Mt Bachelor 12/25-12/30

[jasoncapecod]

I'm not going to bore everyone with every little detail of my trip. The short of it is we had a wonderful time. We got the full weather treatment ,rain , snow and wind.
The mountain is super fun and interesting and Bend is one of the best ski towns /towns I have ever been to. The most friendly and inviting people.
Here are some pics from the trip..I will be going back..

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Mt-Bachelor- ... 12141.html

 

[Harvey]

Hey Jason .... here's the link you are looking for:

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Mt-Bachelor- ... 12141.html

(It's complicated).

Glad you had a good time. A day or two of rainout (out of six) puts you in better shape than most.

Hey Tony ..how does Mt B stack up for the dreaded long-term planned Christmas vacay destination trip? I mean it's a glacier right?

 

[Tony Crocker]

I fixed Jason's link before Harvey's reference, so both are OK now.

how does Mt B stack up for the dreaded long-term planned Christmas vacay destination trip?

Bachelor is not a glacier, though it has a small icecap on top. At Bachelor 1976-77 had only 10 inches before New Year's. That's a bust like Tahoe this year but of course the entire western U.S. was as bad.
Out of 39 seasons:
49 inches in 1989-90
50 inches in 1997-98
61 inches in 1978-79
62 inches in 1993-94
64 inches in 2004-05
These seasons you will be skiing only the Pine Marten to Sunrise area, no Outback, Northwest or Summit.

7 more seasons between 75 and 90 inches, including this one at 88 and my first trip in 1985-86 at 90 inches. There was no snow during my trip but weather was nice and Summit was open on a 4 foot base. The mountain is primarily intermediate so a 4 foot base covers it well. Unfortunately the base was still 3 feet when Jason arrived. Now it's 4 feet and Northwest opened yesterday. Summit is closed ~50% of the time in winter due to wind/weather no matter how much snow is up there.

Harvey mentioned in his blog that the backside of the Summit is "all double black." It's no more than single black in pitch but never groomed and very exposed to wind. Due to huge size and low skier density it's the best lift served area for spring corn I've ever seen. I encourage spring break trips, as I think that's Bachelor at its best. Northwest is usually a better powder option than Summit, as you drop into fairly well spaced trees about 1/4 of the way down its 2,400 vertical.

For Christmas snow reliability Bachelor is not as good as Targhee, Whistler or LCC. For avoiding crowd and cost factors of Christmas break I think it's the best big mountain choice in North America. Experts will get restless (like rfarren at Steamboat) if Summit is closed and there's no powder.

I'm sure Schubwa can add more from the local's perspective.

 

[jasoncapecod]

Tony is pretty spot on about the terrain. It is predominately a intermediate mountain. The skiing was fun and the mountain has a great vibe. That said, it was a perfect mountain for a family.

The Bend area offers many non skiing activities and dinning options at a very reasonable price. I can't wait to go back..

 

[Tony Crocker]

It is predominately a intermediate mountain.

Extremely so when Summit and Northwest are closed, as Jason experienced.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Tony's been beating the drum about Bachelor in the springtime for years. That's when I'd like to check it out.

Isn't Admin going there later this season?

 

[Admin]

Tony's been beating the drum about Bachelor in the springtime for years. That's when I'd like to check it out.

Isn't Admin going there later this season?

Yup. Waiting on details at the moment.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Tony's been beating the drum about Bachelor in the springtime for years.

With a crappy season in California, it's somewhat likely I'll go up there in April as I did in the last bad season here in 2007.

 

[jasoncapecod]

here's a few pics from the cinder cone and a random glades shot

 

[lookn4powder]

here's a few pics from the cinder cone and a random glades

Great pictures!

It's funny how conditions govern first impressions of a place. My avatar pic is from my first day in late April 2002 at Mt. Bachelor. My ski line is just above a drop between some tight boulders in the cone. It felt as steep as your third photo. That day it had snowed only 1" overnight, but it had piled in 15" powder inside the cone. Sweet! By noon the lower elevation snow was mashed potatoes. Skiing seemed at the upper blue-black to double black level all day.

Three years ago my wife and I returned during Feb and I also considered the skiing as mostly sold blue. Still, some lines require expert skills.

Jeff

 

[jasoncapecod]

Three years ago my wife and I returned during Feb and I also considered the skiing as mostly sold blue. Still, some lines require expert skills.

I will turn 50 in less than a year..Solid blue with a sprinkling of expert is enough for me now..

 

[Tony Crocker]

I will turn 50 in less than a year..Solid blue with a sprinkling of expert is enough for me now..

I turned 59 last month. Your skiing will get better in retirement with more ski days and more time for conditioning when not skiing. I'm sure tirolerpeter would agree. My friend Richard's training for Kilimanjaro in his first year of retirement also allowed him to ski and enjoy Island Lake 6 months later. And this is someone who virtually never left the groomers before then.

 

[Marc_C]

I will turn 50 in less than a year..Solid blue with a sprinkling of expert is enough for me now..

I turned 59 last month. Your skiing will get better in retirement with more ski days and more time for conditioning when not skiing. I'm sure tirolerpeter would agree. My friend Richard's training for Kilimanjaro in his first year of retirement also allowed him to ski and enjoy Island Lake 6 months later. And this is someone who virtually never left the groomers before then.

I turned 57 last month. The biggest determinant in ski ability is both quantity of days on snow and frequency. I, too, rarely left the groomers in the northeast because I lacked the skills to do so. Things changed rapidly after moving to Utah 10 years ago.

 

[jasoncapecod]

When I said , I'm happy with intermediate and regular expert runs doesn't mean I can't ski advanced expert runs. I just don't have the desire too. 8) :wink: ..

 

[Marc_C]

I just don't have the desire too.

Which usually means, for most people, a lack of confidence, which is often the result of a need for skills. You may be different. YMMV.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Batter up!

 

[Patrick]

I will turn 50 in less than a year..Solid blue with a sprinkling of expert is enough for me now..

I turned 59 last month. Your skiing will get better in retirement with more ski days and more time for conditioning when not skiing.

I'm not going to comment, but I believe the motto from the Ottawa Masters is correct and applies to most of my fellow skiing friends.

The older we get, the faster we were!!!

Physical conditions plus wear and tear on the body takes its tool. Mind you, I've been skiing for 44 years and (only) slightly younger than Jason. But I'll can wait many more years (not enough) to ski into my fifties and reserve judgement until then.

BTW Tony, not that many people retire prior to their sixties. Even in my job, I can't leave before my sixties without taking a huge hit.

fairly steep shot

Jason, did you take photography lesson from SkiDog? That slopes looks to be at least 65 degrees/Big Chute steep. 8)

 

[jasoncapecod]

Jason, did you take photography lesson from SkiDog? That slopes looks to be at least 65 degrees/Big Chute steep. 8)

It was steep, but not 65deg..
Here's a pic looking up..

 

[Tony Crocker]

But I'll can wait many more years (not enough) to ski into my fifties and reserve judgment until then.

People who have been skiing at an expert level since they were kids are not going to ski better in their 50's and 60's. Recreational skiers, especially those like me who didn't even start until they were adults, do improve to some degree when they have more time to ski and exercise. I have run into several retirees in SLC who retired from coastal metro areas and spend 3-5 months a year in Utah. Several of them are in their 60's and you had better be in very good shape to keep up with them. I see quite a few of these type people on the cat skiing trips in Canada too.

 

[kingslug]

Warren Miller said it best..something like: if you think you ski better now than when you where 20..you probably weren't very good at 20.
But I started at 30 and have been improving ever since..proof of which is you guys haven't killed me yet.