Super Bowl Sunday was the perfect day to avoid Mt. Bachelor’s usual crowds. And with Mt. Bachelor’s official app downloaded on my smartphone, I had the luxury of avoiding lift lines all day long.

According to the app, there was a 5- to 10-minute wait for the Pine Marten chairlift, so I chose to spend my time on the Red and Outback chairlifts instead. A nondetachable chairlift, Red Chair extends only partway up the mountain, offering a leisurely ride up, a quick ski back down the mountain and the reward of no lift lines at the bottom.

West Boundary, the blue trail just below the Red Chair, was the perfect place to start the day. Halfway down, it connected with Leeway, a green run with a smooth, undulating rhythm back down to the base of the mountain.

Super Bowl Sunday also happened to be the same day as VertFest, a backcountry festival, which had drawn a crowd of backcountry enthusiasts. The festival included demos, clinics, vendors and the main event, an uphill race. I watched as the racers gathered next to a row of outdoor tents near the base of Red Chair. On one of my laps down West Boundary, a stream of VertFest participants plodded uphill, some wearing onesies and tutus, others in more traditional racing gear. And like the sighting of a rare bird, by my next run they had already disappeared farther up the mountain.

As I sat on slow-moving Red Chair, I noticed how the snow on the ungroomed black runs glistened in the sunlight, indicating that the snow was icy and hard-packed. From that point on, I resolved to stay on the groomed runs.

On the Outback chairlift, I discovered Kangaroo, a long, wide-open, satisfying run that left me with a smile on my face and burning quadriceps. And at the bottom of the run there was a tempting “backcountry pub” by 10 Barrel Brewing with outdoor fire pits, chairs to lounge on and a small hut with a bartender.

Without parking reservation requirements and mask mandates being strictly enforced in lift lines, my first day at Mt. Bachelor this season felt like a taste of normalcy. Masks were required only indoors, and I was able to enjoy lunch inside Pine Marten Lodge, part of which had been closed last year.

After making the regrettable mistake of overdressing at Hoodoo in February, I was perfectly comfortable on a bluebird day with a high of 47 degrees. Slowly but surely, I felt my ski legs coming back. I’ll be anxiously awaiting using the final three days on my four-day pass at Mt. Bachelor.

Mt. Bachelor ski area

Location: 13000 SW Century Drive, Bend

Contact: 541-382-1709

Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Single day, all mountain lift tickets are $65. Multi-day lift tickets, valid for two or three consecutive days of skiing, start at $183. A “learning progression lift ticket,” ideal for beginners with access to the Little Pine and Alpenglow chairlifts, costs $44. 

For more information, visit mtbachelor.com.