UPDATED Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
Mt. Bachelor would like to thank you for your patience and understanding during our recent storm-related complications. This has been one of the most severe winter storms to strike Mt. Bachelor in decades. More than 8 feet of snow fell during a six day period between Monday, January 16th, and Saturday, January 21st. During the 24-hour period between 6:00am Wednesday, January 18th and 6:00am Thursday, January 19th, 35 inches of new snow fell - a record 24-hour snowfall total for Mt. Bachelor. The heavy, dense snow has also been accompanied by strong wind gusts in excess of 80 mph every day.
Snow Removal
The sheer volume of dense snow that fell during such a short time period overwhelmed our snow removal operations. Several of our blowers broke while attempting to keep up with the snow removal efforts. We reached out to ODOT for assistance, and they arrived with a massive snow blower - only to have it break down shortly after its arrival. In recent days, we've made progress clearing snow and enlarging the parking lots thanks to further assistance from ODOT, our repair teams who worked tirelessly to fix the broken equipment, and the five blowers now working 24/7 to continue clearing the lots.
Power Issues
The power disruptions we've experienced are also a result of the storm. Heavy, dense snow and high wind gusts have been knocking trees branches down onto the power line that delivers electricity to Mt. Bachelor. While the lines are underground within the Mt. Bachelor permit area, the lines move above ground two miles away and remain above ground in the Deschutes National Forest for dozens of miles. The problems have been occurring in this above-ground stretch. Again, trees heavily-weighted with snow and high winds have been the culprit for the disruptions. A frequent question is... why can't we bury the line? First, it's not our forest. A major project like that would require several agencies to understand (and agree with) the merits of the idea. And second, burying the line would introduce additional issues (such as water seeping into any cracks that develop - which would be a MUCH more difficult problem to diagnose and fix). What we can do is cut down some branches that are growing too close the the line. And we will do that.
Back at Mt. Bachelor, we have a generator system designed to keep the mountain operating when electrical power is lost. This generator system keeps the base area & facilities functioning during outages. Our lifts also have diesel motors to provide backup power. The Doppelmayr-manufactured high-speed quads have two backup motors, while the older Yan-manufactured triple chairs (Red, Rainbow & Carrousel) only have one backup motor. We cannot legally load people onto a chairlift without a functioning backup power system, so when we lose electricity, we cannot open Red, Rainbow or Carrousel because there is no backup to their backup systems. The quad lifts have a secondary backup, so we can keep them open during outages. A further complicating factor is the wind - the diesel backup motors aren't as powerful as the primary electrical motors, so if there is a full-load of guests on a lift and it's running into a strong headwind, the diesel motors can become overworked and too hot. This is what happened to both Pine Marten and Skyliner lifts at separate times on Friday, January 20th.
We've been cooperating with Mid State Electric, our power provider, to assist them in resolving the power issues. Our Ski Patrol and Groomers have taken trips down the power line, far beyond Mt. Bachelor's ski area boundary, to see if they can help find the problem spot. As stated above, in most cases, the power issues have been caused by tree branches falling on (or touching) the line.
Extreme Weather
Throughout all of this, we continue to get blasted by extreme weather. Wind gusts on, Sunday January 22nd, exceeded 100 mph at the top of Pine Marten lift. That's why it was on Wind Hold. The day prior, Saturday, wind gusts were nearly as extreme - but from a slightly different direction. A better direction for Pine Marten, but a worse direction for Skyliner (which was why it was closed Saturday).
Looking Ahead
We are continuing with our Storm Recovery efforts. But issues keep popping up (such as the power outages) that prevent us from directing our full attention to Storm Recovery. We were able to make a little progress on the west (Outback/Northwest) side of the mountain Sunday. But we'll need some additional weather cooperation in order to finish the necessary Storm Recovery and avalanche control work, and it looks like we'll get that opportunity Monday, January 23rd. So while a Monday opening of Northwest or Outback lift is possible, it seems unlikely at this point. Summit will be closed until we get a prolonged break from the stormy weather.
Again, we appreciate your patience and understanding during this period of severe weather. The challenges we've faced and the frustrations you've experienced are far from ideal. For all of the above-mentioned reasons, and then some, we haven't been able to provide the level of service we strive to provide each day. But we continue to work around the clock and make progress towards returning to "normal" winter operations. We'll get there... but it may take a few more days. And we're looking forward to the best snow conditions we've had all season. No more rocks, and no more skimply snow coverage. Deep snow is here... and it's here to stay through May!
Looking Back
Take a look below at what 100" in 6 days looks like!
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Bottom of Outback lift. Storm Recovery on the westside is a multi-day project. |
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Bottom of Northwest lift. The base terminal dig-out is but one of many projects involved in getting that lift re-opened. The ice on the haul rope is 12" thick up higher, and the towers are completely enveloped. |
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Carrousel Chair needed some serious dig-out work too! |
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These were the Lift Access gates at Sunshine Accelerator lift at West Village. We had to shovel & groom-out that area so the gates became waist-high once again. |
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Our crews worked hard shoveling out the bottom of Pine Marten lift. Not only did the top & bottom terminals need to be dug-out, but Ski Patrol had to ski the lift line to ensure that there weren't any trees toppled across the haul rope and to confirm that the rope remained properly suspended from each tower. |
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This is what happens when a vehicle is left in our parking lot during the biggest snowstorm in decades! |
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Our Snow Sports yurts at West Village needed some shoveling attention too... |
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Not the best day to dine outside on the West Village Lodge deck! |
