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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 30, 2004 Resorts look to sky for opening Staff and wire reports Oregon ski operators say it wouldn't take much snow to get their areas up and running this winter. Gabe Heiken, 9, packs his snowman body from Ashland's first dusting of snow for the season before class this morning at Walker Elementary School. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings But they don't have much. A late snowfall has delayed openings at many ski areas that usually are operating by Thanksgiving. As of this morning, the Mt. Ashland Ski Area has seven inches of snow at the lodge and 14 inches at its base, said Katharine Flanagan, marketing and events manager at Mt. Ashland. She said the mountain needs from two to three feet of snow to open. The ski area received an inch of snow overnight. Flanagan said they have a tentative opening of Dec. 10, which is around the time the ski area normally opens. "We're definitely poised already," she said. "We're just waiting for mother nature to cooperate." At Mount Bachelor, resort operators are urging skiers to do a "snow dance," and at Hoodoo Ski Area, lift operators burned some old skis to try to fire up the snow gods. At Willamette Pass there is only a patchy three-inch shred of snow across the base area. "I try to be a realist," said Willamette's mountain manager Ray Gardner. "I try to get up every morning and deal with what Mother Nature gives me, and her and I have some arguments." Willamette Pass and Hoodoo remain closed, and Mount Bachelor is operating with 17-inches of mostly artificial snow at the base area. There is some skiing at Timberline Lodge and Anthony Lakes. Spout Springs and Mount Hood Meadows hope to open in early December. A wetter than average August, September and October looked promising, but a cold, dry November kept snow back, said state climatologist George Taylor. "November was certainly disappointing to ski area operators," he said. He still predicts a wetter winter ahead, but some California resorts opened in October. "It looks like (California) got all the snow and we kind of missed out," said Isreal Fuller, slope mountain manager at Willamette Pass. On Monday, Fuller flushed rust colored water from a hydrant and set up the area's 11 snow guns. With nighttime temperatures dropping into the teens, the area is ready to begin making artificial snow. Willamette officials say a couple of feet would do the trick but only light snow is in the short-term forecast. At Hoodoo the lack of snow has forced owner Chuck Shepard to cancel a promotion for college students. Hoodoo doesn't make artificial snow. "One thing people need to remember is the best snow is at the end of the season," Shepard said. "Last year, we had new snow going into May." Shepard predicted a Dec. 10 opening. John Fisher, chief meteorologist for Eugene television station KEZI and a member of the Willamette Pass Ski Patrol, attributed the lack of early season snow to El Nino, which pushes storms further to the south. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ciara Lyrics & Pictures libor rate Radiotelephone Communication Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Calendar lil jon eastside boyz Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems The game rapper Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams