Bend, Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor became the first ski area in North America to offer skiing and snowboarding in advance of the 2017-18 winter season.
Following a three-day snow storm that dropped more than a foot of snow, resort officials worked to place several terrain park features in the ski area’s tubing park at Mt. Bachelor’s 6,300-foot base area. Access to the park was free for the dozens of skiers and snowboarders who turned out to ride.
“The storm gave us an opportunity to try something new and unique,” said Drew Jackson, Mt. Bachelor’s director of sales and marketing. “There was too much snow to open our bike trails this weekend, so we thought we’d put something together with what we had to work with – which was about a foot of snow. We set up a walk-up terrain park in the base area where skiers and snowboarders could play on some rails and slide around on the snow. Access to the terrain park was free. We were also open for scenic “snow-seeing” chairlift rides for foot-passengers only. September 23 is the earliest we can recall setting up a park for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy the snow.”
With warmer weather in the forecast, resort officials added that the snow may not last. The terrain park will be open, tomorrow, Sunday provided the snow remains.
Next weekend, Mt. Bachelor plans to resume its normal fall operations with downhill mountain biking and scenic chairlift rides. Weather permitting, the resort will operate Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays into early October.
Mt. Bachelor is the sixth largest ski resort in the U.S., offering 4,318 acres of lift-accessible terrain. The mountain features 11 lifts, eight of which are Express Quads. Mt. Bachelor also features 5 terrain parks, 56 km of groomed cross country trails, snowshoeing, tubing, sled dog rides and summer attractions including downhill mountain biking. Mt. Bachelor is part of POWDR, a family owned and operated adventure lifestyle company.
Mt. Bachelor plans to officially begin its 2017-18 winter season with lift-served skiing and snowboarding in late November, pending the arrival of consistent storms to build the snow base. Season passes are on sale now, with the lowest prices available through September 30.