Mt. Bachelor’s damaged Skyliner lift officially out of commission for rest of season
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Mt. Bachelor will be without one of its base area lifts through the end of the season.
Resort President General Manager John McLeod announced in an update posted on the mountain's conditions page Tuesday the Skyliner Chairlift, out of operation since late December, will remain out of action through the end of the winter season.
McLeod said the mountain had "exhausted every avenue" for completely replacing the lift's bullwheel assembly to get the lift running again this season.
He added that work would begin at the conclusion of the '21-22 season to repair Skyliner, and they have "plenty of time" to get it operational in time for the '22-23 season.
You can read McLeod's full update below:
When we discovered in mid-January that the damage to Skyliner went beyond the bull wheel bearings, it was determined that the only way to restore it to operational status this season would be to locate a complete bull wheel assembly to swap out our existing one. Sadly, we have exhausted every avenue for that option and have to face the reality that Skyliner will not return to service during winter 2021-22.
Clearly, this is a blow to all of us, Skyliner serving the terrain that it does, being home to the MBSEF programs, as a connector between East and West terrain, and just being a locals favorite with the easy parking lot to lift access. I want to acknowledge the efforts and creativity of our Mountain Operations and Base Operations teams and many others, who are re-imagining our Woodward terrain park locations, running a daily shuttle for guests parking or skiing the Skyliner terrain, and many other adaptations necessitated by this unpredictable event. This is truly a case of making lemonade out of lemons, and the team is doing a great job.
That brings us to next season. We explored every alternative to ensure we would be back in business in the Skyliner area for winter 2022-23. The only option that will guarantee operations for next season is removing and repairing our current bull wheel and other damaged components. Our plan is to commence this work with Doppelmayr as soon as our current season has concluded. This approach still gives us plenty of time to remove the damaged components, complete the repairs, re-install, test, and inspect everything in time for next season. We will continue to keep our mountain community updated as repairs progress. Meanwhile, winter 2021-22 has plenty left to offer; we have fresh snow today and hopefully plenty more powder days before we get to enjoy the spring bluebird days ahead!
