Uphill Travel Policy

Mt. Bachelor’s uphill travel policy has been an ongoing question within the alpine touring community of Central OR. Uphill travel on Mt. Bachelor is CLOSED until further notice. Mt. Bachelor also does not allow private snowmobiling in our permit area at any time Mt. Bachelor operates on public land under a special use permit issued and administered by the United States Forest Service. Under this permit Mt. Bachelor maintains the authority to control access to all land within the permit area, up to, and including a complete closure. Any violation of this closure amounts to trespassing and will be in reported to local law enforcement agencies. 

For anyone wondering more on “Why” we don’t open our lots and our resorts:

• Governor Brown’s executive order has outlined no gatherings of 25 or more, and closure of non-essential businesses. Opening our gates and mountain would be in violation of this state executive order. 
• Our #1 priority is the safety of our staff and guests. We are doing maintenance work on the mountain essential to ensure our return to operations as soon as this situation subsides meaning that there is equipment – like snowcats and snowmobiles – doing essential work. 
• Suspended resort operations is not like an end of season closure. There are hazards, both natural and operational, including avalanche danger, that are not being managed and which are very different at this time of year than our shoulder seasons when we do allow uphill travel. Please do not be the reason that Mt Bachelor staff, Forest Service Law Enforcement, or our already stretched emergency services personnel are put at risk.  

Like you, we want to be out recreating. But we aren’t. COVID-19 is bigger than Mt. Bachelor, Bend and our beloved state of OR. Please do your part each day to think bigger about our greater community and resources. Stay home, stay safe and slow the spread of COVID-19 so we can all be out doing what we love sooner rather than later. We are giving all reopening scenarios our daily consideration and IF we can find a solution that properly balances staff safety, skier safety, resort liability and the regulatory environment while providing a valuable service to our snow-loving community, you will be the first to know. 

COVID-19 Status

We have continued to monitor the dynamic and unprecedented COVID-19 public health crisis and, as a result of the unfolding events surrounding it, our team has made the determination to extend the suspension of our resort operations. This means we are closed for now but, while we cannot underestimate the extreme fluidity of our current situation, our goal is to reopen as soon as we can.

With this announcement, we are also cancelling all winter / spring Mt. Bachelor events. We were all looking forward to delivering memorable experiences through our Sunchaser Spring events, including the 10 Barrel Hella Big Air, Subaru Winterfest, Big Wave Challenge, and of course, hosting the second annual RendezVan festival. These events will be back next season, and we can confirm that the Woodward Peace Park Championships will take place at Mt. Bachelor in spring 2021.

Given the extenuating circumstances related to COVID-19, we have modified our cancellation policies and our Mt. Bachelor Central Reservations team can be reached via text at 541-382-1709 or email at info@mtbachelor.com with questions and changes. With the cancellation of RendezVan 2020, all RendezVan RV and camping reservations will be refunded within seven days and no further action is needed. We anticipate heavy activity over the next several days and appreciate your patience as we work hard to respond to all inquiries.

We continue to share the same belief as many of you – that spending time in the mountains, enjoying nature and the outdoors is important to leading a fulfilling life, and this is why we will continue to monitor the situation with the hope of being able to resume operations when the COVID-19 threat subsides.

We realize this decision will be disappointing to many, but this is a serious public health crisis and closing our operations for now is the best thing we can do to help stop the spread of COVID-19. During this time, we encourage everyone to do their part to enable social distancing, an important step to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19.

Our ultimate goal is for us all to have a healthy return to the mountains, to ski, ride, bike and play after this situation improves. We thank you for your patience and understanding in this situation. Please stay safe so that we may enjoy more days adventuring and doing what we love with those we love for many years to come.

COVID-19 Public Update