ABOVE: From left, Bend skiers Lindsay Quatrale, Meredith Zafian and Corinn Perry enjoy conversation and a beer sample at the bottom of the Red Chair during Mt. Bachelor ski area’s 60th anniversary celebration Wednesday.BELOW: With fresh powder waiting on the slopes above, skiers and snowboarders line up at the bottom of the Red Chair, in preparation for it to open during the celebration. Lift tickets were only $3 — just like they were 60 years ago.(Andy Tullis/Bulletin photos)

Mt. Bachelor ski area celebrated the 60th anniversary of its opening Wednesday with 1958 lift ticket prices, sparkling cider and birthday cake.

Bachelor Butte ski area opened for the first time Oct. 18, 1958, with one 3,900-foot poma lift, two rope tows and a 1,500-square-foot day lodge. The opening was marked with a formal ceremony Dec. 19.

Sixty years later, Mt. Bachelor ski area has evolved into the sixth-largest ski and snowboard area in the country by skiable terrain (4,318 acres), with 11 chairlifts and 360-degree, lift-served access off the summit of the dormant volcano.

Bend had a population of fewer than 12,000 residents when Bill Healy and four others got together to develop the ski area. Back then, a lift ticket cost $3. Now a regular-season one-day lift ticket purchased at the mountain runs $109 for adults.

On Wednesday, crowds of skiers and snowriders paid $3 to ride Bachelor’s oldest lift, the Red Chair. Ticket proceeds will go to Protect Our Winters, an organization of outdoor sports industries fighting climate change, and on-mountain sustainability initiatives.