Bend and Mount Bachelor, Oregon

Iditarod veteran dog, pulling a sled in Bend, Oregon. Max Hartshorne photos.
Iditarod veteran dog, pulling a sled in Bend, Oregon. Max Hartshorne photos.

Mount Bachelor in Bend Oregon: The Big Mountain We Didn’t Know About

By Max Hartshorne
GoNOMAD Editor

Paddleboarder and kayaking in Bend...on the same day that we went skiing.
Paddleboarder and kayaking in Bend…on the same day that we went skiing.

“Had you ever heard of Bend Oregon before you went out there?” asked a radio interviewer after my trip to the state in March 2012.

Yes, I answered, Bend had been on my radar for several years after a friend told me about visiting their son in this city of about 85,000 on the state’s high desert plateau.

Places get stuck in my head, and I’m usually pleased when I finally get to see them up close. Bend sounded amazing, with the mild climate, outdoor enthusiasts, and great breweries.

Mt Bachelor and Bend

My trip to Bend was primarily to report on the big mountain there, called Mt Bachelor. The volcanic 9065-foot mountain is striking because the ski slopes and trails go down in every direction from the summit.

A ski resort with 360 degrees of skiing, I’ve never seen it, and I couldn’t wait to ski it. In the years ahead, Bachelor is poised to add another 1100 acres to its ski terrain. With over 4,300 acres of lift-accessible terrain, Mt. Bachelor is the 6th largest ski resort in North America!

In the National Forest

Mt Bachelor has other unique features that have kept it from getting the national attention a big mountain like this deserves. Namely, it’s located in the Deschutes National Forest, and on top of that, there are regional development restrictions that keep the owners from building the kinds of slope-side amenities that are commonly found on other mountains of this size.

Ride to the summit at Mount Bachelor, Bend, Oregon. photos by Max Hartshorne.
Ride to the summit at Mount Bachelor, Bend, Oregon. photos by Max Hartshorne

Nope, here you can’t sleep in a ski-in condo, nor can you visit restaurants and shops right next to the lodge. These factors may be limiting but they are also a big part of this big volcanic mountain’s allure.

Look around from the top of the windy summit, and all you’ll see are the dramatic peaks of the Three Sisters and a whole lot of virgin forest lands. That’s what they’re offering here, gorgeous undisturbed views of wilderness…and a lively little city for all of your amenities (and fun!)

There is some exciting news, according to GM John McLeod about the new lift. “In addition, I’m thrilled to announce that we are committed to replacing the Skyliner lift with a new, six-person high-speed detachable lift – increasing our capacity on that lift by 50%.

Pending environmental analysis, the lift will be replaced in the summer of 2023 and be open to skiers and riders during the 2023/24 season. I’m very excited that Skyliner will be our first six-pack being at the very heart of our resort in so many ways.”

Skiing from the Summit

Mt Bachelor’s summit isn’t open two-thirds of the time because of the incredibly high winds that blow the mountain’s highest detachable quad lifts chairs sideways. The ice and rime up there are enough to require serious demolishing with machinery when ice builds up in the towers.

High winds at this high altitude are very tough on the lift cables. The resort’s lift ticket prices range from $82-150, depending on whether the summit is available to ski. The worse the weather, the cheaper the day’s ticket. This ski season has been marked by tremendous snow dumps, of four or five feet in a few days, and with that tremendous wind, they can get packed up. Marc Guido, the editor of the ski website First Tracks Online, had this to say about skiing.

Marc Guido, of First Tracks Online, in Bend.“This lower mountain terrain in front of the West Village base area is largely intermediate in nature, and Bachelor’s morning corduroy was impeccable. The warmup the day before was hardly noticeable as we screamed down the hill in huge, fast arcs across the dry and chalky snow.

Bachelor sits east of the Cascade crest and as such avoids the “Cascade Concrete” commonly found elsewhere in the region. An annual average snowfall of 387 inches ensures ample cover and our visit coincided with a season in which Bachelor avoided the radically decreased snowfall plaguing other regions of the U.S.

While we had the runs to ourselves until 9 a.m. there was little detectable change once the lifts officially opened. Bachelor midweek affords ample elbow room.

Drew Bledsoe, NFL Quaterback and resident of Bend, OR.
Drew Bledsoe, NFL Quarterback and resident of Bend, OR.

Mount Bachelor’s marquee terrain, however, sits above its 7,500-foot treeline on the mountain’s summit cone. Pitch gradually increases with elevation but there’s nothing here that’s steep enough to give a true expert pause. Bachelor’s distinct advantage lies instead in its unique topography.

With the Summit Express lift ascending to the mountain’s pointed 9,065-foot top, the highest lift-served elevation in the Cascades, skiers can head in any direction on the compass rose to take advantage of every aspect to find the best snow available after both the sun and wind have had their way with it.

Welcome to the Oxford Hotel in Bend

When we first got to town, we checked into the Oxford Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Bend. This hotel, with 59 rooms, has a fine restaurant down in the basement called Ten Below, which serves three meals a day.

The service staff, from the valet parking guy to the desk clerks, are all friendly and courteous. I love a good downtown hotel, and this three-year-old property is part of the Bend-owned Oxford Hotel Group. They really do a good job in all aspects, and my room was spacious and well-appointed.

On the seventh floor, there is a clean and well-equipped fitness center, including a sauna and steam room. Nice!

Brother Jons for Beers in Bend

On our first afternoon in the city of Bend, we asked around for the best place to grab lunch. Brother Jon’s was the suggestion, and soon we were belly up to the bar tasting a local brew made by Boneyard. We quickly learned that we were in the beer brewing capital of the Northwest—that at the end of 2022 there will be 30 breweries, brewpubs, and beer bars in this small city!

Beer and breweries became a theme of the visit—we kept visiting new brewpubs and meeting people who love living in Bend, even if they could live anywhere else in the world. Among our favorites were Cascade Lakes Brewpub, Deschutes Brewing Co, and Ten Barrel Brewing with their fireside outdoor patio.

The Quarterback Drew Bledsoe

Old Mill area of Bend is full of new shops and restaurants created at an old industrial part of the city.
Old Mill area of Bend is full of new shops and restaurants created at an old industrial part of the city.

One man who definitely fits this description is Bend demi-celebrity Drew Bledsoe, who spent 13 years as an NFL quarterback, ten with my beloved Patriots in New England, followed by stints with the Bills and the Cowboys.

Today, Bledsoe has embraced the town where his wife was born—he co-owns a wine bar, grows grapes and makes wine in Walla Walla Washington, and splits his time between Bend and his vacation place in Whitefish Montana

Despite his wealth and fame, he’s treated like a regular, albeit very tall guy here in the city. No special treatment—and he likes it that way.

When we met him, he was wearing flip-flops and a ballcap while sitting with five friends at the Cascade Lakes Brewing Co, on the edge of town.

Skiing in the AM, Golfing in the PM in Bend

“Where else can we go skiing in the morning, and then pull out the golf clubs from the trunk and hit the links after lunch?” he said, taking a sip of his beer. Surrounded by his ski and golf buddies, Bledsoe told us about how much he enjoys skiing at Bachelor and especially watching his young kids navigate the trails from the summit.

One trail is named after his father-in-law, Bill Healy, who helped founded Mt Bachelor back in 1958. Bledsoe retired from the NFL in 2006 to settle in Bend.

More Ski Days at Bachelor

Bledsoe and his ski buds are pleased with the number of ski days that the summit has been open this year, more than the usual one-third of the time. The winds have calmed down a bit allowing that tippy-top chair to run. The snow has been coming in huge dumps this year, one storm left five feet, and during 10 days in January, it never stopped snowing.

Bledsoe is also a partner in a boutique company called Montana Ski Company which makes a line of powder skis. “Four guys in Whitefish, making these custom-made skis.” Drew is a serious skier, like any professional athlete, keeping himself in great shape with regular workouts and a lot of time on the slopes. He also coaches his kids on the school football team in Bend.

Oldsters on the Mt. Bachelor Slopes

One of the things I noticed at Mt Bachelor was how many silver-haired skiers I saw in the lodge. The other thing was how much fewer snowboarders there were compared with skiers.

Mt Bachelor is perfect for intermediate skiers who like long runs and no lift lines.
Mt Bachelor is perfect for intermediate skiers who like long runs and no lift lines.

According to Marc Guido, the pendulum has swung back to skis over boards, and more young people are getting back on skis and giving up the boards. Below are his thoughts on skiing at Mt Bachelor.

Mount Bachelor: Terrain Diversity to Satisfy the Whole Family

There are no lifts on Bachelor’s west-facing Backside, says Guido. Instead, a four-mile “catch line” carries skiers and riders back to the front side lifts. With a pitch sufficient to carry snowboarders at speed this cat track heads in two directions from a height of land that divides the east and west catch lines.

A plethora of signs on what seems like every tree ensures that visitors don’t ski into the wilderness beyond.

That leads to Bachelor’s forté: family skiing. There’s more than enough here to keep a diverse family of snow sliders of all ability levels satisfied for an entire week. That leaves one scratching their head to try to understand where the destination visitors are; that is, until your eyes scan the base area without a condo in sight.”

Max Hartshorne:

Mount Bachelor shows its snowy dome, with skiing around the entire perimeter of the big former volcano.
Mount Bachelor shows its snowy dome, with skiing around the entire perimeter of the big former volcano.

I learned a few of the things that make Mt Bachelor different from many of Colorado’s better-known resorts…people here ski more, said the resorts marketing director Andrew Goggins. “Here we have an average of 26 ski visits per pass holder. In some Colorado resorts, it’s maybe six.”

Oregon Trail of Dreams in Bend

We enjoyed meeting the owners of Oregon Trail of Dreams Jerry Scdoris and his daughter Rachel, an Iditarod veteran, before taking an hour-long ride through the forested trails surrounding Mount Bachelor.

Gabe Dunham, our female musher, said she hopes to run the Iditarod someday and that our lead dog had run the big race a few times before.

Besides the appeal of this big mountain because of what it doesn’t have, it is growing.

A plan is being reviewed that will open up 1100 additional acres of skiing. A new lift called Cloudsplitter will service the new terrain, including many gladed trails around the Juniper trees.

Bend is Growing: A Lot

The town of Bend has grown considerably, residents told us, as the ski and leisure market for the town, is a great stopover for those traveling to Portland. Much of the building has taken place closer to the mountain.

The Old Mill area was once dominated by a giant power plant. Three iconic smokestacks remain, now it’s the Bend REI store. There is a bike walking trail that winds next to the Deschutes river and takes riders to this nicely laid-out mix of shops, cafes, outdoor benches and a fire pit. Across the river are the outdoor music arenas where Death Cab for Cuties played several years ago.

This trip was sponsored by Mount Bachelor and Visit Bend but the opinions are the author’s own. 

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One thought on “Bend and Mount Bachelor, Oregon

  1. The Oxford is an excellent hotel. I am glad you could make the trip out. It is unfortunate that Mt. Bachelor can’t match its world class terrain with all the typical ski resort features(slope side accomendations, etc…). I do feel that Bend fills this void in many ways. Great article hope you can make it out soon!

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