Hoodoo Ski Area fans celebrate opening day

Another ski area in Central Oregon is open for business.

Hoodoo Ski Area opened Friday at 9 a.m. and it was an exciting day for Hoodoo fans, even the smallest ones, including 6-year-old Ava Frantz.

“I went to bed fast because I love to ski a lot, and we love having fun here and letting the kids have fun and playing in the snow,” Frantz said.

The ski area west of Sisters near Santiam Pass opened a week earlier than last year, General Manager Matthew McFarland said.

“We had a line about 10 chairs deep this morning at 8:30. People were excited to get on and be on that first chair,” McFarland said.

And it wasn’t tough to track down the pumped-up visitors. Nathan Schultz is visiting from Seattle and Friday was his first time at Hoodoo.

“I was coming down to Bend to hang out with my buddy and we found out that Hoodoo was opening, so we made the trek — and the powder’s awesome, and it’s a cute mountain,” Schultz said.

There may not be a ton of snow on the butte yet, but there’s enough.

“We have a little over 16 inches of snow, which sounds very light, but we have amazing coverage. It’s been nice and cold, the snow is hard, it’s fast, it’s fantastic,” McFarland said.

Manzanita chair, Ed chair and Easy Rider chairlift are all open, and the other lifts will open as soon as conditions permit.

Peter Cooper is from Eugene and has been coming to Hoodoo for several years.

“This is our first year as season pass holders, and we’re just stoked to be out here on a beautiful day. It’s nice, it’s never too busy, people are friendly,” Cooper said.

For now, Hoodoo Ski Area will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but starting Dec. 21, the ski area will be open daily, as well as for night skiing.

For more information: https://skihoodoo.com/