Report from 1/1-2 at Mt. Bachelor/Bend and 12/31 at Mt. Hood.
Ringing in the beginning of 2024 at Mt. Bachelor bodes for a good year to come. A group of six of us traveled from Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA, to Bend, OR, to celebrate together for the first two days of the new year in my hometown. We were not disappointed in the slightest— spending time in Bend, OR, is always a blast. On the way over from Portland, our friends stopped and checked out some of the local fauna in Terrebonne, OR.
Meanwhile, a few of us sent a quick tour up Mt. Hood’s south side slopes in the sun on 12/31/23. Not much to report from Timberline other than a remarkable number of people willing to head the mountain, even while they are desperate for more snow. We made some friends and got above the clouds to end 2023.
January 1st was a quiet morning, but we were up on the hill around the opening bell. Conditions were crisp, and the snowpack was pretty hard under about a half-inch of dust that had fallen a few days prior. There was an inversion that broke around halfway up the Skyliner chairlift, treating sliders to sunshine above the clouds. Notably, the new Skyliner chairlift is a glorious piece of machinery, shuttling six riders uphill at a rapid pace and massively clearing crowds.
The higher elevations on Mt. Bachelor have seen significantly more snow, starting around 7000 feet. The top third of runs even felt a bit soft and had a bit of borderline fluffy stuff to push around. Unfortunately, the lower altitudes are suffering, much to the detriment of cross-country skiers.
January 2nd was even more exciting because there was long-needed fresh snow. The night before, I had resigned myself to a tour somewhere in the Bend-area backcountry, but by morning, snow was falling, and the resort beckoned. About a half inch fell throughout the day at lower altitudes and closer to a full inch up higher. The storm circulated throughout the day, offering moments of clear visibility and glorious full-winter flurry moments. By the end of the day, the storm had blown itself out. Due to the great amount of fun, there were no pictures taken from the day.
Looking forward, the snow is finally arriving in the PNW. After one of the slowest starts to a season in recent memory, wetter and colder conditions should grace the West here in the next few days and hopefully for weeks (and months) to come.
