tseeb
Well-known member
Bachelor's conditions update Monday PM: An all day meeting in the whiteroom is how we spent our Monday and it is still snowin' and blowin' hard. Almost a foot of snow in the past 48hrs, with one more shot of powder on the way...
I drove up to OR on Sat.
and missed the three days Summit ran. Sunday morning my friend and I arrived Bachelor well before their 9 AM opening and went into lodge where we met up with four of his friends that I had met at Crux brewpub Sat. evening. There was already 2-3" new and Bachelor reported 6" by end of the day. We skied a lap or two on Outback before moving to Northwest. Visibility was very poor at the top, but wind was not too bad, maybe a steady 20 mph. We checked out Snapshot for more intermediate friends, but when we got them to it they declined to enter it as visibility at top was too challenging. We went right a top couple of times into Sparks Lake run and also skied Devil's Backbone. Three of the friends went into base lodge early while 76 year-old step-father of one of them had hung with us for a couple of runs before joining them in lodge.
We went into lodge after noon with my watch showing 18K. They were all ready to go out again so we joined them. My friend and the 76 year-old and I went to new for 2016 Cloudchaser chair on Bachelor's E side where we took about 5 laps. I got them into the mostly low-angle powder for a couple of runs, first staying close to chair a couple of laps before heading farther skiers left for our last run. They both went down on a steeper treed pitch with the 76 year-old losing a ski to a bent tree. After that we went left as much as possible, but still ran into catch-line that had a moderate uphill and some flats before getting back to chair. Friend and I took a couple of runs working our way back to Pine Marten lift where we did one lap and quit at about 3:30 with 29K on my watch and 27K according to Bachelor's tracking of my friend's pass.
On Monday, Bachelor reported 3" overnight and we started a little after 9 due to delay getting ticket. My friend skied until 11:30 when he had to leave to work part of the day. Winds were a little stronger than Sunday and affected more of the mountain. We took a couple of mostly powder laps on Pine Marten, then moved to Backside/Outback where we had a nearly untracked run down Ed's Garden. Outback was down so we skied to Northwest and came down Osprey. When it narrowed and was tracked, I moved into trees to the right where there were a lot of openings and nearly untracked snow for most of the rest of the 2300+ vertical. For my friend, who moved to Bend two years ago from Atlanta, it was a revelation that you can ski all the areas between runs, not just the cut runs. The mountain just increased in size for him by 3-4 times.
When he left for work, I returned to my car and got out my powder skis. I took at couple of laps on both Outback (re-opened) and Northwest. Wind had picked up and most of the time it was snowing hard. I tried taking highest traverse lookers right to Spark's Lake and the wind turned me around so I had to drop into low visibility untracked. I worked my way left and found a lot of very light tracked pitches before running into catchline at no. 42. View attachment 6I found a good route on Outback chair were wind was lower and visibility was better except for very top. I went just skiers right of chair and hit a couple of steeps above and on side of Boomerang. I nearly went into one of the holes from volcanic activity,
then dropped a little cornice into powder that was fun enough to repeat (minus the vent hole, but adding a second powder drop). Near the bottom I dropped into trees on right of Down Under where I found a short, untracked steep.
I thought I may have been missing out by not checking out Cloudcatcher so I moved there after 2. I was surprised that on the way there was very little new snow between Sunrise and Cloudcatcher. The chair (and Pine Marten) was running slow due to wind wrapping around the mountain. But since I was there I took one run well skiers right of our last run from previous day. Snow and terrain were good, but instead of ending up at no. 42 as on previous day (exit is at 47), I hit catchline at no. 35 and had at least three uphills plus some flats before being able to ski to lift. I skied down to Skyliner and rode it, then skied down to Pine Marten
and got to top a couple of minutes after Outback had closed. So I skied Leeway past the hike-to Cinder Cone where I found a couple of people skiing uphill while I skied very lightly tracked on left side of run. I repeated that, but took slightly uphill exit signed I-84 that got me the lower part of Cinder Cone (will add some pictures when I have more time). Trees below Cinder Cone to parking lot were lightly tracked and fun. I skied to my SUV in parking lot a few minutes before 4 with over 32K according to my watch. On the way (where somebody rolled their Toyota truck on a long straightaway) back into Bend, I stopped at Deschutes where I got the four free 4 oz. tastes they provide to all daily including some beers not usually available, before filling my growler with Pine Drops. Mt Hood Meadows tomorrow. Following pictures are all from were I stopped to take picture of what I skied on Cinder Cone and somebody skied it from top. Not very much contrast between snow and sky.
I drove up to OR on Sat.
We went into lodge after noon with my watch showing 18K. They were all ready to go out again so we joined them. My friend and the 76 year-old and I went to new for 2016 Cloudchaser chair on Bachelor's E side where we took about 5 laps. I got them into the mostly low-angle powder for a couple of runs, first staying close to chair a couple of laps before heading farther skiers left for our last run. They both went down on a steeper treed pitch with the 76 year-old losing a ski to a bent tree. After that we went left as much as possible, but still ran into catch-line that had a moderate uphill and some flats before getting back to chair. Friend and I took a couple of runs working our way back to Pine Marten lift where we did one lap and quit at about 3:30 with 29K on my watch and 27K according to Bachelor's tracking of my friend's pass.
On Monday, Bachelor reported 3" overnight and we started a little after 9 due to delay getting ticket. My friend skied until 11:30 when he had to leave to work part of the day. Winds were a little stronger than Sunday and affected more of the mountain. We took a couple of mostly powder laps on Pine Marten, then moved to Backside/Outback where we had a nearly untracked run down Ed's Garden. Outback was down so we skied to Northwest and came down Osprey. When it narrowed and was tracked, I moved into trees to the right where there were a lot of openings and nearly untracked snow for most of the rest of the 2300+ vertical. For my friend, who moved to Bend two years ago from Atlanta, it was a revelation that you can ski all the areas between runs, not just the cut runs. The mountain just increased in size for him by 3-4 times.
When he left for work, I returned to my car and got out my powder skis. I took at couple of laps on both Outback (re-opened) and Northwest. Wind had picked up and most of the time it was snowing hard. I tried taking highest traverse lookers right to Spark's Lake and the wind turned me around so I had to drop into low visibility untracked. I worked my way left and found a lot of very light tracked pitches before running into catchline at no. 42. View attachment 6I found a good route on Outback chair were wind was lower and visibility was better except for very top. I went just skiers right of chair and hit a couple of steeps above and on side of Boomerang. I nearly went into one of the holes from volcanic activity,
