Some late snow just in time for C.O. spring break
After a tough winter season, they’re expecting some fresh snow right on time for spring break on Mt Bachelor. But it might be too little, too late for some winter sport businesses in Bend.
It has been an unusually warm and dry winter, but right in time for spring break, snow is in the air for Mt. Bachelor.
“We’re feeling pretty good,” Drew Jackson, marketing and communications director for Mt. Bachelor, said Friday. ” It’s been a tough snow season throughout the Pacific Northwest. Mt. Bachelor has been way better off than most places. We still got snow on the ground, and it looks like there’s more snow coming.”
Despite the lackluster winter, Mt. Bachelor officials said their visitor numbers have been steady.
“Our visits this season have been pretty strong, especially from places a little further away. Which is to be expected, with the snow situation such as it is,” Jackson said.
While the mountain is gearing up for more visitors and more snow, ski and snowboard businesses in Bend are struggling.
“Our rental business is down, our sales are down and overall it’s just been really hard for the industry in the Pacific Northwest,” said Jeremy Nelson, owner at Skjersaa’s in Bend.
The fact that last winter was slow as well only makes matters worse — and for many businesses, winter is their main season.
“November, December, January accounts to roughly 65 percent of my annual revenue,” Nelson said.
For some businesses, two bad seasons in a row were just too much.
“Last year was a super-tough year,” said Kevin Porterfield, store manager at Side Effect. “It didn’t start snowing again until February, and by then everything is really on sale.”
After 15 years in Bend, Side Effect is calling it quits.
“We’ve had great local riders who are on the world stage these days, and they grew up in this store. So yeah, it’s going to be tough,” Porterfield said.
Those in the industry who survived this winter are hoping for a better one next year.
“Pray for snow next year,” Nelson said. “Lots of it.”
