Something new coming to Mt. Ashland Ski Area | News | heraldandnews.com

2022-10-26 12:00:14 By : Ms. Grace Yang

The “Magic Carpet” is designed to help beginning skiers and boarders

The “Magic Carpet” is designed to help beginning skiers and boarders

Beginning downhill skiers and snowboarders will have an easier time learning and honing their skills when the Mt. Ashland Ski Area, one of the closest to the Klamath Basin, opens this winter.

The area will open a new learning center featuring a “Magic Carpet,” a conveyor belt that will allow users to slide onto the belt and move up a portion of the hill while standing still.

“We welcome this new addition and must give a big thanks to the hard work of our amazing outdoor operations team and all of our gracious donors,” the ski area’s board of directors said in a news release. “We would especially like to thank the Sid and Karen Deboer Foundation for their matching grant that helped us bring this improvement to fruition. We look forward to giving our guests an easy and comfortable ride to the top of a new and improved learning center and creating skiers and riders for life.”

The $250,000 fundraising drive was accomplished earlier this year in only three weeks. The “carpet” is expected to attract more beginners who might otherwise be intimidated by a rope tow.

The ski-snowboard area is located on 7,532-foot Mount Ashland and features 23 trails on 200 acres and, along with the “carpet,” is served by four chairlifts. On average, the mountain receives more than 300 inches of snow annually, with its season typically running from November or early December until mid-April. Half of the terrain is rated as advanced, 35% as intermediate, and 15% as beginner.

The area has been without a general manager since Hiram Towle resigned earlier this year to accept a similar position at the Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman, Mont. “We’re not in any hurry,” a spokesperson for Mt. Ashland’s board of directors said of replacing Towle.

The opening date for the 2022-23 season remains weather dependent, but skiers and riders are reminded the date for purchasing discounted season tickets is Monday, Oct. 31. The tickets offer savings of up to $100 with prices of $499 for adults age 20-69 ($599 after Oct.31); $449 for teens 13-19 ($549); and $249 for youth 7 to 12 ($299). No discounts are being offered for $50 season passes for children up to 6 years old and seniors 70 and older.

In addition, season passholders are eligible for free tickets and discounts from other West Coast resorts, including Mt. Shasta Ski Park, Mt. Anthony, Eaglecrest, Bogus, Diamond Peak, Homewood, Hoodoo, Lee Canyon, Cooper, Snow King, and Snow Valley.

People who have purchased season passes can pick them up at Mt. Ashland’s business office at 693 Washington St., in Ashland until the area opens.

Mt. Ashland, which was founded in 1963 as the Mt. Ashland Corporation, became a nonprofit in 1992. The area features 240 skiable acres and offers a ski school, rentals, two restaurant locations It is 81 miles from Klamath Falls, 22 miles from Ashland and 36 miles from Medford. It employs 130 to 150 people and has an annual budget of “just under” $3 million.

For more information, go to www.mtashland.com or call 541-482-2897.

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