Mt. Hood resorts are adapting to a low-snow season by sculpting major terrain parks on the upper mountain and turning the lower elevations over for mountain biking, bungee jumping and summer activities. Between that and the 17-plus events scheduled for the week, there’s plenty going on for Spring Break 2015 on Mount Hood.
Mt. Hood Meadows shut down for the week leading up to Spring Break to create a new Cascade Spring Park on the upper mountain and move snow to key areas from the base on up. The Spring Park is being designed in collaboration with Snow Park Technologies, which helped sculpt the popular Spring Park last year at Meadows, the scene of some high-level entertainment.
Timberline should also have some decent upper-elevation terrain available for Spring Break, with groomed cruisers from the Palmer and Magic Mile chairs and four terrain parks to access from Stormin’ Norman: Thunder, Conway, Blossom and Spraypaint. The features on Spraypaint are looking as challenging as always.
Timberline has a spring pass on sale for $99, and Meadows is selling its version for $139.
The upper mountain picked up a few inches of much-needed fresh snow Tuesday night, and the forecast is calling for a touch more on Saturday. Every flake is welcome, with the snowpack at 6,000 feet at its lowest level in recorded history for this time of year.
Across U.S. 26 at 4,000-5,000 feet, Mt. Hood Skibowl has made its earliest-ever transition from winter to summer activities, with the Alpine Slide, bungee towers, rock climbing, lift-assisted mountain biking, snow tubing, mini-golf and other activities all available for Spring Break.
Skibowl is offering all-day Adventure passes for $39 that are good for 11 am-5 pm, and has scheduled several firework and music shows for the evenings.
The mountain bike trail riding scene is also heating up at Sandy Ridge, and the windsurfers and kiteboarders have started hitting the waves over in the Gorge.
A lot depends on the weather, which is expected to take a sharp turn towards winter next week. Skibowl has announced that it will shift back to winter operations if it receives two feet of fresh snow or more. Wouldn’t that be nice!
As for events, well, here is a partial list of 17 races, get-togethers and shows scheduled for Spring Break 2015 on Mount Hood:
Friday, March 20: Petunia and the Vipers, Skyway, Zig Zag, 9 pm
Saturday, March 21: Cascade Spring Park makes its debut at Meadows.
Saturday, March 21: Ski for Water at Meadows
Saturday, March 21: Fireworks Show, 8 pm, Skibowl East by the Tubing Hill
Saturday, March 21: Rock band Collins Mix at the Ratskeller in Govy
Saturday, March 21: Feral Cats, Skyway, Zig Zag, 8:30 pm
Sunday, March 22: PACRAT race at Timberline
Sunday, March 22: Free Demos at Meadows
Sunday, March 22: Ladies Snow Day at Meadows
Sunday, March 22: Town Challenge Race at Meadows
Sunday, March 22: Wil Blades Trio, Skyway, Zig Zag, 7:30 pm
Monday, March 23: Mount Hood Hip Hop, Skyway, Zig Zag, 9 pm
Friday, March 27: McDougal, Skyway, Zig Zag, 9 pm
Saturday, March 28: Collins Mix performs at Skibowl West, Noon-4 pm
Saturday, March 28: Spring Brew Fest, noon-4 pm, Meadows
Saturday, March 29: Viasol, Skyway, Zig Zag, 9 pm
Sunday, March 29: Town Challenge Race at Meadows
Got any Spring Break 2015 Events to add to this list? E-mail us!
A few resources in case you decide to head up to the mountain over spring break:
And here is a slide show of last year’s Spring Park action at Meadows, photos by Grant Myrdal:
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Last modified: March 18, 2015
