Mt. Ashland is located in southwest Oregon near the border with California. It is the tallest peak in the Siskiyou mountain range at 7500 feet. Most of the ski runs are north facing keeping the 300 inches a year of snow, fresh and deep.
There are 4 ski lifts on the mountain, none of which are high-speed quads. Two lifts, Sonnet and Comer, serve as beginners’ lifts. The Windsor and Ariel lifts service the rest of the mountain. Ariel will take you up to the 7500-foot level.
The mountain only boasts about 1150 feet of vertical drop and covers 200 acres of skiiable terrain. Compared to other ski resorts this is a small ski mountain. However what it lacks in size it makes up for in difficulty. The ski runs are steep and fast. Over 50 percent of the mountain is considered advanced to expert.
I have skied on many different ski resorts and very few are as challenging as Mt. Ashland. I would compare the steepness to that of Taos New Mexico’s ski resort. Of course, Taos is much more expansive and offers more runs.
At the top of the Ariel chair is an area simply called, the bowl. The bowl is made up of 4 chutes that drop at about 60 degrees over a couple hundred yards. The wind often comes over the south side of the mountain and can create some massive cornices over the chutes. Often you must drop off a daunting ledge of snow and ice to get into the chutes. If you’ve ever skied in Jackson Hole Wyoming and seen or skied Corbet’s Couloir, you understand what I’m talking about.
The bowl is a very unique feature that you don’t find at too many big ski resorts. Even when the rest of the mountain is windswept and icy, the bowl at Mt. Ashland will remain good skiing.
Before the advent of snowboards, Mt. Ashland boasted some of the best mogul runs in the west. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. There are a few bumps here and there but nothing like the way things were before the sideslipping snow boarders came into existence.
The runs are steep though and can create some great skiiable features. If you grow weary of the normal runs you can always slip into the trees. Be careful though, the trees are fairly tight and don’t budge when you impact them.
Mt. Ashland gets a lot of snow during the season, but not all of it comes down at 20-degree temperatures. In fact a good amount comes down at a wet 31-degrees. Occasionally a cold storm will come through and dump a good amount of light powder, but these occasions are few and far between. Skiing Mt. Ashland will get you used to skiing in difficult conditions. But once you master skiing Siskiyou sludge you can ski anything.
Because of its difficult terrain and conditions, Mt. Ashland isn’t the best place to learn to ski. Sonnet is the bunny lift, but it can get crowded and downright scary with all the out of control beginners. The Comer lift is a little better, but some parts of the runs are pretty steep and intimidating for the beginner. The Comer lift also serves the snowboard terrain park.
This year, Mt. Ashland is limiting the days they will be open for business. It used to be 7 days a week, however they won’t be open on Mondays or Tuesdays this year. This is a shame, since those were the best days to head up and avoid the crowds. Of course that’s why they chose to close on those days.
If you’re into a challenge and want to experience some Oregon skiing, Mt. Ashland is a good one to keep in mind. I wouldn’t plan a whole trip around it, but its great for a one or two day ski stop.
