Mount Bachelor

Little known to many outside the Pacific Northwest, Oregon’s Mount Bachelor comes across as an eye-popping proposition at a first glance. Located on a massive volcano across a 360-degree skiable footprint, the resort boasts one of the most unique layouts of any resort in North America and an incredible spring ski season. But the mountain’s distinctiveness doesn’t always work in its favor, and its unusual setup causes some far-reaching complications.

Comprising more than 4,200 skiable acres, Bachelor boasts one of the most expansive, diverse footprints of any North American resort. Lower and mid-mountain areas comprise below-treeline trails as well as unique, thinly-wooded glades; northwest through northeast faces receive direct lift service. The resort also boasts a summit lift, which services high-alpine bowls and offers access to mountain faces off every direction (although some northwest-facing areas require a short hike). Views from the summit are absolutely phenomenal thanks to an open, otherworldly footprint and clear views in every direction. With the exception of some short beginner lifts, Bachelor offers high-speed lift service across every resort area. On a day when everything is open, it’s hard to find a better place to be in the Pacific Northwest.

However, days when everything is open are few and far between at Mount Bachelor. Unless it’s a perfect bluebird day, chances are that the entire summit—home to the overwhelming majority of Bachelor’s high-alpine bowl terrain, best views, and expert terrain—will remain closed. The resort always seems to find a reason to shutter the Summit chair, whether it be visibility, wind, or ice. In a typical winter, the resort may go weeks—or even months—without spinning the Summit lift once. Bachelor tends to open the summit most consistently in April and May, although the area can still remain closed for lengthy periods during the spring.

But even under rare circumstances when Bachelor’s summit is open, it’s more often than not that the resort’s south-facing back side remains closed. Conditions are highly variable in this sun-exposed expert zone, and the circumstances need to be truly perfect for the resort to open it; the Summit Backside Bowls generally open only a handful of times throughout the resort’s six-month season, usually all in April and May. That being said, Bachelor generally allows guests to traverse to south-facing terrain from mid-mountain lifts during the winter months, although while beautiful and isolated, most won’t find the short drops and long traverses worthwhile.

Bachelor’s lower-mountain north and east faces—which mainly comprise green, blue, and easy black terrain—are really the only resort areas that remain open consistently throughout the season. These areas aren’t nearly as breathtaking as the summit, but they still offer quite beautiful vistas, especially just at treeline.

Mount Bachelor offers a good learning environment for novice visitors. The resort features two bunny hill areas; the newly-constructed Early Riser zone, which comprises very short, mellow slopes, and the slightly larger Little Pine zone (previously known as Sunshine Accelerator), which enjoys high-speed lift service unique to a learning area. Once progressing up the mountain, Bachelor’s best beginner options can be found off the Sunrise lift, where a number of mellow trails exist in isolation from more aggressive skier traffic. The Skyline and Pine Marten areas also feature green trails, but they’re pretty much just traverses and not very enjoyable.

Of all ability levels, the intermediate demographic will probably find themselves most at home at Mount Bachelor. Almost the entirety of the lift-serviced footprint contains enjoyable intermediate options. Standout zones include the isolated, lightly-gladed Cloudchaser area—which begins with a short high-alpine stretch—and the front-side Pine Marten area. A number of high-alpine blue groomers do exist off the resort’s Summit chair, but they’re closed as often as the rest of the summit—and are particularly susceptible to icy conditions when open due to their exposure.

Freestylers will also find a lot to like at Bachelor. The resort is home to a family of Woodward terrain parks, and like at other Woodward-affiliated resorts, the setup is one of the best in the business. The parks, ranging from extra-small to extra-large in feature size, offer engaging, unique, progression-focused setups. Several special terrain park events occur throughout the season, such as Hella Big Air in late March and Big Wave in April.

Much of Bachelor’s black-diamond terrain is mellower than one might expect. Most black runs are best suited for advanced intermediates—especially in the Pine Marten and Outback areas where steep sections are short and manageable. Excluding the hike-to Cone area, Bachelor’s most technical normally-open runs are at Northwest, which boasts decently steep mogul and tree trails that require decent endurance. While they all turn into intermediate runs about halfway down, these are some of the longest trails at the resort, extending more than 2,000 feet down approximately two-thirds of the volcano’s skiable height.

Likely due to the complexities of reaching it, Bachelor often doesn’t receive the credit it deserves for its truly technical terrain. The West Ridge cornice, only accessible via a summit hike and extremely difficult to find (there’s absolutely no signage to point you there), contains precipitous drops, some of which require free falls, as well as tight rock faces with mandatory fall lines and no room for error. Other nearby lines that are slightly easier to reach involve tight, steep pitches through rock walls.

Unfortunately, Bachelor’s most demanding runs are open so inconsistently that you may as well plan your vacation as if they don’t exist. Like the back bowls, Bachelor’s extremes really only open on unicorn days. The Northwest chair also closes regularly due to storms, and when that and Summit are closed, lift-serviced advanced and expert options are slim.

Bachelor’s snow has degraded considerably in recent years. The resort regularly received several hundred inches of snow annually during the early 2010s, but that number has essentially halved—at best—in recent years. Unfortunately, these circumstances have made for fewer powder days and less consistent cover than in years past. But perhaps unintuitively, the less stormy conditions have also allowed for slightly more consistent summit openings during peak winter months. That being said, visitors can still expect decent snow each winter with high-quality—if heavy—snow after storms.

As a 360-degree resort, Bachelor sees variable snow quality across mountain areas. Some zones can maintain windswept, packed conditions while others enjoy fresh powder or soft snow. East-facing terrain softens up faster thanks to earlier sun exposure, while more western areas remain shaded through the afternoon and get good as the east side becomes slushy. Storms generally come from the wetter western front, making Northwest the best place to be on powder days. Snow conditions also vary across elevations and terrain types.

As just one big volcano, Mount Bachelor is generally easy to get around. Choosing to go between frontside mountain areas doesn’t take much planning; it’s possible to traverse from the top of the westernmost Northwest area to the easternmost Cloudchaser area without taking a single chairlift. Going from east to west is slightly more difficult, requiring a lift or two, but it’s still not bad, and signs clearly mark where relevant lifts and trails are.

On the other hand, navigating backside areas can be a pain. As a consequence of Bachelor’s cylindrical-cone shape, traversing to the south-facing back side—which receives no direct lift service—takes significantly less time than traversing out. This makes it easy to misjudge the length and effort of the journey back.

Depending on the location, backside lines filter to runouts on either the west or east side of the resort. Eastern-facing terrain filters to either the East Catchline, which leads back to the Cloudchaser lift, or the Sunrise Getback, which is higher up and provides direct access to Sunrise and Cloudchaser. Visitors should avoid the East Catchline at all costs—the trail involves a series of uphill catwalks that warrant removal of equipment in several different sections. The Sunrise Getback is a much better option, but unfortunately, it’s easy to miss due to insufficient markings. The sole west-facing runout, the West Catchline, provides a way back to the Northwest chair; this trail is longer than the east traverses, but it maintains a consistent pitch with no catwalking required.

For a resort of its size, Mount Bachelor offers underwhelming facilities. Two base lodges exist, as does a large, mid-mountain complex at the top of the Pine Marten and Outback chairs. However, getting to these areas can take significant time from the outer reaches of the resort. More options, especially bathrooms, should really be available.

Crowding at Mount Bachelor isn't bad but ultimately is a mixed bag. The nearby town of Bend keeps getting larger and larger every year, and long, but not unbearable, lines are hard to avoid on weekends and holidays, and even some weekdays. The problem is compounded when certain resort areas are closed, which, unfortunately, tends to happen frequently. That being said, things really clear out after the peak winter season, and it's rare to see lengthy waits when April hits, except maybe at the summit. For the 2021-22 season, the resort has instituted the Fast Tracks program, which allows guests to pay a premium to skip the lines at many popular lifts.

Lodging

Mount Bachelor lacks on-site lodging and does not have any options within 15 minutes of the resort. However, ample accommodations of all sorts are available in the nearby town of Bend. Hotels ranging from budget to luxury and an array of Airbnb options exist here.

The upscale Seventh Mountain Resort is the closest on-site accommodation to Bachelor, and it runs a free shuttle to and from the ski area for complex guests. Bend’s public bus service, the CET, runs a Bend-to-Bachelor bus service that costs $10 one-way per person.

Aprés-ski

Bachelor doesn’t have a strong on-mountain aprés scene, with only a few bars offering drinks after the slopes close. However, the town of Bend, Oregon—just 20 minutes from the mountain and where most mountain guests will stay overnight—is one of the most interesting small towns in the Pacific Northwest, boasting a series of bars, restaurants, and activities that can keep visitors busy for days. Standout experiences include axe-throwing, bowling, and nightclubs with live music.

Verdict

Bachelor is nowhere close to the most challenging mountain in the PNW on most days, but with the right conditions, it’s a whole lot of fun thanks to its unique, diverse volcano footprint. However, perennial closures across the best mountain areas seriously hurt the resort’s practicality for any months-in-advance—or even days-in-advance—ski trip. And while Bend is hands down the best ski town in Oregon, Bachelor’s lack of on-site lodging may detract from the appeal. The resort is best enjoyed during the spring, when terrain is most consistently open and crowds are lower.