Opening day at Mount Bachelor featured eight inches of fresh, wind-driven snow and cold temperatures allowing the snowpack to increase by the hour.
At times visibility was limited, but the people who showed up for the first day had a great time.
“It’s windy on the top of the Pine Marten lift and the visibility is not great but the stoke levels are high,” said Tanner from Bend.
“The snow is just fantastic. It’s really good snow,” said Kylie from Bend. “I am super excited to be here.”
“It’s amazing. We’ve got powder. It’s still snowing. It’s cold and not too crowded, ” said Brandon Simmons from Bend, who was happy to ski in storm conditions. “So long as you dress well and you’ve got the time, the right equipment and the will, get out here and have some fun.”
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“Yeah, it’s not too bad,” said Bird, from Bend. The exposed parts of his beard were frozen white which he said it acted as insulation.
“We’ve got hand warmers, gloves, down jackets. No lift line. We are having a great time,” said Daniel, from Bend.
“It’s pretty cold. I wish I had one of those balaclava things because the snow bloody whips your face,” said Zach from Brisbane, Australia.
“You get like daggers on your face because it’s so cold,” said Toby, also from Brisbane.
Opening day operations included three lifts and 20 runs.
The resort reminded skiers to stay within designated open runs as machines were working in other areas preparing to open more terrain and more lifts by this weekend.
“But it’s good. It’s good. Opening day is always good. There’s a lot of powder. It’s good to ski again,” Zach added.
“We got here about 9:30. We didn’t get the first chair but we were close,” said Liz from Bend. “It is super cloudy up there and it’s a lot of fun.”
“They need to open more chairs and get the whole mountain rolling,” said Braden from Bend.
