Nonprofit Oregon Ski Area Names New General Manager After Disappointing Season

The nonprofit ski area Mt. Ashland, Oregon, has named Rachel Canada as its new general manager.

Tasked with overseeing year-round operations, she’ll help guide several major initiatives, including the replacement of Mt. Ashland’s aging chairlifts and the expansion of summer and off-season programs, the ski area said in a release.

With more than two decades of experience in mountain operations and resort management, Canada got her start as a skier in Montana, where she first hit the slopes at Big Mountain, now known as Whitefish Mountain Resort. Most recently, she served as director of operations at Willamette Pass, another ski area in Oregon.

“Local ski areas like Mt. Ashland are the foundation of our sport. I’m excited and honored to join the team here and make the Rogue Valley my home,” Canada said in the release.

Adam Reiss, president of the MAA Board of Directors, said in the release that many experienced candidates applied for the general manager position but “none checked the boxes quite like Rachel.”

Her experience, Reiss added, “made her the perfect choice as the next leader of the Mt. Ashland team.”

Canada is both a skier and a snowboarder, and has chased snow across six countries and three continents. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring trails, biking, and visiting National Parks.

Her appointment comes as Mt. Ashland works to overhaul its lift fleet. The ski area announced earlier this summer that it would push back the replacement of two key lifts—Windsor and Ariel—because it had not raised the required funds in time for a 2026 replacement.

As of its latest update earlier this summer in late June, Mt. Ashland planned to begin the replacement of the Windsor lift next off-season in 2027, but still needed to raise $1.87 million for the project. Continued fundraising would then support the replacement of Ariel during the summer of 2028, per the plan.

While Windsor is safe and operational for the 2026-27 season, Mt. Ashland said that a critical component had reached the end of its service life, with repairs potentially exceeding seven figures. It added that Windsor becoming inoperable could come with an annual financial impact of $1 million. 

Together, Windsor and Ariel access the bulk of Mt. Ashland’s terrain, dropping skiers in a network of intermediate and expert runs. They date back to 1978 and 1964, respectively, according to Lift Blog, a ski lift database and news source. 

For more information about Mt. Ashland’s fundraising effort and lift replacements, click here.

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