Mt. Bachelor adds required new pass for uphill travelers this winter season

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Mt. Bachelor is adding a new requirement this year for uphill travelers on the slopes – a free “uphill pass” and armband, to make sure those who do so know and follow the rules, officials said Friday.

The resort says the free pass and armband to use designated uphill travel routes can be secured at Guest Services by those who agree to follow the policy and sign the “assumption of risk” form, as has been required for all passholders on the mountain each winter.

The three designated uphill routes will be open during the winter “as conditions permit,” the resort, and will be open “in line with our ability to effectively manage and operate all functions within the entire resort.”

The Mt. Bachelor website includes a map and description of the three designated uphill routes – the Cinder Cone Butte, open 24 hours and the Pine Marten and Summit routes, open only when the Pine Marten Express and Summit chairs are operating and conditions allow.

Lauren Burke, Mt. Bachelor's director of marketing and communications, told NewsChannel 21 Friday, "The only new element is requiring uphill travelers to get a free Uphill Pass, sign a waiver and review the uphill routes/policy (which hasn’t changed), and display their pass while accessing Mt. Bachelor’s uphill routes."

A commenter on Reddit's Bend subreddit called the new requirement "annoying but understandable," due to those who are "not following the rules and creating more liability for us and (Ski) Patrol, and putting free uphill access at risk imo (in my opinion)".

Other commenters noted that some resorts, in Colorado for example, charge for uphill access.