Amidst the pandemic, we felt comfortable driving down to Mount Bachelor in Oregon to snowboard. We had originally planned this for the President’s Day long weekend in February but there was a major PNW snowstorm that disrupted and postponed our travel plans. Mount Bachelor is one of the largest resorts in the Pacific Northwest and also offered 360-degrees views from the summit. It also uniquely offers riding around the entire mountain (although half of it is backcountry blacks routes).

Saturday March 13, 2021

We started our 6-hour drive down to Bend but stopped in Portland for lunch at one of my favorite ramen shops in the PNW, Marukin Ramen. While we were planning to take out, we actually sat down and ate our ramen in their 6ft apart outdoor dining area. It was nice and quite the treat given we don’t dine out anymore.

We continued our drive through Mount Hood and into Bend, Oregon. We checked into Campfire Hotel, which was a newly renovated boutique motel. It had a much-appreciated reservation system for the pool and hot tub! And, it was outdoor enthusiasts themed with a large campfire pit and decor.

We finished the evening with Vietnamese takeout at the hotel, visited a Columbia outlet store, and called it a night. 

Sunday March 14, 2021

It was a cold, grey and icy day for snowboarding but it was visible. We made our way to the northwest section which had slightly better snow coverage.

Despite less than ideal conditions, we actually enjoyed the terrain and crowd control (maybe it was due to the lack of snow and limited parking reservation system). 

We stopped for a bite at the outdoor food tents and ate there while keeping a physical distance from others. After a couple of runs, we headed back to the hotel for our hot tub reservation. It’s always the perfect way to end a snowboarding day. The pool was also a nice treat and made it feel like a vacation.

For dinner, Chi’s old Seattle coworker, Ryan invited us over to his place with his wife, Kaylee. He went to culinary school before becoming a carpenter and his meal didn’t disappoint! It was also just great to chat and socialize in-person with someone other than Chi these days. 

Monday March 15, 2021

It was a sunny bluebird day and there was about 2” of new overnight snow. We started northeast at the Cloudchaser lift. This was a great blue area but could have still used more snow. Chi’s favorite run here was the Jet Stream to Cirrus run.  

We saw the summit lift open and Chi urged us to head there. One of our principles is to always venture to the summit if the weather is right because it can change quickly and close the picture-perfect opportunity.

We took the lift up and soaked in the beautiful views. We even hiked a bit to see the Sisters peak but walked back because we weren’t going to risk going down the icy double blacks. 

We left early so I could take a work call and had a simple fast-food lunch at the hotel. Afterward, we ventured to Old Mill District to stretch our legs and also scope out the area. It was a small little outdoor shopping area that was nice to briefly wander around. 

We also wandered downtown Bend before picking up our Thai dinner at Wild Rose. There were some cute, but closed shops here. 

That evening, we invited Ryan and Kaylee to hangout at our hotel’s fire pit. It was nice to socialize, instead of staying in our hotel room watching cable TV. 

Tuesday March 16, 2021

We decided to hit the mountain again! It was a sunny day with a thin 1” layer of new snow. We completed any blue runs we missed near Pine Martin lift and then returned agian to the summit for the blues. It was a good thing we went to the summit yesterday as there were clouds interfering the views today! 

Around 1pm, we started our long journey home to Seattle. We really loved the runs and terrain at Mount Bachelor despite mediocre conditions. It’s one of our top three snowboard resorts along with Whistler and Big Sky. I was also pleasantly surprised at how they controlled the crowds with parking reservations but it could have been partially due to snow conditions on a weekday. The overall value, lifts, and layout were also great. We look forward to going back.