The Mt. Bachelor ski area sign on Century Drive, seen here in October 2021.

Skiers and snowboarders will have to wait a little longer to get back on the slopes this season, as officials at Mt. Bachelor ski area announced plans last week to push the ski area’s opening day back to Dec. 3.

The resort was originally scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 26, but the Central Cascades have yet to see the snowfall needed to operate, according to Leigh Capozzi, a Mt. Bachelor spokesperson.

“Due to the recent warm temperatures and low snowfall, that’s the reason for pushing opening day,” Capozzi told The Bulletin on Monday. “We simply don’t have have the snow we need to operate.”

Mt. Bachelor doesn’t have the same snowmaking capabilities as some resorts on the East Coast, meaning it relies on natural and manmade snow to cover the slopes, according to Capozzi.

“Mother nature needs to cooperate with us in this equation to getting open for the season,” Capozzi said. “Early season we hope to get frequent snowy storms with a higher moisture content.”

Snow accumulation could be a challenge in the coming days, with snow elevations rising over the weekend, according to Jim Smith, a program leader with the National Weather Service in Pendleton.

“We’re not looking at any major snow events over the next couple of weeks at this time,” Smith said.

Still, snowfall from a predicted La Niña winter could make up for the slow start, according to Ed Townsend, the agency’s science and operations officer for the region.

“Usually, with a La Niña, we typically associate that with wetter and colder,” Townsend said, cautioning that “no two La Niñas are alike.”

According to Capozzi, officials at Mt. Bachelor are “optimistic but realistic” about forecasted snow between now and the Dec. 3 target, with staff gearing up to begin operating that day but prepared to push opening day further into the winter if conditions require. Condition updates are available on the resort’s website at www.mtbachelor.com.

A later start doesn’t always mean a lousy season. Capozzi pointed to the winter of 2008 and 2009, when the resort’s Dec. 14 opening, the latest opening in the past 15 years, led to 538 inches of snowfall throughout the La Niña winter.

“That ended up being an epic winter,” Capozzi said.