MOUNT HOOD, Ore. — An April snowstorm caused road closures, power outages, and shut down schools, but it also brought smiles to Mount Hood.
"This is a great pick-me-up for April. I mean, here we are talking about spring skiing and our spring pass – and we are full on winter at Mount Hood Meadows," said Dave Tragethon.
Tragethon is the vice president of marketing and sales at Mount Hood Meadows. He played double duty Monday morning, pitching in to clear out overnight snow.
"In order to get our lifts operating today they had to call on the VP of sales and marketing to come move snow at the bottom of Mount Hood Express and put up rope line," he said. "So, that's what it's like up on Mount Hood Meadows with this storm."
As of 12:30 p.m. Monday, Tragethon said they'd already accumulated around 3 feet of snow from the April snowstorm.
That means plenty of powder on the slopes. But Tragethon says, with great powder comes great responsibility. You need to be prepared and that starts before you even get on the mountain. Be ready for winter driving conditions. Tragethon suggests visitors look at TripCheck and the Mount Hood Meadows website before traveling.
Pack accordingly for the weather. Tragethon says you'll want to bring a shovel if you're parking in the lots.
"You may need that shovel to help you get out of the parking space that you pulled into this morning," he said.
He says the recent snow is a great opportunity for skiers and snowboarders to try out powder skiing, but you need to know your limits and use caution.
"When you're out on the slopes, these are the types of conditions that we tell everybody: you ride with a buddy and you keep them in sight," he said.
Tragethon says Mount Hood Meadows averages about 430 inches of snow each year. Snow totals were well below that heading into April, but he says we'll exceed that average thanks to this storm.
Mount Hood Meadows will continue the spring season into May. Closing day is scheduled for May 7.