Mt. Bachelor Vacation

In late summer 2019, we started planning our winter vacation. This year, we wanted to do another ski trip. It all started when the Northrop Grumman Ski Club announced the season’s destination itinerary. One location of interest to me was Lake Tahoe. I started looking into what was available and how much it would cost. This led to expanding the search to other ski resorts, which led to ski resorts near WorldMark resorts. The search eventually narrowed to Mt. Bachelor, near Bend, Oregon. Going to Oregon meant that we could see my brother’s family, including the newest member, Aubree. It also meant that we could visit our old friends, the Lindleys. And besides that, I’ve been to Mt. Bachelor before and I’ve always wanted to go back. And Mt. Bachelor had an amazing pre-season lift ticket deal that I couldn’t resist – $250 per person for four days.

Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, outside Bend, Oregon

Family & Friends

The trip started dark and early on February 7. We drove to Orlando and caught our Southwest flight to Portland, with a stop in Chicago. Once in Portland, we picked up our rental SUV and headed for my brother’s house in Chehalis, Washington. On the way, we stopped for a bite at Gilliano’s Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor in Woodland.

Saturday was family day. We drove up to Olympia to visit Kendra, Brad, and the new baby, Aubree. After a few hours, Andrew and I headed out alone to find trains. Unfortunately, it was a typical Northwest day – gray and raining. We stopped at the Amtrak station in Olympia, then headed back to Chehalis. We saw a few trains, including this BNSF GP39-2

BNSF GP39-2; photo by Andrew

We ended the day by going to see a Scorpions cover band at the Market Street Pub in Chehalis. After a few beers, I was almost convinced that I was back in 1990 and these were the actual Scorpions.

Sunday morning, we left Chehalis and headed for Oregon. Our first stop was in Salem to see the Lindleys. We met, then went to Best Little Roadhouse for lunch. We had some good food and a good chat, then continued to Bend. We eventually arrived at the WorldMark Bend – Seventh Mountain Resort.

Skiing

On Monday morning, we got up, ate breakfast, and headed for the mountain. After getting our passes and equipment, we headed outside. The weather was absolutely perfect. The sky was blue and the wind was calm. Unfortunately, the Summit lift, which goes to the top of the mountain, was closed due to damage from an ice storm the previous week. Andrew and I skied while Susan and Mom hung out in the West Village Lodge. Susan was nursing a sore foot and Mom was reading a book.

Top of the Pine Marten lift; 7,775 feet above sea level; photo by Andrew

On Tuesday, we all headed back to the mountain. This time, Susan gave it a try. She lasted until lunch time, then called it a day.

On Thursday, we headed back to the mountain and Mom stayed home. The weather was terrible with strong winds whipping around the mountain. By lunch, we were done and headed back to the condo.

On Friday, we headed back to the mountain for our final day of skiing. Again, the weather was cold and windy. We skied for a while, then called it quits. Visibility was very limited due to ice covering our glasses. It took almost an hour to do one run.

Mt. Bachelor Ski Map for 2019-2020 season

Looking back, there were a few things about Mt. Bachelor that I really liked. First, I liked the ski rental process. When we arrived, we were helped by a joyful young lady who was full of energy and enthusiasm. My excitement combined with hers and I was completely fired up to go hit the slopes. The funny thing is that in all the excitement, she forgot to get our pictures for our passes and then forgot to give us our paperwork for the rentals. I guess we all had skiing on the brain! Second, I enjoyed the Woodward Mountain Park Zone areas; especially Family Cross. The zones offered things like ramps and rails and a gigantic half pipe. The Family Cross was a winding run with large banked corners. And finally, I liked the runs under the Cloud Chaser lift. The runs featured short, steep drops followed by flat areas with wide, sweeping turns. It was exhilarating, quickly gaining speed down the grades, then using the momentum to effortlessly cruise over the flats and take in all the fantastic views.

Crater Lake

On Wednesday, we took a break from skiing and headed down to Crater Lake National Park. The drive down was much longer than it could have been due to the North Entrance being closed for the winter. We entered the South Entrance and drove up to Rim Village. Mom and Susan went inside while Andrew and I went hiking along the rim. It was so peaceful and quiet. I wanted to keep walking all the way around, but the size of the lake is very deceiving. The road around the lake is 33 miles!

Crater Lake National Park from Rim Village

After our hike, we met the ladies and had lunch. Afterwards, we explored the area a little more, including a short walk to the hotel and a stop at the Park Information Center.

Lunch in Rim Village

On the way back home, we made another stop. We noticed a really cool mountain on the way south and wanted to stop and visit on the way back north. The place was Lava Lands. The sun was just about to set, so Susan, Andrew, and I jumped out of the car and ran to the trail. Andrew captured the picture below.

Lava Lands; photo by Andrew

Bend and Other Side Trips

After skiing on Monday, Andrew wanted to get some drone footage near Mt. Bachelor, so we stopped at the Kapka Butte Sno Park. It was getting late, so the mountain was backlit and not as nice as we hoped. We decided we should come back in the morning when the light was better.

After skiing on Thursday, we drove into Bend to look around. We ended up driving around all the parks along the Deschutes River. We stopped at Farewell Bend Park and Andrew flew his drone around.

Cool sculpture in Farewell Bend Park

After skiing on Friday, we explored Bend again. This time, we drove through some beautiful neighborhoods before heading back to the mountain for some final shots. Once back at the resort, we cashed in our free ice skating tickets and had a few beverages, including a local microbrew and hot chocolate.

Local microbrew by the fire at WorldMark Bend - Seventh Mountain Resort

To see all the pictures from this trip, see my photo album.

Andrew posted a video of his pictures and drone shots. Check it out on YouTube.