Mt. Bachelor is So Back, Baby: Ski Conditions Report

As they often do in Central Oregon, the storm came in with high winds. Upon arriving at Bachelor on Friday afternoon, the only lifts still running were Red Chair and Outback, which luckily both have great terrain. The snow was a bit heavy, but it covered a layer of ice and helped the mountain regain some of the base depth it lost during the dry period. 

I skied one lap on Outback. I was forced to physically cling to the chairlift, however, as it swung in the wind. I wondered if I'd be the subject of the next 'Person Falls Off Lift' article that Matt and Ian would write. 

I had the thought that some of the best powder days of my life have actually been a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon, and this one was no exception. 

Mt. Bachelor saw another 10-ish inches of snow Friday night that was a bit lighter than the day before. Unfortunately, high winds plagued the mountain again leaving Outback and Northwest closed for the day on Saturday.

This consolidated skiers to the remaining lifts meaning lines were usually 15-20 minutes long, if not more, which is pretty unusual for Bachelor. On the bright side, they gave the legs a rest from the powder after only skiing groomers for the last month. We found lots of fun, soft, untracked snow on Cloudchaser and spent most of the day lapping the East Bowls and surrounding terrain. 

The forecast called for maybe another inch of snow Saturday night so waking up to a quick 2" refresh was a lovely surprise.

The wind had also worked in our favor and buffed out some of the terrain at the top of Pine Marten. The wind buff, plus a couple inches of fresh, made for some of the most fun, surfy, soft, turns I got all weekend. I spent the rest of the day lapping terrain off Pine Marten, Red Chair, and Cloudchaser until my legs were jelly and my face was raw from the wind.  

In general, it was cold as heck, windy, and a bit of a cluster in the lift lines, but that's the thing about skiing. It's a sport where you put your feet in plastic boots and hang out in the cold.

No day of skiing comes without its compromises, but that's at least in part why we love it. I didn't ski any 'blower' pow or get any face shots, but I skied a lot of really good snow, won the powder day parking lottery at Bachelor on Saturday, and got to ski with my friends.

If anything, this past weekend was enough to remind me that I do still love skiing, and that powder days are just a bonus.