Weekend, holiday prices rise; Bumblebee Trail will be the first terrain added to nonprofit resort in four decades
By Tony Boom for the Rogue Valley Times
Weekday ticket prices at Mt. Ashland Ski Area will drop by 23% in the coming season compared to 2024-25 as the nonprofit ski area looks to spread visitors away from peak-capacity days to improve the mountain experience.
In other new developments, the Bumblebee Trail will be the first terrain added to Mt. Ashland in four decades, and Wednesday skiing will return during January for the first time in several decades as a pilot program.
“Our weekday prices are lower by design — not because those days are cheaper to operate, but because they’re where we have capacity to grow,” Mt. Ashland General Manger Andrew Gast wrote in response to questions from the Rogue Valley Times. “Our budget is balanced in this pricing strategy based on modeling for attendance. As attendance continues to grow, it does enable us to keep price increases more modest.”
A weekday adult ticket will now be priced at $55. On the weekend and holidays, the same ticket will cost $82. Prices on weekend and holiday tickets are increasing by $3 over last year. Discounts are available online by ordering early at mtashland.com.
“Riding and skiing an additional day, and at lower rates, makes the area accessible to people who can make it up during the week,” said Adam Reiss, president of the Mt. Ashland Association.
“Some of it has to do with changing work schedules and at-home employees. Their workday isn’t defined the way it used to be,” Reiss said.
If people want to ski for just a few hours, they have the flexibility to work that into their schedules, he said.
Wednesday skiing in January is on a pilot basis, Gast said, with possible extension to more months if it proves successful. If not, the January days would remain as the pilot effort.
A new lower mountain lift ticket is also being added. For $40 on weekends and $30 on weekdays, skiers can use the First Act learning carpet and the Sonnet, Lithia and Comer lifts. Those runs are targeted toward beginners and intermediates.
Bumblebee starts where riders on the Sonnet and the new Lithia lift, installed last year, reach the top.
Bumblebee heads east from the unloading area for a half-mile, circling a knoll, before skiers arrive at the base of the Lithia lift. It will probably have a” green” rating, signifying the easiest terrain, but Gast said the ski area will wait to see how it works before assigning a final rating.
“The new trail is part of the stepping stones to get skier and riders from the south side of the mountain to the north side. It gives them a few more runs and access to some steeper terrain before they head over to the other side,” said Reiss. “Adults and kids who are just starting out will feel like (they’re) making a step, without making a leap.”
Creation of the new trail was implemented and managed by the Mountain Operations Team. It had been approved in the 2004 Master Plan issued by the U.S. Forest Service, which leases the land to the Mt. Ashland Association.
Selected trees were removed and some benching — a construction technique to tie an existing bank into a new slope — was done on the lower section to create a return route to the Lithia Lift. The project had been budgeted at $300,000 and was 100% donor funded. It adds 2.5 acres of skiable terrain to the area.
Night lighting has been added to the Lupine and Poma runs, which gained lift-served access last year with the new Lithia lift. Twilight and night participation continues to trend upward, and the area has added an additional week of the skiing in March, Gast said. In addition, six new lights have been added for skiing on the main mountain.
Alpine race teams will be able to train on Poma while a Center Stage Park will serve snowboarders on Lupine during evenings. Terrain Park events could also be held a night with the new lights.
Twilight skiing tickets are $29, a $1 increase over last season. They are good from 3 to 9 p.m.
Paving has been added to the service road leading to the lodge and in the plaza area around the lodge. Better access to the lodge will be achieved with the improvements, Gast said. The paving covers 6,534 square feet and cost about $25,000.
Other improvements include a fully rebuilt gearbox on the Ariel lift, maintenance by the shortening of the Sonnet lift haul rope and snow fencing rebuilding at the top of the Dream run. New restraint bars have been ordered for the Comer lift.
A new 120-square-foot Ski Patrol station has been built at the top of Sonnet to serve increased traffic in that area with the new run. There are patrol stations at the top of the Ariel and Windsor lifts as well as the main patrol operation in the Locker Lodge.
With the Wednesday addition, the resort will offer four more days than planned last year. The schedule shows a total of 92 operating days beginning Dec. 13, snow permitting. Last year, the area had approximately 114,758 riders and skiers during 90 operation days after an early opening.
Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at [email protected]. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
