Mt. Bachelor Advice

[C-Rex]

So I scored an incredible deal on a long weekend to Mt. Bachelor in Oregon. Flight, lodging, lift tickets, shuttles and transfers, breakfast every morning and 1 night's dinner for......wait for it....you're all going to hate me......$500. :-o



It's a deal that my club's travel agent is giving me along with other club's trip planners. The idea being that I'll love it and next year I'll come back with a large group. I'm flying out 4/3 and returning 4/7, riding the 3 days in between. I've never been to the Pacific Northwest so I have no idea what to expect. I'm thinking I'll bring my regular board and then if I need a pow board, I'll rent/demo one. Or maybe just bring my boots and demo the whole time. The trip is cheap so I don't mind spending the extra moolah for the convenience of not having to lug a board through the airport.

-What are the "must do's" on the mountain? In other word, great trails, parks, views, etc. that I shouldn't miss.
-Good bars and restaurants?
-General advice?

 

[St. Bear]

Go to the top of the mountain.

Ride down to the bottom.

Repeat.

 

[crank]

Mt Bachelor is trying to get our club out there as well. Maybe I should contact them! I don't love it for a club trip though just because there is nothing at the hill and the town is like 20 miles away. Looks lie a really fun mountain and they supposedly get a ton of snow. Have fun!

 

[amf]

I was there two years ago on a fam and took my club there last year. One of my favorites. Its worth getting the demo skis, and I presume the same goes for boards.
On the mountain, you have to do a summit run (if it is open). My favorites are the terrain on Cow Face (from the summit) and any of the runs off the northwest chair. The cirque (off the summit) is interesting, but could be a problem getting out on a board. Tree skiing is awesome just about anywhere. Days when visibility is poor (and they do occur, esp above tree line!) make you appreciate the trees.
Off mountain, you can't go wrong anywhere in Bend. Its my hands-down favorite ski town cause its not a ski town. It just happens to have a mountain outside of town. McMenamins is one of my favorites, a hotel/bar/restaurant/music hall/spa complex in an old Catholic school; they have an outrageous whiskey bar "out back" with a bunch of outdoor fire pits. The brew pubs are not to be missed; Silver Moon is one of my favorites, but they are all good.
For non-snow activity, I enjoyed the high desert museum just outside Bend. We also went to Crater Lake NP. Interesting, but a long drive. Bend is in the high desert, and really doesn't get much snow. Winter temps are frequently near 50 in the day, and snow rarely lasts. Take the drive up to the mountain, however, and the snow just starts piling up!
Saw crank's post, and it is important to note you need transportation to get to the mountain. They have convenient public shuttles, and the hotels will usually pick you up at a central lot. If you are looking for ski in/ski out, forget it. If you want the some of the best skiing and one of the best small cities in the country go for it.

 

[jimk]

Wow. That is a great time to go there. Usually the mtn is in peak form in spring. I was there for three superb days in late Dec 2012 and thought I was quite lucky to have access to the summit and 360 degree skiing all three days. They endure a lot of wind holds and low vis days in mid-winter, but spring is supposed to be great. You MUST ski/ride the backside of the mtn from the summit if it's open. And do it a bunch. It is truly a fun offpiste experience for someone who mostly skis tree lined runs or glades in the East (me). It's wild and open and super scenic, but not wet your pants steep - just really fun. I guess you'd call it sidecountry. Basically, it's lift served backcountry. As a boarder it would be handy for you to have someone take you back there a few times and show you where to best catch the five-mile-long cat track that leads back to frontside lifts. If you catch it in a flat zone you may have to hike several hundred yards in places and do a lot of scooting. The frontside of the mtn is great too, but in a more conventional sense. It has parks, but I didn't mess with them. Terrain wise there were two other things I did not get to: hike to the very highest summit of the mtn (only 5 minutes) and ski down the front of the mtn and hike a secondary cinder cone on the north facing side of the mtn (~20 minutes). Those two areas supposedly have some of the steepest terrain on the mtn, but there is nothing at Mt. B that is extreme. Here is a report I wrote about my trip: http://www.dcski.com/articles/1374
If you google Mt. Bachelor Pictorial you'll get some more pictures from my visit.

Good info from AMF on Bend. I had a cold during my visit that didn't stop me from enjoying the mtn, but I didn't do any bar hopping or beer drinking while staying three nights in Bend. It has a ton of microbreweries and restaurants. Something tells me there is a group trip in your future after this visit!!
One last thing, the skiing takes place between ~5500-9000'. This is relatively low for western skiing and much friendlier than say Colorado for flatlanders making a quick visit such as yours.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I went a few years ago with a friend that lived in Bend. The snow is plentiful there and the tree skiing is fun. But it's called Flatchelor for a reason. We stuck to the Cone mostly and it was a lot of fun. The most challenging stuff is off the Southwest side but you have to take 2 chairs to get back up to the top. If you ski the front you can do laps all day on the summit express. Have fun!

 

[C-Rex]

Thanks for the great info. I'm thinking about picking up a pair of collapsable trekking poles to put in my pack. May help with those flat cat tracks back to the lifts. The elevation shouldn't be a problem. That's around the same as Tahoe and I didn't have any problems there. Breck on the other hand...Ugh.

 

[bigbog]

....Off mountain, you can't go wrong anywhere in Bend. Its my hands-down favorite ski town cause its not a ski town. It just happens to have a mountain outside of town........

+1 ...

 

[C-Rex]

So my trip is rapidly approaching, and I'm getting really excited. I did pick up a pair of Black Diamond z-poles (they break down into a z shape and get pretty small) and I got to try them out at Sugarloaf last week. I stopped on the flat trail back to the condo and busted them out. It's a little weird to use poles on a snow board but I got the technique down. I think they will come in really handy on that traversing trail back to the front lifts.

Now I'm just trying to decide if I should bring my board or just bring boots and bindings and demo a board. It'll probably depend on how much the airline wants to wack me for the oversized bag fee...

 

[Abominable]

Check with your airline but I never get charged an oversize for ski stuff, especially when heading to a ski destination. I carry a big ol' snowboard bag stuffed to the gills. Just try to go too far over the weight requirement.

 

[jimk]

Restating the obvious...hopefully you get friendly weather and the summit chair is running and you can ski 360degs from top. Be sure to do that first chance so you don't miss it. Consider doing at least one high traverse all the way around front or back of summit for a run to base of Northwest Chair and Bachelor's full 3300' vertical. They are getting snow now. Have fun and report back.

 

[Scruffy]

Was there last year. If you ski the inside the cone, keep your speed up to make it out.

I was on skis, so not sure about a board, but skied down the inside of the cone hanging to the left side and then up to the ridge (lip of cone opposite the lift ) then along the ridge and over and thru the rocks. There is a nice sun facing slope there.

Around the back of the cone, keep working your way right as you desend to get the best terrain of the cat track for a board.

 

[C-Rex]

I'm going to have to print these posts and take them with me so I can remember where you all told me to go. LOL

Thanks for the advice!