Snow Drought
Illustration by Noelle Mitcham
Article by Jayden Forsyth
NEWBERG, Ore. – The season for snow sports starts mid-November and continues until mid-April. This season, the most crucial ingredient in this fun, the snow itself, has been absent.
Locations including Mount Hood and Willamette Pass have received reduced snowfall. This phenomenon has thrown a wrench into the plans of most snowboarders, sledders, snowshoers and skiers across the Pacific Northwest.
According to Portland’s CBS News affiliate KOIN 6, the snow present at Oregon ski resorts is approximately 30% of its normal amount. Most of the ski resorts in the Cascades, including Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood Meadows, have barely three feet of snow depth at their bases, as opposed to the eight to nine feet usually recorded. These low snow levels aren’t just a concern to snow sport enjoyers but can also be detrimental for summer water supply and spring runoff.
Several George Fox University (GFU) students are frustrated by this winter drought and have cancelled plans on account of the lack of snowfall. One such student is junior Kate Mack, who traveled with her father all the way to Canada from Washington in order to ski.
“We were at Whistler Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler Village,” said Mack. “There was about a foot of snow at the base of the mountain. We were told at the mountain that there had been little to no snow up until the day before we got there.”
Canada is far from Mack’s go-to skiing destination, Mount Hood. “It’s where I grew up skiing and where I learned how to ski!”
All people who ski had to learn somewhere, so for native skiers of Mount Hood and other areas facing a lack of snow, seasons such as this present as abnormal.
“The lack of snow is relatively unusual here,” said Mack. “I know Oregon isn’t known for skiing around Thanksgiving but when I was younger we used to ski every Thanksgiving and even Christmas time at Hood. It was a bit odd to not see any snow or any chance of snow within the next few weeks of the season.”
“The reason I know [for the lack of snow] is climate change. With wetter winters and rising temps, it’s hard to get the right conditions for a solid ski season. Unfortunately, I think that’s going to become more and more common.”
Mack recently read a book on such matters, called Powder Days by Heather Hansman, which further discusses ski culture and changes within the climate surrounding skiing. She points to it as a good source of information.
“Getting involved with anything that involves snow is such an amazing time,” said Mack, “but doing research into why it seems to be disappearing is just as important.”
Although the snow during this year’s winter has been abysmal, Mack encourages people to enjoy what little of it there is and to take time to research why this lack of snowfall is occurring.
