Oregon Ski Area Closes Due to Flooding: "Our Lifts Are Underwater"

Just when Oregon ski area Hoodoo Ski and Recreation thought their season was turning around, Mother Nature had more to say. Following the storm system that brought significant moisture to the Central Cascades on Sunday and Monday this week, Hoodoo was forced to close due to massive flooding.

Hoodoo, which sits on Santiam Pass just northwest of Sisters, Oregon, reopened just last week after suspending operations earlier this winter due to low snow and a prolonged dry spell that's plagued much of the West coast.

However, after just five days of operation, the most recent storm cycle came in primarily as rain below 6,000ft (Hoodoo's base is at 4,668ft), saturated their snowpack and left three of Hoodoo's lifts underwater. The ski area has closed temporarily while they wait for water to subside, but have hopes to reopen this coming weekend.

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Hoodoo prides itself as Central Oregon's independent Mom n' Pop ski area. The mountain doesn't utilize snowmaking and relies entirely on natural snow to build their base. Lift tickets to Hoodoo are just $79 and allows skiers to ride from 9am until close, which Wednesday-Saturday, isn't until 9pm. In years like this one, where natural snow has been few and far between and more storms come in as rain, operating a ski area like Hoodoo is no easy task.

Mt. Bachelor, which is closer to Bend and sits at a higher elevation (base of 6,300ft), received 10" of snow by Tuesday morning. While the snow that fell was definitely on the wetter, denser side of things, it was still snow, rather than rain. High winds came in with the storm as well with gusts up to 60mph measured at Bachelor.

A high pressure system is expected to move back into the Central Cascades for the remainder of the week with cool temperatures and potentially some wind continuing into the weekend. Temperatures could continue to rise into next week before there's a possibility of the pressure ridge breaking down in early March.