Mount Bachelor ski area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mount Bachelor ski area | |
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| Location: | Mount Bachelor, Oregon |
| Nearest city: | Bend, Oregon 22 miles (35 km) east |
| Coordinates: | |
| Top elevation: | 9065 ft (2763 m) |
| Base elevation: | 5700 ft (1700 m) |
| Skiable area: | 3683 acres (14.9 km²) |
| Runs: | 71 |
| Longest run: | 1.5 mi (2 km) |
| Lift system: | 10 chairlifts 5 surface lifts |
| Snowfall: | 30.8 ft (9.4 m) |
| Web site: | Mount Bachelor |
Mount Bachelor ski area is a ski resort located in central Oregon approximately 22 mi (35 km) west of Bend, Oregon, at the end of Oregon Highway 372. The resort lies directly over Mount Bachelor, a stratovolcano built atop a volcanic shield in the Cascade Range.
Mount Bachelor's challenging terrain parks attract serious enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world. It does not, however, offer much in the way of naturally occurring challenging alpine terrain.
It is also the official home training resort of many professional and Olympic athletes. Bachelor is host to several professional United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) competitions each year.
Originally opened as "Bachelor Butte" in November 1958 with a rope tow and a Poma lift, the name was changed to Mount Bachelor in the 1980s.
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[edit] Alpine terrain
The mountain is famous for its especially dry snow that falls at an average of 370 in (939.8 cm) per year, with an average base between 150 in (381 cm) and 200 in (508 cm) inches. Mount Bachelor also experiences consistently high windspeeds. The resort boasts a large vertical drop of 3365 ft (1025.7 m) with a lift running to the mountain summit. Total lift accessible area is 3683 acres (14.9 km²) [1][2] with approximately 1600 acres (6 km²) groomed daily. The longest run is just over 1.5 mi (2 km). There are 15 lifts, seven of which are express quads.
In recent years Mount Bachelor has made sweeping efforts to cater to snowboarders and dedicates 20% of its nightly grooming to its snowboard park and pipes. A 400 ft (120 m) super pipe is considered to be among the best in the country and hosted the 2006 USSA Olympic Qualifier. The resorts signature Air Chamber is a nearly mile (1.5 km) long snowboarding run descending 850 ft (260 m) featuring a number of booters and rails for freestyle riders. Other snowboard parks include Slopestyle Arena, home of the Chevy Truck US Snowboard Big Air Exhibition, and Sunshine Park for beginners. In 2003, Transworld Snowboarding magazine readers and editors ranked Mount Bachelor the fourth best snowboarding resort in North America.
[edit] Nordic terrain
Mount Bachelor also features a cross country skiing resort featuring 12 groomed trails covering 850 ft (260 m) vertically and 56 km (35 mi) total distance.
[edit] Other activities
Other resort features include snowshoeing, dog sledding, interpretive tours and tubing. Seven restaurants, 3 bars and three coffeehouses on the premises located in four lodges.
[edit] Criticism
Criticisms of Mount Bachelor include its small number of expert suited runs earning it the nickname "Mt. Flat-chelor." It has also drawn criticism for its perceived "elite" atmosphere. The resort is relatively expensive compared to other resorts in the region though Timberline and Mount Hood Meadows, located on Mount Hood near Portland both cost slightly more.
[edit] External links
- Mount Bachelor official site
- Ski Lifts.org photos of lifts at Mount Bachelor
- Oregon History.org - history of Bachelor Butte ski area
- Terraserver topo map & aerial photo
![[1]](http://www.mtbachelor.com/images/content/winter/mountain_trailmap_ew.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](http://www.mtbachelor.com/images/content/winter/mountain_trailmap_nw.jpg){kind=link}