ASHLAND, Ore. — Changes are happening on Mt. Ashland this summer all to prepare for opening day on the mountain.
“There’s a lot of work that gets done on the ski area during the offseason,” General Manager, Hiram Towle, said. “We basically run like a small city, so we keep a small crew around full-time year-round, and we all work probably sometimes harder in the summer on these projects then we do in the winter.”
Towle said the lodge will have a new look with new siding and paint. The project is part of a $2M renovation of the lodge which started back in 2017.
“The old siding wouldn’t hold paint anymore, it was cracking and quite frankly as a bit of a fire hazard cause it was really old dry wood, so we have been replacing it with a new concrete board material that’s more fire-safe, much more durable for the future,” Towle said.
He said much of the larger projects are happening out on the mountain. The Comer lift is getting a new cable and motor drive system to ensure it’s ready to turn come winter.
“We’ll be building some snow fences, and doing trail trimming and other things that will help us get ready for the season.”
The ski area is also getting an electric vehicle charging station that will be able to charge two cars at a time. The non-profit received a grant from Pacific Power to help cover the costs.
“We have quite a few electric vehicles that make their way up here in the winter and even more of them that will make their up here in the summer. It’s part of our sustainability initiatives,” Towle said.
The summer projects are being paid for by past fundraisers and by generous donors in the community.
“Just thanks to the community, we are a community mountain, we wouldn’t be here without them, and we are here for them.”
Towle said if mother nature cooperates we’re probably about a hundred days away from opening day.
The electric vehicle charging station is being installed this summer and will be powered up by the time the lifts start turning.
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