Joe Kline / The Bulletin

MOUNT BACHELOR —

Cruising along the narrow, powder-covered trail on my snowboard, I sped past three other snowboarders, and one shouted at me as I continued down the path.

“Have a good hike back out!”

What he said did not immediately register, but it was enough to make me stop and think. I unstrapped my boots from my board and hiked up a small ridge and back onto the main run. Then I saw what the shouting was about.

Sunrise chairlift was not operating, so I would need to hike back up the hill in order to traverse back to the Skyliner lift. Luckily, I stopped when I did.

The 100-yard slog up in waist-deep powder snow was not easy or fun, but I eventually made it back to Skyliner safely.

A massive winter storm hammered the Cascades this past weekend, as skiers and snowboarders flocked to Mt. Bachelor ski area and other Oregon mountain resorts. Last Thursday, when I was there, nearly a foot of new snow had fallen at Bachelor the night before.

It was the type of powder conditions that most skiers and snowboarders long for, and it lasted through the weekend. But it also served as a stark reminder to this boarder to be wary of early-season conditions.

And it is not a bad idea to know which chairlifts are operating.

This time of year, Bachelor typically operates only a few of its 10 lifts. On Thursday, only Pine Marten and Skyliner were running. I mistakenly assumed that Sunrise was operating as well, and I had somehow blown past several large, orange “closed” signs.

Bachelor operations manager Tom Lomax let me have it the next day when I told him what had happened.

“You went by all the closed signs, because you were smarter than the closed signs, right?” he said, sarcastically. “‘That’s for somebody else, that’s not for me.’ Closed means closed because of some operational condition. You went down a closed run to get to a closed lift. If you see a closed sign, do not cross a closed sign.”

The Sunrise lift is now officially open for the season, and the Outback chairlift also opened for the season this week.

Aside from knowing which lifts are operating, snowriders need to be cautious of branches and rocks that can poke through the newly fallen snow. Even with 78 inches of snowfall in the past week, and a snow depth of 68 inches, these can still be a hazard.

Two or three times last Thursday I ventured off-piste near trees and struck some hidden obstruction, launching me off my board.

As the snow gets deeper, Lomax says, more and more snowriders will venture farther off the groomed runs.

“You’ve just got to constantly keep in mind where you’re at on the snowpack, and kind of where we’re at in the season,” Lomax said.

Near the Red chair last Thursday, the snow was at least a foot deep, and fresh tracks were available for most of the day. It was “free refills” kind of conditions, as the heavy snowfall filled in tracks throughout the day. The tops of some small trees still popped out of the snow here and there, and avoiding them was crucial to remain upright.

Those same trees might be covered now after all the continuing snowfall in recent days, so skiers and snowboarders should be mindful of such hidden obstacles under the snow.

In deep snow conditions, snowriders should also seek out terrain steep enough to maintain their momentum down the mountain and not get mired in a flat stretch of heavy powder. The runs off Pine Marten and Outback chairlifts offer some of the steepest terrain currently open at Bachelor.

Tree wells — areas of loose, unconsolidated snow around the base of a tree — are another safety concern for skiers and snowboarders as the snow base continues to rise. A snow-immersion suffocation accident can occur when a skier falls into such an area headfirst.

“We probably have enough snow now that tree wells are something people should think about as we get into these bigger snowfalls,” Lomax said. “The research shows that it happens so quick and it’s so hard to get out if you’re a victim that really the only safe way to (ski off-piste) is to travel with visual contact with your partner (so the partner can rescue the victim). And that’s not the way a lot of people ski.”

The recent stretch of heavy snowfall has set up the snow base at Bachelor nicely. According to Lomax, more snowfall and a window of clear weather are required for ski patrol to open the Summit chairlift.

“We need to get up and assess the mountain and see what the coverage is,” Lomax said. “It really varies. But typically (Summit opens in) mid- to-late December. And that all depends on the weather.”

Other ski areas in Central Oregon are also reaping the benefits of the recent snowstorms in the Cascades. Hoodoo Ski Area near Sisters reported a base of 35 inches Tuesday and plans to open on Friday, with night skiing beginning Monday. Willamette Pass ski area, southwest of Bend off state Highway 58, reported a 40-inch base Tuesday, and also plans to open Friday.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com