Mt. Ashland Names Rachel Canada as New General Manager
The longtime mountain operations leader takes over Sept. 1 as the ski area prepares for major upgrades and expanded year-round programming.
On the Mountain: Rachel Canada, Mt. Ashland’s new general manager, has spent more than two decades working across mountain operations, resort management, and guest services. Courtesy Mt. Ashland.
“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.”
ASHLAND, Ore. — Mt. Ashland will begin September with a new leader at the helm as the community ski area prepares for major infrastructure investments and continued growth beyond the winter season.
The Mt. Ashland Association has selected Rachel Canada as the ski area’s new general manager, effective Sept. 1.
Canada brings more than 20 years of experience in the ski industry, most recently serving as director of mountain operations at Willamette Pass.
Her career has taken her through nearly every side of running a mountain, including lift operations and maintenance, grooming, vehicle maintenance, ski patrol support, resort infrastructure, human resources, rental operations, and retail purchasing.
That range of experience helped separate Canada from a field of applicants, according to Mt. Ashland Association Board President Adam Reiss.
“Many experienced candidates applied and were interviewed for the open General Manager position at Mt. Ashland; however, none checked the boxes quite like Rachel,” Reiss said. “Rachel’s professional goal of managing a community ski area, backed by over 20 years of experience facing the challenges of small, independently owned mountains, made her the perfect choice as the next leader of the Mt. Ashland team.”
For Mt. Ashland, that hands-on background could prove especially valuable.
The ski area is entering a period that includes plans to replace its historic chairlifts while continuing to expand summer and off-season programming. As general manager, Canada will oversee year-round operations and help guide those projects.
Reiss said Canada’s experience is not limited to managing from an office.
“Rachel has extensive hands-on experience across nearly every aspect of ski area operations,” Reiss said. “She is ready to do what it takes to lead Mt. Ashland into a significant period of growth and investment, even if it means jumping in a Cat, flipping burgers, or turning a wrench—she really can do it all.”
Canada began working in the ski industry in 2002, but her connection to the mountains started much earlier.
She learned to ski at Montana’s Big Mountain, now known as Whitefish Mountain Resort, through the ski school there. Since then, skiing has taken her to six countries across three continents.
Now, Southern Oregon becomes home.
“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.
Outside of work, Canada enjoys trails, biking, and traveling to national parks, interests that fit naturally with Mt. Ashland’s growing effort to become more than a winter-only destination.
Her arrival also comes at an important moment for the nonprofit ski area.
Mt. Ashland has long occupied a somewhat unusual place in Southern Oregon recreation: large enough to draw skiers and snowboarders from across the region, but still rooted heavily in local participation and community support.
That community connection appears to be part of what drew Canada to the role.
For the Mt. Ashland Association, the next chapter will be about balancing that identity with new investment, aging infrastructure, and broader year-round use of the mountain.
Canada will be the person leading that work beginning Tuesday.
Cover Image: Rachel Canada, Mt. Ashland’s incoming general manager, brings more than 20 years of ski area operations and resort leadership experience to the mountain. Courtesy Mt. Ashland.
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