Team Newsletter 1.20.26

Myles Caputo

Table of Contents

Mid-Winter Safety

No, it doesn’t feel like midwinter. But we’ve done a fantastic job of keeping things going, one clear day after another! Danger lurks within the unusual, and changing hazards are on the way. Please take extreme care on the slopes, whether for work or play. Sublimation has kept our base dry and stable, but shrinkage continues, exposing bare spots and other hazards. Narrower runs increase collision potential – keep an eye on uphill guests!

Speaking of the base, please check your work areas for step-ups into containers and similar areas where gaps may be forming – filling-in or cutting steps may be needed. Conversely, wind drifts may be deeper than expected, watch for post-holing!

As always, freeze-thaw cycles=black ice. Please be careful in the parking lots, especially early and late, and get ready to full-time penguin walk when the pow’s back on the mow later this week.

One more ask – be careful in doorways!  Our collective mojo must be a little off, we’ve had a couple mishaps moving stuff in and out – please plan your maneuver and find help if needed.

Finally, now’s a great chance to boost your Shreddiness with a couple trail laps at the Nordic Center! Conditions are great, it’s like hiking –  fast.

 

 

Find the Lyrics Winner

 

Rob Vogel – HR Generalist & Safety Specialist

Seth Hodges – Rental Tech

Jordan Kennedy – DPS

Lindsay Kiersky – Guest Host

Margaret Hill – Guest Host

Toyota Stoke Winners

Katina Emrick
 
Katina consistently brings teamwork and excellence to the Culinary Team. A recent example truly highlights her stoke. During a busy evening when the highway was closed and the Alpenstube quickly filled, while operating on an Apres ski menu with bartenders only. Katina jumped in without hesitation. She helped bartend, took tables, ran food, and supported the team through an unexpectedly high-volume service. Her willingness to step in wherever needed made a huge difference.
 
Beyond moments like these, Katina continues to invest in her professional growth. She has been actively sharpening her culinary skills to execute high-end specialty dinners and catered events, further elevating the guest experience and strengthening our food and beverage program.
Jenn Lockwood:
 
Jenn has been instrumental as both the Alpine Training Coordinator and most recently as the Training Supervisor for the Meadows Learning Center, coordinating the training of 400 instructors. This season has been particularly challenging with no snow to train on, but she adjusted the curriculum, both indoors and outdoors, to provide the best training possible for our team. 
 
She has also helped to develop guest-facing products like the She Shreds Clinics and Camps, and was recently featured on Oregon Live in “These 20 Oregonians inspired us in 2025” here: https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2025/12/20-stories-of-oregonians-who-inspired-us-in-2025.html?outputType=amp. Jenn also worked closely with Robert Vogel in the development of the exercise program in the Get Shreddy to help our teams warm up and reduce injuries.

Team Appreciation Event!

Join us after work next Monday (the 26th) for what will surely be a good time filled with good eats and good people!

Chef Matt and his team are cooking up some of your Juneuary BBQ favorites – Burgers (Veggie and Beef!), Brats, BBQ pork, accompanied w/ salad and fries.

We know it’s been a weird start to the season, we’ve had sun, rain, wind, and even a couple of storm days. Sometimes the light’s all shining on me, other times I can barely see, but lately it occurs to me, what a long, strange trip it’s been up until this point of the season.

The Details:

When: January 26th 4-6 pm

Where: The Alpenstube 

Who: All of you! (Team Members only)

What’s Happening: Food, Drinks, Raffles, Games, and quality time with The Team!

You asked, We Listened

You make Mt. Hood Meadows and Cooper Spur what it is. From first chair to last call, powder days to bluebird afternoons, the experience our guests have starts with you.

That’s why we’re rolling out our Team Member survey, and we really want to hear from you. This is your chance to share what’s working, what could be better, and what would make Meadows an even more incredible place to work. Your feedback directly helps guide decisions about our culture, communication, and day-to-day operations.

The survey is anonymous, quick to complete, and truly impactful. Whether you’ve got big ideas or small tweaks, your voice matters here.

Thanks for everything you do to keep the mountain running and the stoke high. Let’s keep building something great, together!

Tell Us What You Think!!! Cooper Spur / Mt. Hood Meadows Team Survey – Fill out form

Team Member Parking Pass Process

We’ve been receiving quite a few inquiries about this process and rather than answering one-by-one we thought it’d be best to make this information readily available for everyone.

To request a team member parking pass complete the following steps:

  1. Team member requests parking pass from the team.skihood.com site
  2. Manager/Supervisor receives email notification of team member’s request and replies to the email with ‘approved’ or ‘denied’
  3. If approved, Parking Team issues parking pass to the department manager.
  4. Team member picks up parking pass from manager

Team Member Tunes are back in the HPC!

As a thank you for everyone’s hard work the HPC is bringing back Team Member Tuning deals!

*$25 tunes can be dropped off Monday 1/20 through 2/9. Please respect that we will be focused on guest tunes Fri, Sat, Sun, so if gear is dropped off on a weekend it may take longer to get it done.
*$25 dollars is the base price.  Cost is dependent on how much time/material we will use.
*This is for Team Member personal gear only, it is not for friends or family, we are still tuning guest gear during the week, and it’s a Thank you to staff members.
*We can’t bring gear back from the dead. If it’s beyond repair we can refuse to tune it.
*Snowboarders must take their bindings and hardware with them. We don’t have room to hold on to their stuff.
*For tuning only, no mounts, or binding adjustments
*One set at a time, you cannot drop off new gear until your last gear has been picked up.
*Please pick up as soon as possible, space in the shop is extremely limited.
*Please be understanding about time, depending on how much volume we are dealing with, things can take a little longer than expected. The HPC crew will be working as hard as they can to get that gear done in a timely manner.
*Please consult Supervisors if you want specific edge and base degree or if you are not sure please discuss with the staff to limit confusion.
* If you have specific instructions please make a note on the work tag as well as a phone number if we have any questions.

Please be respectful to the HPC staff and remember this is for team members only please don’t talk about it with guests, or friends.

Zig-Zag Housing Project + Survey Link

Over the past couple of years, the Mt. Hood National Forest has endured catastrophic wildfires resulting in impacts to facilities across the forest, including workforce housing. At the same time, surrounding communities have been impacted since COVID by supply chain disruptions and inflation. These collective factors have significantly intensified short-term and permanent affordable housing shortages in the affected regions.

In the aftermath of these events, the shortage of affordable housing has become a critical obstacle for the Forest Service (USFS) and other community organizations in the hiring and retention of staff.

This workforce housing initiative aims to provide essential accommodation solutions for Mt. Hood National Forest employees, local winter ski area and resort employees, and seasonal workers for other local businesses from the surrounding community. The project would be constructed on approximately two acres of the Mt. Hood National Forest’s 30-acre administrative site located in ZigZag.

 

The project includes a variety of unit types, offering affordable private (studio) and shared living arrangements (2- and 4-bedroom units with private bedrooms and shared kitchen and living rooms). A concept design and feasibility phase has been completed, and the Forest Service and Northwest Community Housing Foundation are in the process of entering into a second Agreement which will include completion of design, permitting and construction.

Assuming all needed funds are secured, the project could start construction as early as Q1 2026, with construction completion by the end of 2026.

 

 

The purpose of this survey is to gauge interest and receive feedback on floorplan options to inform how the project advances.

https://forms.office.com/g/CSS32z1LXL

Dayforce - Important Notice

On January 21, 2026, Dayforce will apply multi-factor authentication (MFA) text message delivery optimizations for Canadian and US phone numbers. This is an internal change, and the updates will not affect application availability. 

These changes apply only to Dayforce and Dayforce Mobile. Updates to Dayforce Tax and Payments, IAM, and other applications will come later.

What is the change?

As part of this update, MFA messages sent by text may come from a new phone number. Dayforce MFA users with Canadian or US mobile numbers may see the new sender number (833) 305-0634 in SMS messages.

Which users are impacted?

Users who have registered for Dayforce MFA using a Canadian or US mobile phone number may receive their text messages from a new phone number. MFA text messages sent to other countries and all other MFA options (mobile authenticator app, voice call, and email) will continue to operate as they do today.

Columbia Employee Store Access