Mountain Review: Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon

An in-depth video review of Mount Hood Meadows, a ski area located on the southeastern flank of Mount Hood, Oregon. Filmed in January and April 2021.
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0:00 Intro
1:08 Mountain Review
10:49 Score Breakdown and Rank
Overall Mountain Score: 61/100 - #2 of 4 in Oregon
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Snow: 7/10
Resiliency: 3/10
Size: 7/10
Terrain Diversity: 7/10
Challenge: 8/10
Lifts: 7/10
Crowd Flow: 4/10
Facilities: 4/10
Navigation: 7/10
Mountain Aesthetic: 7/10
See our full resort breakdown and written review for Mount Hood Meadows here: www.peakrankings.com/content/...
See our full Oregon rankings here: www.peakrankings.com/oregon-r...
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[@surferdude44444]

Been a season ticket holder for 40 years. Everything you said is right on accurate. One thing........I NEVER ski weekends. Mid week only. 10x10x10.........ten runs, ten K vert by ten o’clock. It can be done. Call the snow phone by six. If there is wet precipitation forecast, stay home.

[@mbtravel7294]

How does it look in May?

[@CynicalWolverine]

@@mbtravel7294 can be very wet and slushy in the spring.

[@andyeighttre]

Mt Hood in late spring = epic park riding

[@blangeleven]

I've skied Meadows 30-40 times over the last ten years. This review seems pretty accurate to me.

[@rickcrispell1405]

Good review. I love skiing at Meadows and know the terrain well. If you ski here frequently you will be exposed to every ski condition you can think of which in turn should make you a better skier. The food services are a little pricy but good. If you are a groomer skier you will miss out on most of the resort, Timberline may be a better choice for a groomer only skier. You can technically ski Mt Hood from December until Labor Day if you continue to ski at Timberline after Meadows closes.

[@CynicalWolverine]

Excellent and accurate review. Skied Mt Hood area and Meadows many times. The views can be spectacular on blue bird days, some of the best you will ever see. Weather can be very variable; cloudy, sunny, 50-80 mph winds, freezing cold one day and 50 degrees the next, dumping snow, followed by melting snow and then freezing, lifts will close due to high winds. Snow can be light and fluffy and then turn to heavy and wet. Skiing on Mt Hood in general gives you a wide variety of snow and weather conditions sometimes all in the same day. And yes Heather Canyon and The Reserve are very steep. The steepest I’ve ever personally skied. The last couple of years they’ve gotten 500+ inches of snow.

[@paladindoesd2]

love that this channel is basically the doug demuro for ski resorts. keep it up!

[@cogerle]

The critiques are mostly on point: Wind holds suck and they need a hotel. At minimum govy needs more hotels. The snow is actually really good though, ice is rare even when it gets hard. Low grooming is a feature not a bug. Best of all, a powder day there reminds me of Squaw... like being in a freeskiing video... Amazing energy and world class runs.

[@chrisrickey9255]

1:05 1:05 Zo 😊

[@sch79]

As a local, good review. The Mt Hood Express (main chair) and Blue chair are being replaced by 6 person express chair, this should relieve some of the crowd especially on holiday/weekend and when upper mountain is closed.

[@colorfulrugguy6041]

Grew up skiing meadows, a lot of fond memories from all over the resort. This is a solid review. Haven’t been in years, lift ticket prices are crazy. Timberline is too flat and ski bowl runs are too short. Meadows is hands down the best option on the mountain.

[@robertmckean1929]

I skied Meadows a bunch over 7-or-8 years and really enjoyed it. PNW weather is such that you don't often get two days in a row where the conditions are the same. At first I was put off by that, but it made me a better, more well-rounded skier for sure; can you spell "sasturgi?!!"Also, while the moisture content of the snow is higher than the Rockies (where I now live), it provides excellent powder skiing much more than those who live in the Rockies think. PNW skiing is far from just "cascade concrete!!" Also, I think you shortchanged Heather & Clark Canyons; together they are an expansive area that is an advanced skiers paradise. But, it can be dangerous there, particularly for those who do not understand the potential hazards. Finally, depending on the weather, the drive can be very hazardous!! And, if you're skiing on the weekend, you'd better get there early, or take a bus!!!!

[@CynicalWolverine]

Yes, agree and spot on. I totally underestimated Heather Canyon the first time I went. I almost got myself into trouble and was by myself at the time.

[@dandangalodangalus9082]

Spot on. The lack of resilience is my main gripe as a season pass holder. It has to be PERFECT for several days for Cascade to open. It’s frustrating.

[@NicholasElodeon]

Skiing in the hood 🔥

[@paulwhetstone0473]

Great review

[@jadenrhoden4709]

Before becoming disabled, I was on a snowboard team. I hated when they would close vista on low visibility days. There should be a warning, I loved the whiteouts created more of a thrill, also memorization of the mountain.

[@jasonblanck8306]

Easy rider is actually the primary park access for south side parks with the same access from vista. Daisy is just the backup for vista just slightly lower on the hill

[@orblyworbly1357]

Pretty accurate in my opinion, as a Portlander. I lived in Utah for a couple years though and recently went back - I felt like a superhero after skiing in the PNW for a couple seasons. The heavy snow and variable conditions on Hood made me a better skier I think.

[@markmassoglia]

Meadows could see an uptick in visits this season. It was recently added to the IndySkiPass. Never entertained Oregon before the IndyPass. Excellent content and website. Thank you for doing what you do.

[@PeakRankings]

Thank you for supporting us!

[@Seeker_of_Value]

Say it aint so! :( Don't come it's terrible! Private Reserve is a complete waste of time! You've been warned!

[@michaelrandall9034]

He’s right! It sucks! Rain rain rain...

[@JHSports]

1:43 that’s the truest thing ever

[@JHSports]

YESS FINALLY IVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER LETS GOOO IM SO EXCITED

[@JHSports]

Great Vid

[@Mkayyyyyyy]

Please do Timberline! And Eventually Skibowl as well!

[@kaptainapp]

Real helpful video! Do you mind if if we add this video to our description for Mount Hood Meadows on Kaptain? Thought it would be insightful for people who haven't been.

[@PeakRankings]

Happy to discuss! Shoot us an email - [e-mail]

[@dhowe5180]

Pretty darn accurate.

[@beenjammin8581]

Most epic lodge

[@adrienguinebertiere]

Do Sugarloaf next! It's the best resort in New England, let alone Maine.

[@nivshitrit248]

My spring pass this year cost me $299 and that includes equipment rental Spent there only 3 weeks and it was still the cheapest skiing ive ever had

[@maverick114e9]

Are there any Good mountains for advanced intermediate skiers looking to move into advanced (or expert) skiing? As well, can you guys review Lutsen Mountains in MN? Its a very cool place in an unexpected location for a resort of it’s size!

[@je5406]

Aspen Mountain.

[@PeakRankings]

Colorado is generally a good region for this! Copper, Breckenridge, and Keystone are good options. Keystone is especially good if you want to start with black groomers, try some of Copper's blues off Super Bee and Breck's blues off Peak 6.

[@maverick114e9]

@@PeakRankings Thanks! Hope you can visit bohemia and Lutsen next year!

[@Phil-oy2mr]

@@PeakRankings interesting you mention Keystone's black groomers, Starfire is the only one I saw groomed this season at all

[@averagejojofan8649]

@@PeakRankings also a lot of the blacks on peak 8 and 9 are friendly too and not extremely tough

[@kimberlymartinez4518]

How’s meadows for someone’s who’s an intermediate blue/green rider? Going soon and a little nervous 😬

[@PeakRankings]

Great-if Vista and Cascade are open! In all seriousness, there should still be a number of good terrain options even if the high-alpine areas are closed.

[@masmainster]

I don't know, I've watched a few videos on this place, it always looks the same, patchy dirty looking snow, the kind of conditions you get just before the end of season.

[@PeakRankings]

A lot of these videos are probably filmed in April-mountain openings can be really spotty during the main part of the winter.

[@jadenrhoden4709]

The super pipe can be deadly, don’t use it unless it’s been taken care of within 2 days. I had to get essentially a shoulder reconstruction. This was because the lack of shaping made it so the nose of my board went straight into the snow soon re-entry.

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

Way too low of a score imo. It's easily the best on mt hood and best in Oregon. No east coast resort comes close to it. It's not the best thing ever but way better than what is shown in this video.

[@CynicalWolverine]

Yes! Waaay better than anything on the east coast.

[@JHSports]

Bro meadows just needs to keep the lifts open, some days cascade, vista, daisy and stadium all closed

[@paulcorso]

Truthfully, it’s all weather dependent. The weather that hits the above tree-line areas is much more severe than what hits upper mountain lifts at many Colorado or Utah resorts. I honestly find myself impressed with how quickly they can get those lifts back open sometimes.

[@JHSports]

Good point

[@JHSports]

7 for size???

[@dhowe5180]

Yup. I had the same question. Meadows packs a lot of runs into its acreage but if you’re just looking at lift served acreage it’s not that big compared to the bachelors and whistlers of the world. At best I’d classify it as a medium sized mountain

[@aaronkamakaze2967]

@D Howe maybe he's including the entire mountain? He gave Bachelor a 9 for size. Whistler and Blackcomb would be like a 20 lol

[@JHSports]

Bro 10 on terrain diversity

[@CynicalWolverine]

Agree

[@codywiench4214]

Meadows is just fine if you are a Portland local. However if you are going on a "ski" trip, avoid it...and pretty much all of Oregon entirely. It's not a resort.

[@dhowe5180]

Bachelor is worth a plane ride. And timberline lodge is a unique ski experience worth traveling for

[@sam_s_]

@@dhowe5180 How do Bachelor and Meadows compare to Crystal Mountain? I live in San Diego and feel that Crystal was worth the trip I made the season before last.

[@dhowe5180]

@@sam_s_ I’ve skied all three and coming from my perspective (63 year old lazy expert skier who only skis in sunny weather) here’s what I think about them: Crystal is close to home for me but isn’t a big resort where you can travel around. It can also feel dank and claustrophobic in the middle of winter (like the rest of western WA). But it does have a lot of extreme terrain. The best thing about Meadows is the southern exposure which means more sunlight and better visibility. But it’s also not a huge place and feels like an efficient day area. To me Bachelor is the clear favorite. It’s a big mountain with lots of room to roam and quite a bit of variety. But the peak ratings video is correct in that you should only hit it in nice weather so you can hit the summit lift where the good stuff is. The west ridge run off the summit lift is one of the 10 best runs I’ve done in my life (and I’ve been around, Chamonix, Dolomites,etc). The downside of bachelor is it isn’t a true resort cuz there aren’t any accommodations at the hill (nor are there any at Meadows and no nice ones at Crystal) so you have to stay in Bend. But Bend is a fun place.

[@JS-yj7ow]

Sounds like a middling review, which is more than I’d give. Just listen to some of the ski footage, and you get an idea of the general conditions. The area is best described as a “pool drop” ski area, traverse, drop, traverse. Boring. They also don’t monitor people who duck resort boundaries and attempt to ski the adjacent backcountry. Not worth the ticket price. Oh, and traffic absolutely sucks.

[@JHSports]

Bro blue is never open

[@HunterSkowronPDX]

Haha that’s what I was thinking

[@JHSports]

Yea I mean it takes u exactly where mt hood takes u

[@michaelrandall9034]

I rode Blue more than a few times this season. It had been many years.

[@maxjbryan]

imo meadows > bachelor

[@HunterSkowronPDX]

The food at meadows is so expensive and so nasty

[@TheStereoField]

It’s better now with the new mazot lodge. I got a pretty tasty calzone last year for a decent price. The beer is also good!

[@A-Shitty-Snowboarder]

Hmmm maybe Timberline is better lol

[@isaacpotter3467]

Not even close

[@A-Shitty-Snowboarder]

@@isaacpotter3467 I've never been to either one, someday both!!

[@Stickmanvan2]

Timberline gets the most snow of the 3 Mt Hood resorts, but its also the flattest. Long groomers to bomb and fun trees but the ski area isnt huge and your powder days would be better off spent at the other 2, steeper resorts. Its season is the longest and the glacier up top gives you groomers to ski into july. As I write this (5/29/22) they actually got like 8 inches of fresh snow this morning. The season out here can go really late Ski Bowl has some of the best and steepest terrain, and the cheapest tickets, but its so low on the mountain that it gets the least snow and the most rain. But when its good, its really good. Meadows is in the middle elevation wise but as the reviewer said here the terrain is the most varied and they have the most skiiable acerage. You cant find runs like Heather Canyon anywhere else on Hood. The tickets are also the priciest. They have surge pricing now too so if you buy a ticket on a weekend powder day of instead of planning ahead it can be like $150+. If you pick a date out months in advance you can lock it in for like $80. I would definitely recommend it more than the other 2 resorts and to anyone in the PNW to visit but as others have mentioned theres some better destination resorts out there if youre looking to fly in.

[@A-Shitty-Snowboarder]

@@Stickmanvan2 That is great info, I want to plan out and hit all of them over a week period..... I live in Cali so I can't go often but can go for like a week..... I did Bachelor in April and its snow was incredible !!!! Can not WAI to board HOOD!!!!!

[@jasonracey9600]

Goober from the midwest tries to ski deep snow in Volkl Kendos and complains about snow quality. Bro the snow isn't "wet and heavy", you just lack the knowledge and skill.

[@sethbarton15]

The snow is often wet and heavy.

[@aaronkamakaze2967]

Bro the PNW has plenty of heavy and wet snow lol. Shit I've even had this quality up in whistler in December. It happens in this region. Recognizing snow is wet has nothing to do with "skill" 😆 Hood is far from perfect and really doesn't require much skill.

[@jasonracey9600]

@@aaronkamakaze2967 Ok 9 months later lol. I stand by what I said. Not even sure what you’re point is. You’re kind of rambling.

[@CynicalWolverine]

Dude that’s accurate and hilarious.

[@ClayTJohnson]

Meadows blows (long lift lines, bad snow, limited terrain). Better off going to UT.

[@JHSports]

Bro ur rankings are bad sry bro

[@PeakRankings]

Hi JH Sports, wanted to provide a bit of clarity on our thought process here. Ultimately, we made the decision to go with a 7 for terrain diversity for a couple of reasons. While there is no doubt that Meadows offers world-class above-treeline terrain and steeps, we received feedback that the below-treeline terrain for beginners, intermediates, and advanced (not counting Private Reserve) felt rather ordinary compared to competing destinations. While someone like you or I might love Meadows' unique expert terrain and take easier, more normal terrain for granted, those looking for a variety of long groomers would probably end up disappointed with the resort. We use bucketing for our size category, and any resort between 1,800 and 2,500 skiable acres falls into a score of 7. The rankings may not be perfect, but we try to tailor our rankings to visitors of all abilities and interests. Appreciate the feedback, as well as the continued support.

[@JHSports]

Totally understand, I just love meadows so I’m super bias, keep up the great content!