The bottom of Hodag Chair at Hoodoo Ski Area on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.

When you have a four-day restricted pass to Mt. Bachelor, the blackout dates can sometimes sneak up on you. Not realizing it was the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I had planned to ski at Bachelor until a friend kindly pointed out the blackout dates.

So, I chose the next best option: Hoodoo Ski Area.

After sleeping in, my fiance and I rolled into the parking lot around 10 a.m., snagging one of the last available parking spots. While putting on our gear, I heard the parking attendant say, “It’s around this time that the people who don’t know what they’re doing show up.”

At least in our case, he was right. It was our very first time at Hoodoo.

While arriving later meant standing in a 30-minute line to purchase passes, I’m not sure my out-of-ski-shape pandemic body could have lasted any longer than the three hours we spent on the hill, so I didn’t regret showing up mid-morning.

And although the holiday weekend made the lift lines longer, Hoodoo made for an impressionable first visit. On the drive from Bend, there was no traffic, only gorgeous views of South Sister, Mount Washington and Three Fingered Jack.

The ski area’s size made it easy to navigate, and although not advisable, we made it through the day without even looking at a map. A quick scan of the bottom of the hill led us to take the Big Green Machine lift, opposite from the magic carpet, a conveyor belt carrying beginners.

We enjoyed a better part of our day off of the Hodag Chair, taking the Over Easy green cat track from the top down to the blue run, Dante’s Vision. Over Easy was busy, but Dante’s Vision was quiet, and the snow was decent.

I loved that the lift lines at Hodag Chair were nonexistent, and the views from the top were nothing short of breathtaking. Knowing how quickly conditions can change, we enjoyed it while we could.

When we did stray from Over Easy to the black run directly under Hodag’s Chair, we immediately regretted it. The upper part of Hodag’s Horn was a sheet of ice with an exposed tree trunk near the bottom and some exposed rock.

Next time, I hope to try Impossible Dream, the blue run from the top down to Headwall, as was recommended to us by a father who rode the chair up with us.

“The snow turned out really good today, considering,” he said.

An inversion had caused 35-degree weather on the slopes and made for much softer snow than is typical in the middle of January.

“It’s like March snow,” I overheard someone else say.

My biggest regret was not dressing lighter. Even after checking the weather, I wore my usual ski pants and jacket, figuring it would be a “cool” 30-something degree day. Next time I’m up on a warm day, I’ll be sure to dress lighter, with just a hard-shell jacket.

2021-22 Hoodoo Lift tickets Rates 

Adult $65 full day, $60 after 1 p.m., $35 after 4 p.m.

Adult (peak prices) $70 full day, $65 after 1 p.m., $40 after 4 p.m.

Junior & Senior $40 full day, $35 after 1 p.m., $25 after 4 p.m.

Kids (7 & under) Free