A snowboarder rides off a powdery cornice near the top of Hoodoo ski area in 2018.

Not a trace of snow could be found on the bare dirt and grass slopes of Hoodoo ski area on Tuesday.

That changed abruptly as snowstorms battered the Cascades starting on Wednesday, and by Thursday evening, Hoodoo had 7 inches of snow as a start for its base this season.

Whether the snow continues to fall and Hoodoo is able to open by its goal of Dec. 17 remains to be seen, but optimism abounds for skiers and snowboarders with the late arrival of snow to the Central Oregon mountains.

“The forecast looks promising,” said Matthew McFarland, general manager of Hoodoo, located near Santiam Pass northwest of Sisters at 4,668 feet. “Looks like it’s supposed to snow and not stop. Maybe it’s the ‘on’ switch.”

McFarland said the resort needs about 30 inches of snow to start grooming and preparing for opening.

“The snowcat weighs about 20,000 pounds,” he said. “You need to be able to get over the rocks and sticks. Thirty inches compresses down to about 15 inches. We’ve had times when it’s just started snowing one day and two days later we had enough snow to start grooming and we opened in three to four days. It’s just if the storms are big enough.”

McFarland said that opening by Dec. 17 would be ideal because it would be just in time for winter break and a full week ahead of Christmas.

“It’s great to open before winter break so we can get the employees trained, and people know what’s going on and iron out any wrinkles,” he said. “The two weeks of Chirstmas break is usually about a third of the yearly business. So we really, really want to be open for Christmas. And it’s a great time to ski. It’s a great way to get out together and have some family time, see friends and just relax.”

Hoodoo was able to open by Thanksgiving weekend last year and stayed open through the third week of April.

While this season will start much later, it will still likely be a winter of significant snowfall, according the long-term forecasts of a La Nina, which brings cooler temperatures and more precipitation to the Northwest.

McFarland pays close attention to those forecasts.

“Looks like January and February we’re supposed to just get hammered with snow,” he said. “Kind of like, when the switch flips, sometime in late December, it’s just gonna stay on and snow a bunch. If you believe the modeling and predictions, then we’re looking really good for January.”

Hoodoo’s regular operating days and hours will be Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. New this season, McFarland noted, is that night skiing, which will start Dec. 26, is included in the same lift ticket.

“Now just buy a ticket, and it’s good until we close,” he said.

Lift tickets at Hoodoo range from $65 to $70 for ages 13 to 64.

Mt. Bachelor expects snowfall

Mt. Bachelor ski area, which has twice postponed its targeted opening dates of Nov. 26 and then Dec. 3, could announce a new opening date soon.

The recent storms have finally brought snow to the resort southwest of Bend, and mtbachelor.com reported 4 inches of new snow on Thursday afternoon, with snowfall expected to continue.

The website also noted that the last time Bachelor opened this late was 2008-09, when the season did not begin until Dec. 14.

“However, once it started snowing mid-December ’08, it didn’t stop snowing, breaking records and dropping a seasonal snow total of 538 inches … also a La Nina winter,” mt.bachelor.com noted.