Mt. Hood Meadows Joins Indy Pass, Supercharging Coalition in Pacific Northwest
Mt. Hood Meadows Joins Indy Pass, Supercharging Coalition in Pacific Northwest
Indy Pass now offers 184 days of skiing at 92 downhill partners for the 2022-23 ski season for $299
Indy Pass today added snowy and spectacular Mt. Hood Meadows to its roster, dropping a new anchor in one of America’s most passionate ski regions. With 2,150 acres of skiable terrain, Meadows is the second-largest ski area in Oregon, behind Mt. Bachelor, and instantly becomes the fourth-largest ski area on the Indy Pass, after Castle Mountain (3,592 acres), Powder Mountain (3,000 lift-served acres), and 49 Degrees North (2,325 acres). Meadows’ 16.5-kilometer Nordic operation will join the pass as a separate entity.
Indy Pass holders will receive two days each at Meadows and 91 other downhill ski areas for the 2022-23 ski season for $299 ($189 for kids 12 and under), for a total of 184 days. They also get two separate days at Meadows’ Nordic outfit and 13 other cross-country resorts, and are eligible for discounted lift tickets at 10 more downhill partners. Here’s what Indy’s full 2022-23 roster looks like as of today:
Meadows will carry Indy’s full slate of 32 blackout days: Christmas week, MLK and Presidents’ weekends, and all Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 24 to March 12. Skiers can avoid the blackout dates with the Indy+ pass for $399 ($189 kids). Meadows’ passholders are immediately eligible to purchase the Indy AddOn ($199, $99 kids) or AddOn+ ($309, $149 kids) passes, which offer the same access as the full-priced Indy Pass products.
With 430 inches of average annual snowfall, one of the longest seasons in the country, an expansive modern lift fleet, and its location an hour and 20 minutes from Portland, Meadows is one of the most complete ski areas in America, a beloved megamountain whose addition immediately turboboosts Indy’s stature and appeal in the Pacific Northwest.
The place is special. Mount Hood is the highest point in Oregon. It’s a freaking volcano. It is home to four ski areas: Timberline, Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, Cooper Spur, and Meadows (Timberline absorbed a fifth, Summit, last year). Mount Hood is so big, however, that all four ski areas combined – 4,691 acres – are like those birds you see hopping around on a rhino – you barely notice them. The Timberline Trail, a Civilian Conservation Corps legacy that circumnavigates the mountain, is 40.7 miles long. Meadows’ lifts end at 7,300 feet – and skiers can still hike 1,700 feet toward the summit. And when they get as far as they’re able to go, they’re still 2,249 feet from the tip top of the mountain.
This is the big time, is what I’m trying to say here. This is one of the best ski areas in one of America’s most rabid ski regions. It’s a top-10 ski area in the PNW, in line with Bachelor and Crystal and Baker and Stevens Pass and Alpental and Timberline.
Indy Pass founder and President Doug Fish, who is based in Portland and is finally bringing his baby home, goes even further, declaring Meadows one of the top ski areas on the continent. “We know first-hand that Meadows is one of the finest resorts in North America, and their presence on the pass will elevate and support all Indy resorts,” he said.
Wherever you slot Meadows in your personal ski ratings, this is a huge win for Indy. It was the fourth-largest ski area in the United States that remained unaffiliated with a multi-mountain pass, after Whitefish (3,000 acres), Bogus Basin* (2,600), and Discovery in Montana (2,200). It’s the kind of place skiers travel for, a box-check that’s “worth” the trip even for cynics who disregard Indy biggies like Brundage and Red Lodge as insufficiently destination-worthy. Here’s a bit more about Meadows, and what the Indy Pass signing means for the mountain, Indy Pass holders, and the megapass landscape at large: