Mt. Bachelor, Mar. 23-27, 2026

[snowave]

In Bend this week... Monday was fun, although we timed the transition a little late. Previous info was it didn't soften until 11 the day before, but the snow was corned up nicely when we arrived at 11:30, transitioning to a fun corn/slush mix (not too heavy). However, moderately big crowds (by my standards) mucked up a lot of the runs, which dampened my enthusiam some. Weather: Sunny and ~50 at the base.

We were too late for Cloudchaser's best snow, but Pine Marten and Skyliner both remained decent the remaining ~2 hrs we were there. Outback was running, but nobody was on it, which I found out because it was super thin and slow at the bottom. It was later revealed that it was the last day for that chair to run this season. Summit was closed, and has only been open 1 day this season... earlier in March. I've heard they want a deeper base to run the cats up there, etc... although it "looked" fine to me from the bottom, but they're also clocking winds near 150 mph at the top, so... We probably could've stayed a little longer, but I was starting to feel kinda crappy, so we left around 2:30.

Tuesday: Fog, wind and rain... so we stayed off the mountain. Also, I felt worse, so that didn't help. We went to Sisters to shop,etc.. and I ended up realizing i needed a chiropractor, so thankfully I found The Joint, in Bend that late afternoon- that does walk ins. I feel much better this AM.


Late last night while trying to go to sleep in the rocking trailer (wind, guys...)... I read that Bachelor was going to be closed today due to wind, yesterdays rain, and to preserve snowpack. Winds at top of NW Lift and the Summit are well over 100 mph this AM.

Tomorrow looks like a much nicer day, so hopefully we'll get to use day 2 of our 5 pack we bought last spring. Will probably head back home Friday AM, but a slight chance we may stay another day.



I don't take many picts since I'm riding with the wife, but this was Pine Marten when we arrived. Granted, the lift had been stopped for about 5 min, so lines the rest of the day were about half this length (5 min or less). p.s. the lines went a little further than the image shows.

 

[SnowOwl]

We were too late for Cloudchaser's best snow, but Pine Marten and Skyliner both remained decent the remaining ~2 hrs we were there. Outback was running, but nobody was on it, which I found out because it was super thin and slow at the bottom. It was later revealed that it was the last day for that chair to run this season. Summit was closed, and has only been open 1 day this season... earlier in March. I've heard they want a deeper base to run the cats up there, etc... although it "looked" fine to me from the bottom, but they're also clocking winds near 150 mph at the top, so...

We were at Mt. Bachelor March 15-17th. It rained/snowed the days before. While the visual sensation still felt like winter on the 15th with snow on trees, buildings and fence, it quickly transitioned to late spring scenery within 24 hours as soon as the sun came out. The snow under foot was hard and icy before 11am and heavy and sticky within 2 hours.

There were talks among the ski patrols and people at the Guest Service that Summit might open but it never did because "the surface was too icy".

Well the good part is that there were no crowds on the runs and in the lift line and we could always ski right to the chair.

Below are pictures at the top of Outback and Pine Marten on March 15th and 16th.

 

[snowave]

Thursday was a beautiful day weather-wise... sunny skies, a light breeze and cold-ish temps (upper 20s -low 30s). Unfortunately, the rain/1" snow from the day before made conditions pretty crazy. We didn't get on the hill until arbout 11:30, and that was even a little too early. While the surface of the snow itself was flat, every single turn was different... from a little PP, to hardpack/white ice.. then a few areas tried to corn up in the late afternoon, but that was pretty limited, and inconsistent.

Crowds were moderate, but they only had Skyliner, Little One and Pine Marten open, as Cloudchaser/everything out of Sunrise base was closed... Needed ramp reapirs/snow rebuilds at cloudchaser, according to an informed local... so that made lift lines in the 5-10 minute range. Busy by my standards. I'm just not used to having to share the mtn with that many yahoo's of all different speeds/abilities/cluelessness.

I made one last attempt at a rollover/credit for my 3 unused days of my 5 pack this season to no avail...while friendly, the lift ticket desk appeared to have had this question many times previously.

A few more notes:

The main reason Summit chair has not reopened after its 1 day in early March is because it's like an iceberg up there. Limited snow, along with strong winds and fluctating temperatures have caused grooming to become ineffective. The local I talked to hoped spring temps might eventually soften things up enough to re-open, but obviously it's a crapshoot with the thin snowpack, too. He had also mentioned they really want to try and hold on and keep some of the mtn open until late April, which might allow me another trip back over there to burn up my remaining 3 lift tix.

Obligatory photoshoot

Conditions appear much better than they were. Most of this was hardpack/icy with a thin layer of new snow.

Top of Skyliner is always busy. This was actually one of the less busy times.

Always a struggle finding a dark beer in Bend amidst the IPA oriented PNW.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I made one last attempt at a rollover/credit for my 3 unused days of my 5 pack this season to no avail...while friendly, the lift ticket desk appeared to have had this question many times previously.

I'm sure that there's language addressing Acts of God in their terms and conditions.

Always a struggle finding a dark beer in Bend amidst the IPA oriented PNW.

That's a big for me.

 

[SnowOwl]

The main reason Summit chair has not reopened after its 1 day in early March is because it's like an iceberg up there. Limited snow, along with strong winds and fluctating temperatures have caused grooming to become ineffective.

We heard the similar.

they really want to try and hold on and keep some of the mtn open until late April, which might allow me another trip back over there to burn up my remaining 3 lift tix.

I hope you get to go back again.

MT. Bachelor has its own magic to attract returnees. The first time we went, I stayed at the base most of the time with 2 preschool aged kids. The second time, my second child, already in college, was ripping up and down the mountain in the whiteout condition on his own pursing the untouched fresh powder. Only on the 3rd time a few weeks ago, we got to see the summit and the 3 sisters. Well, since we didn't get to go the summit, we will have to go back again another time.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I have led a charmed life at Mt. Bachelor. From 1985-2007 Summit was open 16 of my 17 days, and only half of those were in spring. From 2012-2018 I was only 5 out of 11. So the last two trips in in 2021 and 2025 we planned within a one week window of sunny and calm weather forecast and were 5 for 5. Snowave lives much closer than we do and can do this too. As far as advanced commitment, that 5-pack is a very safe bet IMHO, as you as don’t commit the dates far ahead.

I think this is Bachelor’s worst ever season. In 1977 it finally got 88 inches of snow in March, though the Summit chair did not exist then. Bachelor got only 53 inches in 1976-77 before March vs. 126 this season! What's not in those numbers are rain events though.

I definitely see the logic of leaving Summit closed until a normal April corn cycle develops. But it would help a lot to get another storm first to increase the marginal base.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I'm kinda fascinated about this:

I made one last attempt at a rollover/credit for my 3 unused days of my 5 pack this season to no avail...while friendly, the lift ticket desk appeared to have had this question many times previously.

The parameters for Ikon, Epic, and Indy Pass are pretty clear: "you bought it; you own the (poor weather/conditions) risk." Per AI: multi-day / 3-day ticket packages are actually worse than passes when it comes to flexibility. They almost never give refunds or rollovers for bad snow. Here’s how they typically work:

1) Core rule for multi-day tickets​

• Non-refundable once you’re within the use window
• Non-transferable once activated
• Valid only for that specific season

Example:

• At Dodge Ridge
  
  • Multi-day and special tickets are explicitly non-refundable and cannot roll into another season

2) Before your trip (this is your only leverage)​

• Many resorts allow:
  
  • Date changes
  • Cancellation for credit
• BUT only if done in advance (typically 48–72 hours)

Example:

• Brian Head Resort
  
  • Can defer to credit until the day before arrival
  • After that: no refunds
  • Refunds or changes allowed >72 hours out (with fees)
  • Inside 72 hours: non-refundable
  • No refunds if the resort is open, regardless of conditions

3) During your trip (this is where people get burned)​

• If the resort is open at all:
  
  • No refunds
  • No credits
  • No extensions
  • Only a few runs are open
  • Snow is terrible
  • Weather is bad

This is explicitly stated across resorts: “No refunds… due to weather or snow conditions”

4) The only real exceptions​

You’ll get money back or credit only if:

• The resort is fully closed for the day
  
  • Then you might get:
    
    • Refund
    • Or replacement day
  • Partial vouchers if major terrain is closed
  • But this is inconsistent and not guaranteed

5) Key difference vs passes​

• Passes = limited protection for life events (still no weather coverage)
• Multi-day tickets = almost zero protection once you’re inside the window

Bluntly:

• A 3- or 5-day ticket is a use-it-or-lose-it product
• Resorts treat it closer to a concert ticket than insurance

Bottom line​

Multi-day packages are not being refunded or rolled over due to a bad snow year. Once you’re there, you own the risk completely. The only options are:

• Cancel early
• Or shift dates before the trip