It does not happen very often, so it was certainly welcome in 2020.

Hoodoo Ski Area was able to open during Thanksgiving weekend for just the fourth time in the past 20 years, according to Hoodoo general manager Matthew McFarland.

The “soft” opening was for season passholders only on Saturday and Sunday, and Hoodoo plans to open for the season to everyone on Friday.

The ski area, located northwest of Sisters on Santiam Pass, is scheduled to be open this Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and then Dec. 10-13. Mt. Bachelor ski area still plans to open for the season this Monday for passholders only the first four days.

Early season storms brought lots of snow to Santiam Pass and Hoodoo had a 34-inch snowpack as of Wednesday. The ski area, located at 4,668 feet, did not open until Dec. 26 last season and has been hampered by low snow years over the past decade.

“We’re hoping we have enough now to last the whole season,” McFarland said. “We think we’re good to go. As long as we keep the cold weather like we have, we’ll be good. A few inches here and there can keep us rolling. Typical Oregon weather in the Cascades, we’re used to getting nothing for a couple of weeks then 3 or 4 feet in a couple of days.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, access to the lodge will be limited with outdoor food service of the “grab and go” variety, McFarland said.

“We’re still sort of figuring it out,” McFarland said. “It looks like we’ll be able to have a few people in our retail area but that’s it. Basically, the lodge will be closed. We can serve food for people to take to their cars.”

Hoodoo plans to be open every day during winter break, the last two weeks of the month, and will open for night skiing on Dec. 26. According to McFarland, the ski area will likely start its regular operating schedule — Wednesdays through Sundays with night skiing offered Wednesdays through Saturdays — sometime in January.

“We’re kind of just watching crowds to see how it goes,” McFarland said. “December is not really a busy month for skiing until the holidays. We’re easy. We can add an extra day, no problem. We really have bitten ourselves before by opening up with a full five-day schedule and then there’s no business.”

Four chairlifts are scheduled to be open at Hoodoo this Friday, all except Hodag, which requires more snow coverage to open.

Hoodoo is starting the season with no parking restrictions.

Bachelor has implemented an online parking reservation system this season to help limit crowds due to COVID-19. While all “advance” free parking is already booked through much of the season, “week-of” parking inventory will open as the season begins, according to Leigh Capozzi, brand and marketing director for Bachelor.

The resort will manage rolling available parking based on cancellations, booking trends, changes related to COVID-19 and weather conditions.

“Clearly, the comfortable capacity for Mt. Bachelor is different on bluebird days when we are fully open from Summit to Cloudchaser to Northwest (chairlifts), than on weather days when we are unable to open all our lifts and terrain,” Capozzi said.

The resort is offering daily paid parking for $40 if the free parking is booked.

“We have been encouraging guests to check back often,” Capozzi said.

McFarland said he expects a few more skiers and snowboarders at Hoodoo this season who might not be able to secure free parking spots at Bachelor, but he is not anticipating a dramatic surge.

“I think we’ll get a few people because of that,” he said. “But I’ve been skiing since I was 4 years old. The one thing I know about skiers is, they’ll go on a field trip, but they’re definitely loyal to their home mountain. I do think we’ll have a bit of an increase if people know ahead of time the Bachelor lot is full. The storm chasers will definitely be watching, and we’ll probably catch a few more of them.”

McFarland did not rule out adding a parking reservation system at Hoodoo later this season if issues arise.

“If we do run into parking problems every weekend, and turn people away, we may have to institute a system like that,” he said, “just so everybody can have a chance to come.”