Big changes are happening at Mt. Hood Meadows, as the winter sports season has come to a close. After almost thirty years in service, Mt. Hood Express is being retired and deconstructed. Its replacement will be a six place, high speed detachable lift which will service more snow-seeking sports enthusiasts than its predecessor.

According to Greg Pack, Mt. Hood Meadows general manager, the new lift will serve Mt. Hood Meadows guests in many beneficial ways, including less wait times and improving guest services overall. The deconstruction of Mt. Hood Express and the construction of the new lift is no small endeavor. “We are still removing the old lift but construction on the new lift will start in a few weeks. It is manufactured by Leitner-Poma of America and will be installed by their team,” Pack said.

While Mt. Hood Express has had a legacy of powder-filled days and extreme winter sports for guests, Mt. Hood Meadows is looking forward to reaching new heights with this most impressive new machine. Mt. Hood Meadows averages some 500,000 guests a winter, and knowing their wait times and overall customer experiences will improve greatly with this new lift is reason enough to retire such a legendary lift.
While there are many benefits to this new and improved lift, there is some nostalgia that will remain with the deconstruction and removal of Mt. Hood Express. “I grew up in Portland and have been coming up to the mountain to ride since I was 10 years old,” Brian Franco, avid skier and winter sports enthusiast said. “I’ve had season passes to both Timberline and Meadows and there’s just something different about Meadows, especially Mt. Hood Express,” Franco said. “It holds many memories of learning to ride with my dad, riding with friends and having epic powder days that I won’t forget any time soon,” Franco added. “I’m excited for the new lift and not having to wait forever to ride. I’m sure my family, friends and I will make new memories on the new lift, but Mt. Hood Express is one for the books,” Franco said.

As the mountain continues to see increases in guests every winter, the new lift will help the flow and wait times for riders. “The new lift will be able to carry more passengers than our previous lift by about 1200 people per hour. That will reduce the lift line wait for our guests and allow them to spend more time skiing and riding than before,” Pack said. Similar to other ski and snowboarding resorts on Mt. Hood, guests can also expect to see an increase in costs this winter. “Every year we raise the cost of a season pass but the past few years we have limited the number of all access season passes we sell and will do the same this year. We limit the number of passes sold and the day tickets as well to protect the experience,” Pack said.
As anticipation and guest excitement builds over the new lift, Mt. Hood Meadows expects the construction of the new lift to be completed by fall of this year. “The lift should be done by the end of October and allow us to get some hours on it before we open at the end of November,” Pack said.

Season passes for Mt. Hood Meadows can be purchased on their website, skihood.com, and will be available at the end of June.