Mount Bachelor ski area

Mount Bachelor

Pine Marten Express chairlift in 2009
Location Mount Bachelor
Deschutes County,
Oregon, U.S.
Nearest city Bend: 22 mi (35 km) east
Coordinates 44°0′11″N 121°40′40″W / 44.00306°N 121.67778°W / 44.00306; -121.67778Coordinates: 44°0′11″N 121°40′40″W / 44.00306°N 121.67778°W / 44.00306; -121.67778
Vertical 3,300 ft (1,006 m)
lift-served
Top elevation 9,065 ft (2,763 m)
Summit Express
Base elevation 5,700 ft (1,737 m)
Northwest Express
6,350 ft (1,940 m)
Pine Marten Express
Skiable area 3,683 acres (14.9 km2)
Runs 88 total
- 15% novice
- 25% intermediate
- 35% advanced
- 25% expert
Longest run 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Lift system 12
- 7 express quads
- 3 triple chairs
- 1 magic carpet
- 2 tubing tows
Terrain parks 5
Snowfall 462 inches (1,170 cm)[1]
Snowmaking Yes
Night skiing none
Website Mt Bachelor.com
Mount Bachelor
Location in the United States
Mount Bachelor
Location in Oregon
Relief map of Oregon

Mount Bachelor ski resort is a ski resort located in central Oregon, approximately 22 miles (35 km) west of Bend, along the Century Drive Highway. The ski runs are on the northern face of Mount Bachelor, a stratovolcano built atop a volcanic shield in the Cascade Range. Since 2001, the ski area has been owned by Powdr Corporation of Park City, Utah.[2] It is the largest ski resort (by area) by more than 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) in Oregon,[3] the second largest single-mountain ski resort in the U.S., behind Vail, and the sixth largest of all ski resorts in the nation.

Mount Bachelor offers one of the nation's longest ski seasons, mid-November through the end of May (weather permitting).[4]

History

The Mount Bachelor Ski Area was founded by former 10th Mountain Division Elite Force ski trooper [5] Bill Healy (1925–1993) on December 19, 1958, with $75,000 and a one year lease from the U.S. Forest Service for the land.[6] The four other major stockholders were Felix Marcoulier (1917–2004), Dr. Bradford Pease (1912–2004), Oscar Murray (c. 1917–present), and Phil Gould. The founders raised $100,000 from local investors and made many important management decisions that would shape the path of Mount Bachelor and Central Oregon for decades to come.[2]

The ski area opened as Bachelor Butte in October 1958 with a rope tow and a 3,100 feet (940 m) platter lift rising 1,000 ft (305 m) and a lift ticket was three dollars.[2][7] The geographical name changed to Mount Bachelor in 1983 after the Bend Chamber of Commerce persuaded state and federal officials to adopt the more descriptive term "mountain." [8][9] Well-known broadcaster and avid skier Lowell Thomas visited the young ski area in 1961, flying over from Sun Valley with J. R. Simplot.[10] The first chair lift was Black chair in 1961, shortly followed by the red chair lift in 1964. In 1967 and 1970 the yellow and blue chair lifts were added, and in 1973 the green and orange chair lifts were added. The following lifts were added afterwards and the names continue to this day. These lifts include outback in 1976, rainbow in 1980, and sunrise in 1982. The first area of the mountain developed for skiing was the northeastern side.[11] The northwestern side was not lift-served in 1973, but those who ventured for the "Outback Trail Tour" paid a dollar in advance and got a return ride by a sno-cat to the lodge.[12] A new trail was finished in 1975,[13] and the Outback double chairlift was installed at a cost of $700,000.[14][15] It was replaced by the $3 million high-speed quad (Outback Express) in the summer of 1987;[16] with a capacity of 2,800 per hour.[17] The lengthy Northwest Express chairlift was added in the summer of 1996, a high-speed quad with 2,365-foot (721 m) vertical.[18] This lift further expanded the terrain to the west and increased the resort's overall vertical, lowering the minimum lift-served elevation to 5,700 feet (1,737 m). In 1976 Mount Bachelor had a severe drought and was only open January 2 through February 14, and February 26 through April 30. There was a loss of an estimated $4 million and took 4 years to recover. Following the drought the Nordic initiative began and the main lodge expanded.[5]

The first summit chairlift was installed in the summer of 1983, a high-speed detachable triple.[19] At the time, it was just the second detachable chairlift installed in the world. It was upgraded to a quad in 1997.[18] Original plans for a summit lodge and an accompanying service road[20][21] were abandoned in 1982 to attain approval from the forest service.[22]

Due to its challenging terrain parks and excellent snow conditions, Mount Bachelor is the official home training resort of many professional and Winter Olympic athletes, and hosts several professional USSA competitions each year.

Terrain

The mountain is famous for its dry snow with typical snowfall of over 450 inches (1,140 cm) per year and a mid-winter base over 100 inches (250 cm). The resort boasts a lift-served vertical drop of 3,300 feet (1,006 m) with a lift running to 9,000 feet (2,743 m), just 65 feet (20 m) below the volcano's summit, which is accessible via a short hike. As one of the tallest mountains in the vicinity, Mount Bachelor often experiences high wind speeds causing the chairlift to the summit to be put on standby.

Trails and lifts

Total lift accessible area is 3,683 acres (14.9 km2)[23][24] with approximately 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) groomed daily. The longest run is just over 1.5 miles (2.4 km). There are 10 chairlifts Carrousel Chair, Northwest Express, Outback Express, Pine Marten Express, Rainbow Chair, Red Chair, Skyliner Express, Summit Express, Sunrise Express, and Sunshine Accelerator. Northwest Express, Outback Express, Pine Marten Express, Skyliner Express, Summit Express, Sunrise Express, and Sunshine Accelerator [25] are express quads. Following the Summit triple in 1983, the Pine Marten was the first express quad, installed in the summer of 1986.[16][17] The accompanying lodge at the top of Pine Marten was built two years later.[26] The Pine Marten Express was the world's first height-adjustable detachable quad. It was overhauled in 2006 for $3.5 million, with new terminals, cable, and all new moving parts.[18] The Outback Express was installed in 1987 and the Skyliner Express in 1989.[27]

In recent years, Mount Bachelor has made sweeping efforts to attract freestyle skiers and snowboarders. A 400-foot (122 m) super pipe is among the best on the continent, and hosted the 2006 USSA Olympic Qualifier. The resort's Bachelor Parks terrain park encompasses 3 parks, is nearly a mile (1.5 km) long, descending 850 vertical feet (260 m) and featuring a number of jumps, rails, boxes, and jibs for freestyle riders. Other parks include "Slopestyle Arena", and "Sunshine Park" for beginners.

In 2003, Transworld Snowboarding magazine (editors & readers) ranked Bachelor as the fourth best snowboarding resort in North America.

Mount Bachelor also has a cross country skiing area with 12 groomed trails covering 35 miles (56 km) and 850 feet (260 m) of vertical.

Other activities

Other features at Mount Bachelor include snowshoeing, dogsledding, interpretive tours and snow-tubing. Seven restaurants, three bars, and three coffeehouses on the premises are distributed in four day lodges. Additional accommodations and lodging are nearby at Sunriver and in the city of Bend.

U.S. Ski Team

Resort statistics

Skier Visits

Number of guests per day.[28]

Season Peak Day Average
Top 10 Days 		Average
Top 20 Days 		Average
Entire
Season 		Operating
Days 		Total Seasonal
Skier Visits
2005-2006 12,207 8,364 7,462 2,747 194 532,997
2006-2007 11,431 8,340 6,936 2,557 185 472,969
2007-2008 10,098 7,020 6,187 2,447 179 437,954
2008-2009 9,430 6,694 5,881 2,530 157 397,211
2009-2010 8,074 6,642 5,983 2,428 180 436,995

Elevation

Trails

Lifts

Lift Specifications

Rainbow Chair Sunrise Express Carrousel Summit Express Skyliner Express Sunshine Accelerator
Lift Number 1 2 3 4 5 6
Lift Type 3C D4C 3C D4C D4C D4C
Year Installed 1980 1993 1993 1997 1989 1993
Top Elevation ft. 7,605 7,270 6,606 8,950 7,631 6,628
Bottom Elevation ft. 6,390 6,470 6,440 7,240 6,325 6,385
Total Vertical ft. 1,215 800 166 1,710 1,306 243
Horizontal Distance ft. 5,380 3,643 1,175 4,460 5,722 1,871
Slope Distance ft. 5,515 3,732 1,194 4,783 5,878 1,888
Average Slope % 23% 22% 14% 38% 23% 13%
Op. Capacity (People Per Hour) 1,800 1,800 1,350 2,400 2,400 2,200
Rope Speed (fpm) 500 886 300 1,024 985 886
Trip Time min. 11.03 4.21 3.98 4.67 5.97 2.13
Drive Output (hp) Unknown 244 60 800 520 128
Pine Marten Express Red Chair Outback Super Express Northwest Express TOTAL
Lift Number 7 8 9 10
Lift Type D4c 3C D4C D4C
Year Installed 2007 1980 1987 1996
Top Elevation ft. 7,732 7,495 7,755 8,065
Bottom Elevation ft. 6,365 6,337 5,975 5,712
Total Vertical ft. 1,367 1,158 1,780 2,253 12,124
Horizontal Distance ft. 4,562 3,850 6,738 8,040
Slope Distance ft. 4,779 4,020 6,991 8,377 47,428
Average Slope % 30% 30% 26% 29% 27%
Op. Capacity (People Per Hour) 2,400 1,500 2,400 2,400 23,050
Rope Speed (fpm) 985 475 985 1,000
Trip Time min. 4.85 8.46 7.10 8.38
Drive Output (hp) 488 Unknown 646 931 3,817

Source: Mt. Bachelor Master Development Plan: 2010 [28]

References

  1. ↑ "Mount Bachelor Trail Map". Mount Bachelor Ski Resort. Mount Bachelor. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  2. 1 2 3 BendBulletin.com - Mount Bachelor at 50 - 2008-11-30 - accessed 2012-03-24
  3. ↑ www.go-oregon.net/Skiing/
  4. ↑ Mountain Stats from mtbachelor.com
  5. 1 2 "History". www.mtbachelor.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  6. ↑ "Bill Healy; Built Mount Bachelor Ski Resort". The Seattle Times. 1993-10-29. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  7. ↑ Eugene Register-Guard New Bachelor ski area set for seven month operation - 1958-11-27 - p.4D
  8. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Bachelor Butte name change months away - 1983-08-09 - p.B1
  9. ↑ , "'Media' pioneer helped put Bachelor on map", Bulletin, Bend Oregon, May 25, 1987; Horizons Monthly p. 7
  10. ↑ , "Lowell Thomas, Gov. Hatfield among celebrities at Bachelor", Bend Bulletin, Bend Oregon, March 22, 1961, p.1.
  11. ↑ "The History of Mt. Bachelor, OR". SnowBrains.com. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  12. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Skiing Bachelor's 'outback' is a ball - 1973-03-12 - p.7
  13. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Ski season begins Saturday - 1975-10-28 - p.1
  14. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Bachelor to get lift, bigger lodge - 1976-06-28 - p.2
  15. ↑ Ellensburg Daily Record - Oregon ski area may move into the big leagues - UPI - 1976-06-29 - p.5
  16. 1 2 (Bend) Bulletin - Mount Bachelor expansion set - 1987-03-18 - p.A-1
  17. 1 2 3 Eugene Register-Guard - Mount Bachelor adding another ski lift - 1987-03-15 - p.2C
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sowa, Anna (July 31, 2006). "Ski lift mechanics a hardy crew". Bend Bulletin. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  19. ↑ Tri-City Herald - New summit chair makes Mount Bachelor skiing even better - 1983-10-07 - p.C1
  20. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Bachelor wins road to summit - 1982-04-05 - p.A1
  21. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Mount Bachelor road okay appealed - 1982-03-31 - p.A1
  22. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Bachelor abandons road plan - 1982-09-02 - p.A1
  23. ↑ trail map ew
  24. ↑ trail map nw
  25. ↑ "Mountain Stats". www.mtbachelor.com. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  26. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Bachelor more than sports center - 1988-11-20 - p.3
  27. 1 2 (Bend) Bulletin - Catch your breath - 1989-12-21 p.E1
  28. 1 2 http://www.mtbachelor.com/site/about_us/company_info/forest_service/MDP_Text.pdf
  29. ↑ Mount Bachelor trail map shows the base of Summit Express at 7,250 feet (2,210 m) and its rise at 1,725 feet (526 m)
  30. ↑ (Bend) Bulletin - Bachelor's high-tech lifts move more skiers faster -1993-12-03 - p.5,winter-rec

External links

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