‘A great day on the hill’: Mt. Bachelor’s (re)opening day brings crowd of skiers, snowboarders

(Update: Mt. Bachelor update with more lifts set to open, Skyliner Express update)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Mt. Bachelor, which closed operations just a day after opening last weekend when heavy snow turned to heavy rain, reopened to sizable crowds on Friday after a new round of late-week snowfall that snow-lovers hope will keep the lifts spinning from here on.

The resort’s operations update said the base was back up to 32 inches by Friday morning, with more snow falling. But they said early-season conditions were still present, advising skiers and snowboarders to watch for marked and unmarked obstacles, stick to marked runs and stay out of closed areas.

The Little Pine and Sunrise lifts were open, with terrain park features set up on Home Run. Temperatures were in the teens, with fairly calm winds, compared to last weekend’s blizzard conditions at times before the big warmup.

Crowds could be seen on the webcam for the base of the Sunrise lift, while officials said that lift’s parking lots were full by 9:30 a.m., so visitors were advised to park at West Village or use the mountain shuttle.

Director of Marketing and Communications Lauren Burke provided an operations update Friday afternoon.

"It has been a great day on the hill," she wrote, "with fresh snow and two lifts spinning, with access to eight trails and one terrain park. We will be opening Pine Marten Express and Rainbow lifts (Saturday) for the season."

"Moving forward, our goal is to open Cloudchaser late next week if conditions allow, with Alpenglow, Early Riser and Red Chair on track to open Friday 12/15," Burke added.

"The all-new Skyliner Express 6-pack is still expected to open before Christmas, check the latest update here or our blog here," she said, adding, "We need a couple more big winter storms before Outback, Northwest and Summit can open for the season."