A Little Bohemia

Great to see the old Mount Bohemia report bumped and I'll quote myself:
jamesdeluxe said:
how the hell does it stay in business being eight hours from the closest decent-sized population? What are its yearly ski-visit numbers?
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While Tony's list of drive times shows that I was exaggerating a bit (eight hours is Chicago), my question is still relevant. As good as the terrain may be, I can't imagine driving seven hours from Minneapolis for 900 verts -- the same as Greek Peak in Central New York. I know that @Harvey would but I'd pass unless there was something else to do up there.

Maybe add this Minnesota/Bohemia topic detour to the TR above?
 
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Being in Madison, its clocked at 6 hours from here. Friends of mine that frequent the place say to budget 7 bc the 2 lane roads can be terrible if its snowing (and its always snowing). I frequently have clients of mine that know I love to ski ask if I've ever made the trip. My short answer is: A tank of gas there and back is practically a ticket to Denver from here (let alone a place with a big league airport) and ~2hr flight...For a few added bucks and hours you can be in Spokane, SLC, Reno and have superior snow and slopes for the same time investment. Not to mention the erratic way the place seems to be operated at any given season.
 
What's not erratic is the peak midwinter lake effect snowfall. But Japan has that same unusual peak consistency with twice the quantity and bigger mountains. From where I live I could probably get to some Japanese ski areas as fast as to Bohemia.

Accessibility is a key factor in deterring people from ski areas. It's what keeps James from partaking in Mammoth's or Bachelor's late seasons.

budget 7 bc the 2 lane roads can be terrible if its snowing (and its always snowing).
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Yes. This is also the issue for NYC or Boston metro people trying to ski northern Vermont's best powder days.
 
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Tony Crocker said:
Accessibility is a key factor in deterring people from ski areas. It's what keeps James from partaking in Mammoth's or Bachelor's late seasons.
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Correct. Bachelor in particular is one I'd like to visit.

An eight-hour flight to Reno (no nonstops, gotta change in Denver), more than an hour at the airport retrieving baggage and picking up a rental car, then 3+ hours to Mammoth? Best-case scenario is 12 hours; thus, two full travel days roundtrip. Patrick can do these late-season extravaganzas because he doesn't have to work. I can't be as cavalier with my limited vacation time/family responsibilites. Wish it were different!
 
Harvey said:
More please?
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Erratic is me trying to be diplomatic since I've never been there and don't want to body-slam anyone w/o first hand experience. However, some of their issues and visitors sentiments are pretty well documented. These I've heard many times with my own ears and have seen written all over and I'd include the OP reference about lifts operating on bar-time and or hang-overs. It doesn't disqualify the place on its own, but some of these points and the location make it an interesting equation for choosing it over aforementioned joints.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
eight-hour flight to Reno (no nonstops
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How is that even possible that none of the NYC airports have a direct flight to Reno? Call me surprised.

I would think large swaths of Bachelor is right up your alley. Even the couple of double diamonds up top aren't nearly as steep or intimidating as most places in the west.
 
EMSC said:
How is that even possible that none of the NYC airports have a direct flight to Reno? Call me surprised.
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How about Vegas? Mammoth is a scenic 5 hour drive through Death Valley from there.

EMSC said:
would think large swaths of Bachelor is right up your alley.
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+1 Are there direct flights to Portland? Bend is 3 hours 15 minutes from there. There's also an option to ski one of the Mt. Hood areas on the last day.
 
EMSC said:
How is that even possible that none of the NYC airports have a direct flight to Reno? Call me surprised.
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I agree. I'm positive that Jetblue used to have a nonstop from Reno to JFK but it was probably scrubbed during COVID and not reinstated. In any case, going through JFK adds another couple hours to my itinerary so I only use that airport to burn AA miles, which I finally zeroed out. Glad I got to spend a couple hours at the TWA Hotel on my outbound trip in January.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
burn AA miles
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I'm on the same strategy ATM. 50K miles left to go on AA, then I'll be down to United miles, currently at several hundred K.

Tony Crocker said:
Are there direct flights to Portland? Bend is 3 hours 15 minutes from there.
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Used to be easy to go into Portland and then puddle jump into Bend once upon a time... Made me curious and apparently there is no commercial service at Bend Airport anymore :icon-e-surprised:. Seems to have been that way for at least a decade based on their website.


Getting back to the original topic, it's "only" 2h15m from Mt Bohemia to the National Ski Hall of Fame in Ishpeming! Unfortunately never been to the former, but have been to the latter about a decade ago now.
 
EMSC said:
Made me curious and apparently there is no commercial service at Bend Airport anymore
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The commercial airport in Redmond, 15 miles north of Bend, is very much still active. Liz flew in there from Florida in April 2021 on 4 days notice with a favorable weather forecast. James would have to connect to get there, but at least it's close to Bend/Bachelor. Perhaps that April 2021 report will lure James to extend his season beyond its typical closing date sometime.
 
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Looks like 8-9hrs JFK to Redmond on several possible airlines with one stop. That said, that's about the same for James to Europe.

I last flew into Redmond/Bend in the 90s and had forgotten the airport is officially in another town. Interestingly, Bend airport calls itself the 3rd busiest airport in Oregon (eg busier than redmond).
 
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EMSC said:
Bend airport calls itself the 3rd busiest airport in Oregon (eg busier than redmond).
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General aviation? My high school classmate in Bend used to have his own plane in the 1980's when he worked with his father who was still in SoCal. But he kept his plane at Sunriver airport.

That said, that's about the same for James to Europe.
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Yes but in spring the high altitude places are 2-3+ hours from the gateway airports, not too different than Reno to Mammoth. In April I think Bachelor is doable for James for a long spring weekend, though Loveland/A-Basin would be be faster.
 
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