So much goodness! Keep up the great work! Can’t wait to see the new space next year!
I think a beacon park / gated access beacon check point would be a great resource added to meadows.
Thanks for the feedback, I have seen John Bain doing this personally a few years ago. John and Nick Burkes would be the best team members to consider this input.
-Jeremy Riss
Feedback from 3 guests on busy Sunday (2/9): "Why do you only have free shuttles from Hood River? You should have free peak day shuttles from Sandy for Portlanders..." As a Sandy-sider myself, I agree but suspect parking in Sandy is the issue? Would the Sandy Cinema be willing to share/lease some of their spaces? Or maybe implement a nominal fee peak day shuttle from Gresham? Would Mt. Hood Community College or one of the larger manufacturing companies in Gresham - e.g. Subaru Distribution on NE 242nd (oops, wrong sponsor!) partner with us? I realize it's all about supply/demand/capacity/infrastructure (roads, parking, arrival time, etc.), but when guests are already PO'd first thing because the main lot filled by 8:05, it makes for a rough workday. (I just smile and politely suggest maybe they need to leave a little earlier next time...).
Thanks for your input on the growth of our employee/guest shuttling services. The major reason that we have not moved in the direction of offering free peak day shuttles from Portland/Sandy side has to do with the inadequate infrastructure of the highway to handle the sheer number of vehicles that currently use that route to the mountain. It would be incredibly difficult to create a consistent bus schedule to go up and down that side of the mountain with the travel time varying anywhere from 1-4 hours on peak days. Part of our strategy of offering free shuttles from Hood River is to actually help with reducing the number of cars coming up from the Portland side. Based upon the Peak Day Shuttle survey from last season, there is a considerable amount of people who actually travel from Portland to Hood River to use that service. I know that if we could offer something from Sandy that it would have an even greater impact on the traffic from that side of the mountain. But unfortunately we won’t be able to offer that type of accommodation until there are some significant investments made by Local, State and Federal agencies to mediate the outdated infrastructure of Highway 26. We are currently working to develop a free service that would loop between Government Camp and Meadows so that riders could transfer from the Mt Hood Express public transit service, which offers affordable options ($2) out of Sandy. Stay tuned for next season and hopefully we will at least be able to offer something of that caliper.
- Taylor Canoles, MDOT Manager
I love that we have compostable single use dishware, but what does compostable in a particular facility mean? Is there a way we could set up bins along with garbage/recycling to make sure they are actually getting composted?
Thank you for your questions. Currently, there is no local commercial compost facility that will take compostable dishware so we are unfortunately unable to collect them for that purpose (there is such a facility in Northern Washington that some of the ski areas up there can utilize). However, it is still an advantage to use them here because the compostable food service products we use are made from rapidly renewable resources rather than resources that are non-renewable, which is a huge advantage over using petroleum based products like plastics, etc.
As to your other question asking “…what does compostable in a particular facility mean.” There are different types of commercial compost facilities. Cedar Grove is one that accepts most, but not all, bioplastics and compostable tableware. When they certify something as being Cedar Grove accepted, it means they will accept it because it meets their standards for being compostable. At another commercial compost facility, like the one where our compost goes to called DirtHugger, they do not accept these items because they do not accept any ‘compostable products’ (bioplastics or compostable tableware). This article will provide an explanation of why they do not accept these items.
- Heidi Logosz, Sustainability Manager
- Mark Fellows, Director of Culinary Services
The bus schedule changed again last week- this time getting rid of the 3rd and State stop only for the 6 am bus getting to meadows at 7:15. The bus drivers have continued stopping, but it is a gamble each morning if i will get picked up or not. I do not understand why the stop was removed on this particular route- there were 8-12 employees who used it on any given morning. It would be nice to have it return to being a planned stop. Thanks!
Are they food prep people in the Fresh Tracks deli required to wear gloves when preparing sandwiches and other delights for our customers? I noticed that they’re handling food without wearing gloves when preparing sandwiches and breakfast items
Thanks for the questions. Gloves are not required to be used in any food area. They are recommended, but not required. What is required is frequent hand washing which the Oregon Health Department decided was more effective than gloves. We do try to use gloves in guest facing areas and I am following up with that team.
- Mark Fellows, Director of Culinary Services
Seeing how we have had so many people call in sick this season. Can Meadows help to prevent germ spreading by taking some preventive measures? One thing that comes to mind is maybe we can periodically sanitize some areas such as the lunch area tables, and especially sanitizing the stair well rails, if you use them you’ll notice they’re pretty sticky! Pretty gross if you ask me!
These 8am Sahalie gold pass loads need to be planned more thoughtfully. Making a call in the morning, attempting to get top ops up on low quality sleds is just unsafe and extremely stressful. Get more people here early for that, the people who do get here early already work hard enough. Just felt like the team was not getting put first
Also uniforms should get rain boots that we can check out on rainy days. Almost everyone I talked to during the rainy days said they were walking in puddles. Not fun.
Still so grateful for my team 🙂
We need a bigger facility, especially for busy wknds and events!
That is certainly in the plans to build a new Nordic Lodge in the Twilight Lot.
-Jeremy Riss
Huge SHOUT OUT to MHM Management team for their decision to remove the Mini Pipe this year. The Easy Rider Mitchell Creek area is much less congested and therefore safer in general. The increased distance between the Mitchell Creek exit and the boarder cross vastly improves the exit of Fireweed and allows for a much safer distance between park riders and the beginners. I have received numerous positive comments about the improvement. THANK YOU!!
Agreed that intersection has been much better this season!
-Jeremy Riss