have to drive five hours to get to a mountain,” she said.
But perhaps no one was as frustrated with the slow start as Towle.
He’s hoping to see about one-thousand visitors per day over spring break, but knows it won’t make up for the almost $300,000 they missed out on early in the season.
“Because we lost that we’re just, it’s more for us now about satisfying our guest and making sure they have a good season where they get their season pass value,” Towle said.
To spark interest for spring break on the mountain, the ski area is hosting theme days and other promotions like 25-dollar tickets and live music on Friday. The mountain will be open every day until April 2nd.
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