i'm heading to mt bachelor from jan 30th - feb 6th. i'm staying in bend. i'm flying to portland and then i'm gonna take a bus down. i thought about flying into redmond but after all is said and done the total price and time it takes to get to bend will be about the same so i'd rather take a bus and check out the scenery for 3 and a half to 4 hours rather then spend that extra time on another plane and in another airport
I prefer the Santiam route, mostly because we live on the south end of Portland. However, each trip is pretty much decided by snow/road conditions.
We try to get to Bend for my birthday (Feb 1st), so we'll probably be heading over there around the same time. When we go will depend on when we have a high school contest that weekend. We'll probably leave straight from Meadows to go to Bend, but until we have a schedule 4 months from now I won't know if that will be Saturday or Sunday.
A day at Meadows for you on the way over isn't a horrible idea either.
my plan for right now is to head straight to bend after my plane lands. i thought about making day trip up to mt hood at some point during the week to check it out but if i end up liking mt bachelor as much as i think i will i probably won't even want to.
i'll definitely give you guys a heads up when i get there. i'm staying at the days inn. great price and its within walking distance of 4 different breweries.
You won't want to ride Hood after riding Bachelor....I absolutely love Hood, don't get me wrong, but if I could ride Bachelor every day I would. Everything about that place is on point. Now I just need to get a real pow day there to experience the amazing snow I always hear people bragging about.....
this is a false narrative. meadows has better freeride terrain, it just takes some experience to find it. cliffs, dropoffs, "chutes"; meadows over bachelor all day. meadows is steeper in more parts as well.
bachelor is a much better "resort-like" experience, lets you ride all sides of the mt, and has better snow. this year they had way more of it too - bachelor is usually 3-5 degrees colder than Hood, which makes a big difference these days.
This thread is helping me decide on a new destination to ride about that time frame. I was thinking Montana or Idaho, but Oregon is sounding better. Especially if there's a crew forming.
i'm sure oregon is gonna be a blast. plus there's plenty of cheap hotel options in bend. the days inn i'm staying at is only $62 a night. if you decide on montana or idaho then my vote would go to big sky in montana.
Been mentioned a bunch but Bend is the RESORT experience and if you need a hotel go there no questions. That being said while I LOVE Bachelor the best terrain is on Hood no questions asked. Timberline is a joke except for spring parks and summer riding. However Meadows when/if they get all the gated stuff open has stuff anybody will think twice before riding and Skibowl on a good snow year even puts Meadows terrain to shame.
Bachelor if you can get a clear day and summit is a blast! However they close their summit a TON, spent a full week there this season, didn't open it once and it only snowed two days of the week. But to be fair Even Meadows can take a few days to dig their Cascade lift out but their best terrain is lower mountain anyway. And while we have a metric F*&K ton of snow Montana, Colorado, etc has much better snow even if it's 200" less a year.
In summary this. If you want a fun time, bars, hotels, etc all under an hour from lifts go Bachelor. If you are looking for the steepest and most intense riding go Hood (IF THERE'S GOOD SNOW!!!!) And you can stay in places fairly cheap still. I like Bachelor better but in a good year with good conditions you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to Bend over staying on Hood.
Well...hey I'm happy to be wrong if people on here think Meadows is better because that's where I ride lol. Maybe my opinion was unfairly swayed this season... After being at Meadows and going to Bachelor...well it was two different worlds based on available terrain alone. Summit was open, there was a trace of fresh and the parks are 10x better imo. Bonus, there was no dirty brown snow!!! Plus the views are incredible.
I imagine others having been riding both areas longer than me and have better knowledge of the mountains :embarrased1:
Bachelor is definitely not a ski in/ski out "resort" ski area. Bend, however is a resort as far as Oregon goes. It's not Vail, Summit County, Tahoe etc., but it's the biggest tourist destination in Oregon and has quite a bit of shit going on all year long. I do prefer its "resort" experience to Breck where you have to pay to park and then ride a gondola for 20 minutes before you get to chairlifts.
Well...hey I'm happy to be wrong if people on here think Meadows is better because that's where I ride lol. Maybe my opinion was unfairly swayed this season... After being at Meadows and going to Bachelor...well it was two different worlds based on available terrain alone.
The spring park on Cascade at Meadows was super fun, but for the most part I think you're correct that Bachelor parks are better (I don't really ride park anymore so my opinion there is moot). The available terrain in Heather Canyon & off HRM is steeper and more challenging than anything you'd find at Bachelor, especially late in the season when Bach fills in and flattens out. But the above tree line wind lips etc., that build up at Bach are super rad as well.
The mountains are pretty different and that's a good thing. Both have their positives & negatives and I'm glad they're relatively easy for me to get to.
As far as putting on events goes, Meadows in my experience is so much better. The OISA (high school comps) state finals have been at Bachelor the last few years. Last year Bachelor dropped the ball so bad that we may not hold the state finals there again this year. And that will suck all kinds of ass because there is no good group lodging/entertainment on Hood like you can find in Bend/Sunriver. Even though I spent most of the time herding kids/spotting landings/coaching and only got a few runs in, that weekend was a fucking blast, mostly because it was in Bend.
Ya you can't compare using this past year. The fluke lack of snow really killed Meadows and Hood in general, But that NEVER happens like it did this past season. Hood wasn't even really worth riding this past season but agaon that NEVER happens.
Having lived in a real resort town and frequented alot of them over the years... Bend/bachelor is absolutely not a resort nor does it have a resort feel. It's a laid back ski/snowboard area that's 30 minutes from town. anyone that hasn't been to a true resort doesn't know any better though.
My extended family is doing a week at Summit County over Christmas this year. I'm going to lobby super hard to have it in Bend in 4 years when we do another "Cold" Christmas gathering.
I've never lived near a mega resort, but dealing with Big Bear/Snow Summit bullshit for years sucked balls. I prefer having the sensation that the entire mountain is mine when shredding. Most pow days on the West side of Bachy, once I drop from the lift, I don't usually encounter anybody.
bend seems like a town that's near a resort rather then a resort town but i can't say that for certain because i've never been there. but i think everyone should go to the rockies so it's even less crowded at mt bachelor when i get there lol.
Bend is a "ski-town" about 20 minutes from the hill.
Sunriver is a "resort" (summer/golf resort) about 20 minutes from the hill
Mt. Hood has a badass historic "hotel" (lodge) you can rent a room in for $$ and nothing else unless you start going down the mountain. Government camp is sort of a ghetto for hoodrats with some private rentals tucked in.
if you want a real ski resort experience you're better off in CO/UT/CA i'd imagine... Whistler probably the best on the West Coast.
Ok there are no Colorado, UT or even east coast style resorts ANYWHERE in the PNW (I'm excluding Whistler here because It's really in it's own geographic area). Here the mountains are for riding and that's it, not luxury day spas and the like. That being said Bend is the closest and is an awesome mountain/resort style town with bars, breweries, resort style lodging with water parks/pools/etc etc etc, it's just 20 minutes further from the lifts than at other places. On hill amenities are just non existent but Bend is the most resort place you'll find anywhere in these parts.
Mega resorts come with mega crowds and mega pricing. I do miss having awesome lodges at the base of the runs, it just kind of helps the feel but I get way more snow and way less people which I love. I would kill for more ski in ski out lodging but alas.
i'm starting to prefer mt hood now lol shit. luckily my trip isn't for another 5 months so i have plenty of time to decide and the hotel i booked didn't require a deposit and i can cancel anytime i want. i've been looking at hotels in portland, gresham, sandy and hood river. the problem though is transportation because i don't wanna rent a car unless i absolutely have to. portland and meadows have that sea to summit shuttle service. gresham and sandy have the mt hood express that goes to timberline. i don't know how i would get to meadows from there. and i couldn't find any public transportation that goes to meadows from hood river so i'll likely have to rent a car if i stayed there. my questions are:
1. anyone in any of those areas know of other transportation options that i missed? 2. if i stayed in portland, are there any areas that i would want to avoid (bad neighborhoods and stuff like that)? and 3. i would wanna be as close to the sea to summit pick up spots as possible. one is in the pearl district and the other is in pioneer square. is there anything about those 2 areas that i should know?
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