🌋 Mt. Bachelor 2025 Recap
Mt. Bachelor has been on my list for years, so when I saw that Mint Tours (who ran the excellent Japan trip I took earlier this season) was doing a trip there, led by snowboarding legend Todd Richards, I signed up. It seemed like a great way to explore the mountain and ride with some new people who might, like me, have a long history with snowboarding.
Life, as usual, had its own plans.
A month before the tour, just as I returned home from a trip to RED Mountain in Canada, I came down with COVID-19, and it hit me hard. I was off snow and in bed for 7 days before I could get back on a snowboard. When I finally returned, my cardio was crushed – just 2 hours of riding completely wiped me out. My comeback lasted only 3 days before my back gave out, deconditioned from the downtime. This put me off snow for another 7-day stretch. By then, it was almost April, and I seriously doubted I’d recover enough to enjoy the Bachelor trip. I started wondering if I should even go at all. The last thing I wanted was to show up out of shape and banged up, only to slow the group down. In the end, I decided to go but packed enough physical therapy gear to ensure I could at least move in the mornings.
Then, a week before the tour, Mint informed us that Todd had smashed his ankle at Brighton and dropped off the trip. It wasn’t looking like the awesome trip at Bachelor that I’d imagined when I booked. Fortunately, things turned around.
Mt. Bachelor - Pine Marten and the Summit
Views of Mt. Bachelor from the base.
Ice, Slush, Cat Tracks, and Amazing Freeride Zones
Bachelor is a volcano in the Cascades like Mt. Hood, where I’ve done a lot of summer riding. Part of what makes it distinct is the 360° riding from the summit, with almost the whole mountain in bounds. The views are expansive—the Three Sisters and Broken Top dominate the northern skyline, while forests and smaller volcanic formations stretch out in other directions.
I was expecting spring slush, but the nights were cold and we woke up each morning to bulletproof conditions. After the first day, we switched to delayed starts—we still got to the mountain early, but we’d hang out until around 11am before venturing out, saving our energy for when the sun had done its work.
The whole mountain is covered with gullies and drainages that create ridges and troughs to ride through, though most of the ungroomed stuff stayed frozen. We developed a daily strategy, starting with laps on the groomers under Cloudchaser, then working our way to Sunrise and eventually to Skyliner as the day progressed. Later, we’d head up to Summit, ride down to the catchline, and then cruise a 4-mile cat track to the bottom of Northwest.
That cat track, by the way, highlights my one major gripe with Bachelor: there’s a lot of counter-clockwise traversing, which for me as a goofy footer meant endless heelside edge time. The first day, my neck literally locked up from holding the same position for so long while traversing the catch line. On subsequent laps, I had to consciously remind myself to keep my head on a swivel to avoid the same fate. Next time I’ll force myslef to traverse the mountain switch.
The most memorable riding came on the backside. It’s natural, wind-shaped terrain with huge waves and rolls, and sparse trees. Weaving down through those features was easily the most fun part of the trip. I would love to ride it with a foot of fresh snow—a recurring theme in my winter travels this year, apparently (see previously mentioned trip to RED).
It’s about a 10 minute walk to the very top from the Summit chair, and it’s worth it. The snow up there was otherworldly, frosted over and shaped by the extremely high winds that whip around the summit. From there, you can ride in any direction you like.
Off the Summit
The frontside from the Summit hike, a view down the backside, and the snow texture at the top
Todd Who?
In Todd’s place, we had local Bachelor pros Randal Seaton and Alfredo Hernandez leading our group of five guests and Mint’s three fulltime team members. While it would have been cool to make a connection with Todd, who knows so many people and has such history with snowboarding, we didn’t really miss him day-to-day. Randal and Alfredo know their mountain and showed us the spots, with Alfredo leading the charge and Randal providing the stoke. It was super fun riding behind Randal watching him go huge off all the side hits. There were more than a few “did he really just do that?” moments.
Big Wave, Big Stretch
We definitely got sendy–especially on the natural windlips on the backside–but I definitely ride more conservatively when traveling. I learned that lesson from getting injured in Fernie years ago. Getting hurt away from home sucks and I’m not eager to repeat it. With that caution in mind and my body still recovering from COVID and the recent back injury, I didn’t push myself much in Bachelor’s parks.
Like Copper, Bachelor’s parks are Woodward branded. Their Peace Park felt different from Copper’s, focusing more on transition features rather than the sliding features and jumps I’m used to–cool to ride something different, though I missed having so many different options. The other smaller parks—Otter Rock and Short Sands—suffered from the conditions: frozen in the morning, sloppy by afternoon. Still fun, but I wasn’t pushing it.
What Bachelor did have that was unique was the course from their Big Wave competition, still set up during our visit. Halfpipe walls with turns and transitions, hips to hit, and curvy sections to slash—we returned to this area repeatedly throughout the weekend. It delivered some bigger-than-intended airs and significant drops, creating some of the trip’s better moments.
I rode my Never Summer Triple Camber Proto Ultra 160 the whole time—my go-to for crunching through frozen stuff and absorbing soft sloppy spring conditions. Some people in our group brought a lot of boards (6!) but I was hoping to travel lighter so I crossed my fingers for no core shots and hoped my binding ratchets wouldn’t give out if things got too wet.
My body definitely wore out each day from holding an edge on the frozen corduroy in the morning and then eating up chop and slush in the afternoons. I had to do a lot of stretching when we got back from the mountain and again when I woke up each morning. Some days I had to hobble back to the hotel room after getting off the shuttle. My back didn’t really fully release until the end of the trip, just in time to head home. Many thanks to my Pso-Rite.
Big Air?
This felt bigger.
Scoping Out Bend
This trip doubled as reconnaissance, as I’ve been thinking about alternatives to Breckenridge and Bend/Bachelor is on the list. It’s pretty by the river, and we had some good food—Thai one night, food carts another (a familiar experience after spending time in Portland). But the Redmond airport was eye-opening—really small, boarding planes by walking out on the tarmac, and apparently plagued by cancellations. It was a reminder that despite its flaws, Breckenridge’s proximity to DEN is a major asset. I didn’t feel a burning desire to make Bend my new home, though it’s not totally out of the running.
A timely reminder from a flyer in Bend.
Would I Go Back?
I’d love to go back to Bachelor and catch it in better conditions, especially with all the frontside Summit terrain we passed over and other closed sections. I’d love to ride all those natural features with fresh snow. It seems like an amazing place for freeriding. Mid-April seems like it can be hit-or-miss (at least we didn’t get rained on…).
Mint did their part well. They had us at the nicest hotel in Bend, we ate well each night, and the trip was well-organized. I enjoy riding with a group, and the guides were great—it’s a smoothly run operation. I’m already keeping my eye out for my next Mint trip. (Back to Japan? Off to Europe? Pilgramage to Baldface?)
It wasn’t exactly the trip I’d hoped for, but it was still a good time and I don’t regret it. Now I’m more prepared for my next trip back, to catch Bachelor in prime conditions.