At Mt. Hood Meadows 19.2% of winter days see 6 inches or more of snow, 35% of winter months see 90 inches or more, and only 7% of months see less than 30 inches. This is top tier snow frequency, exceeded only by a handful of North American ski areas. The key risk to snow conditions is not drought but rain. This is a minor issue for the locals, who can sit out the wet weather and wait to ski the next week’s dump. It does, however, make planning a big trip involving air travel here more of a gamble. Hood Meadows has the best combination of altitude and terrain quality of the Mt. Hood areas for powder skiing. Be prepared with the fattest, most rockered skis you can get for the sometimes thick Northwest snow.

Accumulation and Preservation

With its huge snowfalls, Hood Meadows is often well covered by mid-December and is less than half open by Christmas in about 15% of seasons. Altitude range is 4,500 - 7,300 but primary exposure is east, so melt/freeze conditions are likely by February if it has not snowed recently. Mt. Hood Meadows accumulates a deep snowpack and usually operates on weekends to mid-May.