Flip side: Mt. Bachelor opens for summer

It’s Mt. Bachelor in a whole new light. The mountain is officially open for the summer season, and there are just as many activities to do now as there are during the winter.

After a short break the chairlift, gears are turning once again, ready to take summer adventurers up the mountain.

“The ride was nice and smooth,” Christine Gaudet, a tourist from Vancouver, Wash., said Friday. “It was great.”

The lift takes visitors to the mid-mountain Pine Marten Lodge, where there is a full disc golf course, and horse shoe pits.

Ranger talks are offered on the patio of Pine Marten twice a day, to give visitors the history and geology of Mt. Bachelor.

“The anemones are blooming. we also saw some Newberry’s knotweed,” said Karen Gentry, education coordinator for Discover Your Forest. “The mountains are just becoming alive right now with some of the wildflowers that are blooming.”

The snow-covered ski runs give way to ancient lava flows this time of year, and allow for great hiking.

‘We’ve done hiking different places, and then today we hiked up the mountain, and then we’re going to take the chairlift back down,” said Jed Watters, a tourist from Wisconsin.

Even the chairlift ride is worth the trip up to Mt. Bachelor, as it allows you to see beautiful scenic views.

“I don’t know how to ski, so it’s a much better pace for me. It’s just nice to be able to see the scenery,” said Katie Watters, another tourist from Wisconsin.

Even Central Oregonians used to the picturesque views agree.

“It definitely is,” said Bend resident Susan Warner.

“It’s a great view,” said Richard Warner of Bend. “What’s really nice about coming up here is we can look out at areas we hike at and see the detailed views from here.”

But one of the most beautiful times to take in the landscape is in the evening, for sunset dinners.

“It’s the best view in Oregon — also the highest elevation restaurant. We’re at 7,800 feet,” said Mt. Bachelor’s new head chef, Jon Calvin.

With a new menu, the restaurant now offers a number of local menu items.It’s all an effort by Calvin to make the selections something special.

“My whole goal was to kind of get away from using all of the pre-processed (foods) that are easy to just buy reheat and sell in the cafeterias,” Calvin said. “And upgrade everything to more of a local hand-crafted kind of vision that I have.”

The ski lift opens daily at 11 AM. The last chair leaves Pine Marten at 4 PM Monday through Thursday, and 8 PM Friday through Sunday.

For ticket prices, and hours for the restaurant and sunset dinners, visit Mt. Bachelor’s website at http://www.mtbachelor.com/summer/index.html