Day 46: Spring.
I got into town yesterday afternoon via an easy 90-minute flight from Salt Lake City to Redmond, the next town over from Bend, right about the same time that spring arrived in central Oregon. I'm here on a press trip to research an upcoming feature article on both the town and nearby Mt. Bachelor.
I'm traveling at the same time as Max, the editor of travel website GoNomad.com from Deerfield, Mass. We threw our bags into the rental car at the airport and drove into Bend to check into our hotel. The digs at the downtown Oxford Hotel are luxurious and the service is as attentive as it gets:
Both of us were hungry -- Max from a long morning of travel, and me from skipping breakfast -- so we walked the town's compact, funky downtown core to look for a place to eat.
We settled on Brother Jon's -- good food, great service. The Coho salmon sandwich hit the spot.
At 4 pm we met up with Andy Goggins from Bachelor and a bunch of Bachelor regulars at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., including the brewery's proprietor for a few afternoon beers. For the others they were après-ski beers and we heard a lot of, "You should've been here today." Apparently things started out dry and powdery but baked as the warm sun worked the slopes. We'd have to see what the morning would bring.
We were to meet Andy again for dinner at 900 Wall, but an emergency at home kept him from attending and instead it was just Max & me.
This town seems filled with excellent restaurants and numerous breweries, the largest number of the latter per capita of any city in the U.S. We headed back through town and settled in.
We were at Bachelor bright and early this morning at 8 a.m., an hour before the lifts open. While Andy took Max to get demo gear I headed up Pine Marten Express with Operations Director Tom Lomax for a few runs before opening.
While dead calm at the base it was blowing around 40mph on the mountain, and while the corduroy was downright pleasant there were some spots where the wind had sifted in a dusting of fresh snow on top.
We met back up with Andy and Max, as well as a couple of guys I met at a Columbia event in Utah in December just as the lifts opened for the day. Summit was running, so once our group was assembled we headed straight there.
While the first couple of turns on Wanoga Way were sprinkled with blue ice cubes, thereafter it was dry, chalky snow both on and off piste all the way to the catch line. For the uninitiated, Bachelor is a volcanic cone and its summit is skiable for the entire 360 degrees of the compass. Surrounding the mountain's backside is a four-mile catch road to bring you back to the front side. Wanoga Way ends at the catch line, but perhaps not for much longer if the mountain's Master Development Plan, currently in the NEPA phase, is approved.
Initial plans call for a new lift reaching from well below the East Catchline to right around treeline just to looker's left of the Rainbow Chair. As we boarded Summit again we met up with Schubwa, who joined us on a tour of this expansion terrain, which is largely mellow in pitch and widely spaced between giant hemlock trees. It's gorgeous stuff.
We popped out onto a dog sled trail.
After ski patrol picked us up on snowmobiles we headed back for a third trip up Summit. This time we'd ski down the west-facing Backside, first down Larry and then working our way across Moe and Curly in search of sun-softened untracked proto-corn.
A long cruise down the West Catchline thereafter brought us to Northwest Express, one of Bachelor's highest vertical lifts and home to much of its below treeline advanced terrain, narrow runs cut through the trees that felt very Eastern to me. While we took a run down there Schubwa had to head off to work.
By now the sun was blazing and the temperatures soaring. We all got together for a lunch on the deck of the Corner Rock Pub at the West Village Base.
Got to cut this short as we're due to hook up with Andy for dinner. More tomorrow.
I got into town yesterday afternoon via an easy 90-minute flight from Salt Lake City to Redmond, the next town over from Bend, right about the same time that spring arrived in central Oregon. I'm here on a press trip to research an upcoming feature article on both the town and nearby Mt. Bachelor.
I'm traveling at the same time as Max, the editor of travel website GoNomad.com from Deerfield, Mass. We threw our bags into the rental car at the airport and drove into Bend to check into our hotel. The digs at the downtown Oxford Hotel are luxurious and the service is as attentive as it gets:
Both of us were hungry -- Max from a long morning of travel, and me from skipping breakfast -- so we walked the town's compact, funky downtown core to look for a place to eat.
We settled on Brother Jon's -- good food, great service. The Coho salmon sandwich hit the spot.
At 4 pm we met up with Andy Goggins from Bachelor and a bunch of Bachelor regulars at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., including the brewery's proprietor for a few afternoon beers. For the others they were après-ski beers and we heard a lot of, "You should've been here today." Apparently things started out dry and powdery but baked as the warm sun worked the slopes. We'd have to see what the morning would bring.
We were to meet Andy again for dinner at 900 Wall, but an emergency at home kept him from attending and instead it was just Max & me.
This town seems filled with excellent restaurants and numerous breweries, the largest number of the latter per capita of any city in the U.S. We headed back through town and settled in.
We were at Bachelor bright and early this morning at 8 a.m., an hour before the lifts open. While Andy took Max to get demo gear I headed up Pine Marten Express with Operations Director Tom Lomax for a few runs before opening.
While dead calm at the base it was blowing around 40mph on the mountain, and while the corduroy was downright pleasant there were some spots where the wind had sifted in a dusting of fresh snow on top.
We met back up with Andy and Max, as well as a couple of guys I met at a Columbia event in Utah in December just as the lifts opened for the day. Summit was running, so once our group was assembled we headed straight there.
While the first couple of turns on Wanoga Way were sprinkled with blue ice cubes, thereafter it was dry, chalky snow both on and off piste all the way to the catch line. For the uninitiated, Bachelor is a volcanic cone and its summit is skiable for the entire 360 degrees of the compass. Surrounding the mountain's backside is a four-mile catch road to bring you back to the front side. Wanoga Way ends at the catch line, but perhaps not for much longer if the mountain's Master Development Plan, currently in the NEPA phase, is approved.
Initial plans call for a new lift reaching from well below the East Catchline to right around treeline just to looker's left of the Rainbow Chair. As we boarded Summit again we met up with Schubwa, who joined us on a tour of this expansion terrain, which is largely mellow in pitch and widely spaced between giant hemlock trees. It's gorgeous stuff.
We popped out onto a dog sled trail.
After ski patrol picked us up on snowmobiles we headed back for a third trip up Summit. This time we'd ski down the west-facing Backside, first down Larry and then working our way across Moe and Curly in search of sun-softened untracked proto-corn.
A long cruise down the West Catchline thereafter brought us to Northwest Express, one of Bachelor's highest vertical lifts and home to much of its below treeline advanced terrain, narrow runs cut through the trees that felt very Eastern to me. While we took a run down there Schubwa had to head off to work.
By now the sun was blazing and the temperatures soaring. We all got together for a lunch on the deck of the Corner Rock Pub at the West Village Base.
Got to cut this short as we're due to hook up with Andy for dinner. More tomorrow.
