Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 13 Mighty snowfall makes for best holiday season ever at Hoodoo By Craig F. Eisenbeis Correspondent “This was the best holi- day season for Hoodoo of all time! Best holiday week, December and New Year’s Eve in the 80 years we have been operating.” Those are the words of Daidre Streeter, office man- ager at Hoodoo Ski Resort. “Many joyful employees and guests were simply over- whelmed by the remarkable holiday season. The theme of our holiday was ‘Can you believe this?’” Streeter seemed euphoric over the change in Hoodoo’s fortunes. Hoodoo has suffered through some tough seasons in recent years. “An astonishing Tuesday storm before Christmas lead to a bluebird-perfect pow- der day,” she said. “Then perfect blue skies led to yet another unbelievable storm on Sunday, New Year’s Day, followed by another.” A year ago, Hoodoo’s sea- son was a big improvement over many of the lean recent years. Even so, this current season is far outpacing that good year. “Our base is now 78 inches … deepest snowpack at this time of year in over a decade. So I have been doing the numbers,” said Streeter, “and last December we oper- ated 14 days and our skier and tuber visits were around 17,000. This December we operated 22 days and our vis- its were around 28,000.” That’s a whopping 65 per cent increase over last season. This season’s bonanza of snow has not been without its challenges. Hoodoo, which is renowned for its no-wait ski lifts, uncharacteristically had some actual lift-lines during hours of peak operation. “Our parking lot was overfull. We actually turned people away because we ran out of parking. Even though the lines were long, we had smiles all around,” she said. “The sunshine helped. We ran out of rentals by 10:30 a.m. every day. We had employees lending their personal skis to customers just so they could ski.” New Year’s Eve, always a popular event at Hoodoo, reached epic proportions this year. “We had close to 4,000 people here on New Year’s Eve. The fireworks were spectacular. We actually had to turn people away at one point on New Year’s Eve. The lift line was so long for night skiing on New Year’s Eve that when we sold tickets, we told people they may only get one run in, if that. They didn’t even care! Overall, everybody was so happy for Hoodoo’s success. “We had our lodge man- ager selling tickets mobile with his phone, just to get the lines down. It worked great! People said they had never seen anything like it. We had little kids write letters to our lift manager saying thank you for helping us get our skis and saving us from the longest Fri 4:15, 7:00 Sat-Sun 1:30, 4:15, 7:15 Mon-Thurs 4:15, 7:00 Feb 17 / Fri / 8-11 PM Hidden Figures They are pungent, not subtle. Dirty bluegrass band from Portland. Fri 4:00, 6:45 Sat-Sun 1:30, 4:15, 7:00 Mon-Thurs 4:00, 6:45 Tommy Castro and the Painkillers Playing music guaranteed to fi re up fans and leave critics searching for new words of praise. Mar 9 / Thurs / 8-11 PM Breakfast, lunch and libations, Th ursday through Tuesday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p p.m. 541.549.2699 403 E. Hood Ave. Starts Friday Patriots Day (R) Sassparilla! Zepparella Zepparella explores their own improvised magic within the framework of Zeppelin’s mighty songs! PUB OPENS 1 HR PRIOR TO SHOWS BelfryEvents.com 541-815-9122 Rent The Belfry! Perfect venue for live music, weddings, receptions, meetings, or any event. PHOTO BY CRAIG F. EISENBEIS Skiers are enjoying an unprecedented season at Hoodoo. 9 p.m. both nights, along with a fire pit on the patio. In addition to the fun and games, the Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit will also be offering presentations (PG) La La Land (PG-13) Fri 4:45, 7:30 Sat-Sun 2:00, 4:45, 7:30 Mon-Thurs 4:45, 7:30 Fences (PG-13) Fri 4:30, 7:15 Sat-Sun 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 Mon-Thurs 4:30, 7:15 Movie times and titles are bsite subject to change. Visit we n. atio rm info st late or call for WWW.SISTERS MOVIEHOUSE.COM 541-549-8800 and information on back- country safety, avalanche searching, and opportunities to practice skills associated with backcountry travel and beacon searching. ENTERTAINMENT•EVENTS Wed.~Jan. 11 Monday~Jan. 23 Sisters Saloon Texas Hold ’Em Tournament! 7 p.m. Every Wednesday! For more information call 541-549-7427 or go to sisterssaloon.net. Sisters High School BINGO & Community Dinner 5 to 6:30 p.m. for dinner, just $2 per plate! 6:30 p.m. for BINGO, $15 for 11 games with great prizes! Sponsored by Outlaws Together and SPRD. Fundraiser for SHS athletics. For more info call Tim Roth at 541-549-4050. Saturday~Jan. 14 Fri., Jan. 13 – Thurs., Jan. 19 Mar 1 / Wed / 7-10:30 PM We look forward to serving you in 2017 line ever.” In summing up the season so far, Streeter said, “Pretty much the best season in the history of ever!” Meanwhile, the snow con- tinues to fall; and Hoodoo is prepping for its next big event, their Backcountry Festival scheduled for Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21. Sponsored by Three Creeks Brewing Company, this year’s festival features the newest in 2017 backcountry gear, seminars, industry pros, live music, a beer garden, fat bike races, and Nordic and alpine ski races. Interactive displays will give attendees the opportunity to learn how best to outfit themselves for backcountry adventures. The festival will also offer safety seminars for backcountry enthusiasts. In addition, par- ticipants will be able to test fat bikes, skis, boots, bindings and other equipment. Blazin Saddles bike shop will have a fat bike course set up for visitors to conduct test rides. The Three Creeks Brewing Company Beer Garden will be open until Sisters Saloon Live Music with the Bobby Lindstrom Band 8 p.m. Blues and rock, no cover! For more information call 541-549-7427 or go to sisterssaloon.net. Cork Cellars Live Music with Doug & Katie Cavanaugh 7 to 9 p.m. No cover! For additional information call 541-549-2675 or go to corkcellars.com. Sisters Schools Sisters Shootout Basketball Tournament 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. For boys & girls grades 5-8 from all over Oregon. Presented by SPRD. For additional information call 541-549-2091 or go online to sistersshootout.com. Wed.~Jan. 25 Sisters High School Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert: Martin Sexton 7 p.m. Soulful singing and brilliant guitar playing! For more information or tickets call 541-549-4979 or go to sistersfolkfestival.org. Sisters Fire Hall “Soup & Civility” Event 5:30 p.m. Enjoy a free light meal, then from 6 to 7:30 p.m. OSU Communications Professor Gregg Walker will lead a workshop on “constructive confrontation.” For more info: citizens4community.com. Sunday~Jan. 15 Sisters Saloon Texas Hold ’Em Tournament! 7 p.m. Sisters Schools Sisters Every Wednesday! For more Shootout Basketball information call 541-549-7427 Tournament 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or go to sisterssaloon.net. For boys & girls grades 5-8 from all over Oregon. Friday~Jan. 27 Presented by SPRD. For Downtown Sisters 4th additional information call 541-549-2091 or go online to Friday Art Stroll 4 to 7 p.m. Galleries & shops of Sisters sistersshootout.com. feature live entertainment & refreshments! Info: Wed.~Jan. 18 sistersartsassociation.org. Sisters Saloon Texas Hold ’Em Tournament! 7 p.m. Saturday~Jan. 28 Every Wednesday! For more information call 541-549-7427 Sisters Saloon Live Music with the Bobby Lindstrom or go to sisterssaloon.net. Band 8 p.m. Blues and Saturday~Jan. 21 rock, no cover! For info call 541-549-7427 or go to Cork Cellars Live Music sisterssaloon.net. with Mark Conklin 7 to Cork Cellars Live Music 9 p.m. No cover! For more information call 541-549-2675 with Cup of Joe (Joe Leonardi) 7 to 9 p.m. No or go to corkcellars.com. cover! For more information Sisters Saloon Live Music call 541-549-2675 or go to with Honey Don’t 8 to corkcellars.com. 11 p.m. Americana, no cover! For additional information call Subject to change. Submit by 5 p.m. Fridays to 541-549-7427 or go online to teresa@nuggetnews.com sisterssaloon.net.