Though there are many things I don't like about Mt. Bachelor's spring schedule, there is one that bothers me the most. Having Sunrise and Summit as the only lifts for the last three weekends is unacceptable.
This is my sixth year to buy a season pass and I love spring skiing. However, I can't see driving over from Corvallis to ski those two lifts, and if I do, I will be upset that the skiing is so limited.
I am an advanced 49-year-old skier and have little interest in Sunrise lift. Summit is unpredictable, and even when it is good the window of time is limited. We need Pine Marten or at least Skyliner to make the day interesting and worth the trouble. In past spring seasons, we get most of our runs on Pine Marten groomers waiting for the top to soften up.
Why can't Skyliner be the weather back-up? (Who skis Rainbow?)
I was over ruining my equipment because the mountain was open in November with 15 inches of snow, and now most of the mountain is closed with great conditions and over 150 inches.
I realize this is a business like any other and making money is the bottom line, but season pass holders are a big part of the customer base. We have some of the best spring skiing in the country, and I don't see why with better marketing Bachelor couldn't make it more profitable.
Skiing for me takes a lot of time, money and energy.
I have a second home in Bend, drive over on Fridays and back Monday afternoons, and have a special vehicle that allows me to do that safely. All I need from Powdr Corp. is to make my skiing experience worth the trouble. If spring numbers are down this year, it will not be from lack of interest, in my opinion, but from offering such a limited product.
One last thing I am wondering about is as the mountain starts to shut down, why they can't run more lifts during busy times. We experienced lift lines on Saturdays and Sundays with Outback not running. Why can't the mountain run Skyliner and/or Pine Marten on weekends the last three weeks?
Skiing is my passion and it's depressing enough that it ends each May. I have many friends on the mountain and no one is happy about the gradual reductions in spring skiing since Powdr Corp. took over and this year it's not even worth the trouble for me.
This has been my best season ever; I just don't want it to end so soon.
Gavin Sublett, Corvallis
