'The snow is back'

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MSEF alpine coach Jeff Anderson of Medford blows through the powder on 'Upper Juliet' during Mount Ashland's opening day Saturday morning. 12/20/08 Andy Atkinson photo

With a base of at least 25 inches accumulated during recent storms, Mount Ashland opened Saturday — the same day as last year — delighting hundreds of skiers and snowboarders.

The ski area cranked up three runs, Comer, Sonnet and Windsor. The latter, an advanced run, was "light and fluffy" in powder and ungroomed, said General Manager Kim Clark.

"We're very excited, given the snow in the Northwest so far," he said. Just a few days ago, only three ski areas in Oregon were open.

Despite the economy, pre-sold season tickets met budget, Clark said.

"It's super. The snow is back," said Ray Redpath of Ashland. "I've been skiing for 71 years and I'll tell you, anything that sloped and has snow, it's great to get on it!"

Skiing for 63 years, Judy Allen of Ashland, said, "It's great to be out here. We're going to be skiing every day this year that we can."

Skiers and boarders all said the economy was crowding their budget but not to the point of giving up the sport.

Typical was Ann Gordon-Norby, here visiting family from Montana.

"I'm super-pumped and the economy isn't going to affect it," she said. "I love boarding too much. I will budget it no matter what."

Will Henning of Ashland agreed.

"With the economy tanking, it kind of cuts into the budget, but here I am — and there's lot of smiling faces here." His pal, Ben James from Atlanta, said, "I'm really excited. This mountain has just the right amount of danger and people are always cheerful here."

After four years of holding the line on day passes, the ski area had to raise them from $39 to $43 for weekends and holidays, but dropped the weekday ticket from $39 to $36.

"With the cost of everything, we had to do it, but it's very reasonable compared to all the competition," Clark said.

He said the next two or three weeks will tell ski area managers how much the weakening economy might be affecting business. But Clark remained optimistic.

"People still want to recreate," Clark said. The travel industry is experiencing this 'stay-cation' where people, instead of taking off to Colorado, Utah and California, do their vacations around home."

Said Kyle Gargus of Talent, "It feels good. I'm happy it's finally open. I think it's going to be a good year. A lot of storms are coming."

Alex Guzman of Talent said, "I'm really excited to be here. It's cold and I hope it clears up. I've got a season pass and I'm going to be up here as much as I can this year."

Skiers and boarders said they were happy with the two groomed slopes (Ariel will open when more snow falls) but indicated Windsor was too fluffy.

The ski area's Web site, www.mtashland.com, said the mountain received 33 inches of new snow in the last week.

Weather forecasters are predicting more snow this week, particularly in the higher elevations, according to www.noaa.gov.

"We're excited to be open," Clark said. "The storms are stacked up and look like they will continue through the first of the year."

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.

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