Dan and I had big plans to ski the Wy’East Face over the weekend, but with 100 degree temps in the forecast for Saturday, we thought better of riding a big face in sketchy conditions and headed over to Mt Bachelor for a sure bet on good snow. I arrived at Dan’s early, and we loaded up in his hybrid and headed over 58 to Cascade Lakes Highway, making good time and eventually arriving at the mountain. Parking at the Sunrise lot since the Pine lot was closed for race camps, we headed out, skinning from within a few feet of the asphalt.
We made quick time to the top, reaching the summit in under an hour and 30 minutes. The views were great as usual, from McLoughlin to the south to Adams to the north….
We wasted little time and dropped for an excellent run on corn snow in the Cirque bowl. The corn was creamy and we ripped it all the way to the bottom, making big wide, fast turns.
Skinning back out of the Cirque bowl, I’m always amazed at how good the views are. When riding Bachelor during the lift season, it’s harder to appreciate how beautiful the place is given the crazy scene.
Run number two was equally as good as number one, and this time it was Dan’s turn to shoot a few shots of me as I rode down through the pinnacles….
We skinned back up for one more lap, and ripped the whole bowl again. Even with the warm temps, the snow still rode really well. Dan cruising…..
By this time it was 1:45pm or so, and the campers were done, so we headed down and out of the Cirque bowl. Looking back, I snapped the below pic of the upper mountain….
After talking it over, we decided to ride the Avalanche run back to the base of the Sunrise lift since it looked like it had been groomed for the camps. To our surprise, not only was it groomed, but it appeared to be salted as well, and it was fast and fun!
Back at the base, we were both stoked on a day that exceeded expectations. Loading up the car with our gear, we headed down the road a couple of miles for a well deserved beer, accompanied by an excellent dinner salad fresh from the garden, followed by some evening fishing in the Upper Deschutes. All in all it was a great day, and one worth repeating! Here’s a parting shot of the mountain from the bottom of the Sunrise chair…..
