Published September 8, 2019 06:00AM
Mt. Bachelor, Ore.
You either love Mt. Bachelor or you don’t know Mt. Bachelor.
Photo courtesy of Mt. Bachelor
No slopeside amenity can change what matters most—snow—and on that front 9,065 foot Mount Bachelor is as reliable as they come. “We’ve been there five times over the past six years and there has never been less than a five-foot base,” writes one reader. By mid-season, eight feet underfoot isn’t uncommon thanks to 450-plus inches of annual snowfall.
“The weather can be brutal”—think wind holds and freezing fog—“but that’s how you get snow until May,” notes another. Bachy has no on-site lodging and may lack Jackson Hole’s steeps, but the low-key vibe lets the variety of terrain shine with 360-degrees of skiing from the summit across 4,300-plus acres, the sixth most in all of North America. Runs off the volcano’s summit are “unrivaled,” says a reader. The fast groomers and side-piste play off Wanoga are instant hits. Others note the “best tree skiing” in the country and the natural wind lips and waves that make this Pacific Northwest gem “so unique and fun.” —Tim Neville
Snowbasin’s 2020 SKI Magazine Reader Resort Survey Rank: 23rd in the West
| Average Snowfall | Acres | Lifts | Trails |
| 462″ | 4,300 | 13 | 88 |
- WHAT’S NEW: A quad and two carpets for new terrain zones aimed at beginners, families, and jibbers.
- APRÈS-SKI: More fancy: The Row for cocktails and Scotch eggs. Less fancy: Ten Barrel’s east side pub for sour “Crush” beers.
- DOWN DAY ACTIVITY: The High Desert Museum opens a Burning Man exhibit in January.
Read More:
2020 Resort Guide: Overall West
SKI Magazine’s 2019 Review of Mt. Bachelor, Ore.
Mt. Bachelor is a fickle place. One minute all is well, the next, wind and fog roll in, making this 9,000- foot volcano in Oregon’s Central Cascades feel like a backdrop from Lord of the Rings. That’s not a bad thing. Such environs come with ancient, twisting hemlock forests and 360-degree skiing off the summit. Last season the resort opened the Cloudchaser quad, accessing 635 added acres of blue terrain on the volcano’s southeastern flank—an entirely new adventure for Bach-lovers and newbies alike. There’s no lodging, but nearby Bend doesn’t lack for the stuff we all like, namely microbreweries and B&Bs.
Come to Mt. Bachelor for the…
- MANDATORY RUN Make a beeline for the Summit lift as soon as you see lift ops spooling up the chairs, then drop off the backside into double-black Land of Plenty for a spectacular 3,365-vertical-foot run.
- FAMILY ACTIVITY Hit the Pavilion, Bend’s new ice rink, for open skating sessions ($6 with rentals) or catch a men’s-league hockey match on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Better yet, take a curling lesson.