Mount Ashland Ski Area facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mt. Ashland Ski Area
Mt. Ashland Ski Area Location in Oregon Show map of Oregon Mt. Ashland Ski Area Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Mount Ashland, Oregon
Nearest city	Ashland, Oregon
Coordinates	42°5′0″N 122°43′0″W / 42.08333°N 122.71667°W / 42.08333; -122.71667
Top elevation	7,500 feet (2,286 m)
Base elevation	6,350 feet (1,940 m)
Skiable area	240 acres (97 ha)
Runs	23 total 15% beginner 35% intermediate 50% advanced plus open bowl skiing
Longest run	1 mile (1.6 km)
Lift system	4 chairlifts
Terrain parks	2
Snowfall	368 in (930 cm)
Snowmaking	none
Night skiing	Yes
Website	MtAshland.com

Mount Ashland ski area is a super fun place to ski and snowboard in Oregon! It's located on Mount Ashland, which is 7,532 feet (2,296 m) high. This ski area has 23 trails and covers 240 acres (97 ha) of land, all served by four chairlifts.

You can find all sorts of slopes here, from easy green runs for beginners to challenging black diamond trails for advanced skiers. There's even a special expert area called "The Bowl," which is a natural glacial cirque (a bowl-shaped valley carved by glaciers). Mount Ashland gets a lot of snow, averaging 368 in (930 cm) each year, and the ski season usually runs from early December to mid-April.

Mount Ashland's "Bowl" offers exciting expert terrain.

A Ski Area for Everyone

Mount Ashland is a special ski area because it's run by a non-profit group called the Mt. Ashland Association. This means they focus on making skiing and snowboarding fun and accessible for everyone, not just making money. Their goal is to offer an amazing outdoor experience for people of all ages and skill levels.

One cool thing they do is the After School Youth Program. This program helps local kids learn to ski or snowboard with low-cost or even free lessons! It's a great way for young people to get involved in winter sports.

History of Mount Ashland

Mount Ashland has a rich history! Back in the 1950s, it was a popular spot for people who loved to ski in the wild, open mountains. Some of these early skiers even built the first lodge and a single ski lift in 1963. The ski area officially opened its doors to the public on January 11, 1964.

The cozy Mount Ashland Lodge.

From 1961 to 1963, a group called the Mount Ashland Corporation worked hard to create the ski area. They cleared trees, smoothed out the slopes, built roads, and set up the first ski facilities. This included the ski lodge, the Ariel chairlift, a T-bar lift (a type of ski lift that pulls you up while you stand on your skis), and a rope tow. A local businessman named Glenn Jackson helped a lot by providing over half of the money needed to build the lodge.

In 1970, the original company stopped running the ski area. The Southern Oregon College Foundation took over, thanks to people in Jackson County who helped buy the ski area's assets.

Later, in 1977, Dick Hicks bought the ski area and changed its name to Ski Ashland, Inc. He added the Windsor chairlift, which was a big improvement because it replaced the older T-Bar lift.

In 1983, a company from Seattle bought Ski Ashland. Over the next four years, they added lights for night skiing and a vehicle repair shop.

More new chairlifts arrived in 1987! The Comer chairlift replaced the small T-Bar, and the Sonnet chairlift replaced another old lift called the Poma lift. Both of these new lifts were triple chairs, meaning they could carry three people at once.

A Mount Ashland chairlift in summer.

In 1991, the owners planned to move the chairlifts to another ski area and close Mount Ashland. But the local community wasn't going to let that happen! A group called "Save Mt. Ashland" started a big effort to buy the ski area. Money came from donations and a grant from the Oregon Economic Development Fund. The City of Ashland helped by accepting the donated money and buying Ski Ashland. Then, they asked the newly formed non-profit Mount Ashland Association (MAA) to manage and operate the ski area.

Since then, the Mt. Ashland Association has continued to run the ski area for the benefit of the whole community. They offer many programs, like the discounted School Youth Program, the ACCESS Ski & Ride for Hunger day, Pride Ride, and Bavarian Night.

Mount Ashland has also hosted the Oregon Interscholastic Racing Association high school state championships in 2007 and 2016. In 2017, it became the first ski area in the world to get STOKE certified, which means it's recognized for being a sustainably operated tourism site. In 2023, Mount Ashland had its busiest winter ever, with 128,625 visitors!

Looking north from near the summit of Mount Ashland.

Future Plans and Expansion

The ski area has been working on plans to grow and improve for a long time. In 2014, they added more parking spaces and started putting up snow fences on the mountain. They also began making some trails wider.

From 2016 to 2022, Mount Ashland finished several projects from their main plan, including more snow fencing, wider trails, and better utilities. In 2023, they announced the building of the Lithia Chairlift! This new chairlift is a big part of the mountain's expansion and was made possible by a very generous gift of $2.5 million from Sid and Karen DeBoer.

Future plans for Mount Ashland include building a tubing facility (where you can slide down hills on inflatable tubes), a new lodge, and upgrading other chairlifts.

Fun Activities Beyond Skiing

Mount Ashland isn't just for winter sports! In the summer, it's a popular place for hiking, mountain biking, and enjoying the beautiful views. The southernmost part of the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon goes along the south and east sides of the mountain.

There are also some challenging running events held here:

• The Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run starts in Lithia Park in Ashland and goes all the way up to the summit of Mount Ashland. It's over 13 miles long and climbs 1 mile up!
• The Siskiyou Out Back is a series of three ultramarathon (very long distance) trail runs. These runs are 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), 50 kilometers (31 miles), and 80.5 kilometers (50.0 miles) long, and they start and end at the Mount Ashland ski area parking lot.
• The Mt. Ashland Trail Run also starts at the ski area parking lot. Runners go up to the summit and then return to the parking lot using roads that lead down from the top.

The Mt. Ashland lodge is even open during the summers, offering food, drinks, and special events.

Mount Ashland's Climate

Mount Ashland Ski Area has a cool, mountain climate. The highest temperature ever recorded at the lodge was 97 °F (36 °C), while the lowest was a very chilly −18 °F (−28 °C).

The area gets a lot of precipitation (rain and snow), averaging over 60 inches (1,524 mm) of rain and over 300 inches (762 cm) of snow each year. Even though it's located near the Rogue Valley, which is usually drier, Mount Ashland's high elevation helps it catch a lot of moisture.

Images for kids

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  Looking north from near the summit of Mount Ashland.