Spring Ski Review Trip – Mt Bachelor

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We’re pretty giddy.

This Friday, we head back to Mt Bachelor for a week of ski reviewing.

And we’re rolling with a pretty heavy-hitting lineup of new skis.

And as I’m typing this, Bachelor is in the process of picking up more snow — nearly two feet in the past seven days, and more snow in the forecast. Winter isn’t over.

(We were last in Bachelor this past December, and now it’s late April … and it’s still snowing. Bless you, Bachelor.)

Mt Bachelor Spring trip Blister Gear Review
Andrew Forward at Mt Bachelor, OR. (photo by Cy Whitling)

We’ve talked about it before, but one of the things we love about Bachelor (aside from all the snow) is just how playful of a mountain it is: rolling terrain, tons of little features to hit each lap, and lots of good tree skiing.

So given that, we decided to bring a number of skis that will play to those characteristics of the mountain, including:

Then again, Bachelor isn’t merely playful terrain and tree skiing, it also has some very good, very long groomers, and a lot of wide-open terrain (especially off the summit) where you have the freedom to go mach looney and to make as few turns as you want. So to take advantage of that, we’re also bringing some skis that are on the ‘less playful’ / ‘more nuclear’ end of the spectrum:

Of course, what’s really going to happen here is that we’ll end up subjecting all of these skis to everything Bachelor has to offer, and we’ll report back with how playful / stable / forgiving / demanding / exciting / boring / confusing / terrifying / surprising / awesome all of these skis are.

Mt Bachelor Spring trip Blister Gear Review
Jonathan Ellsworth at Mt Bachelor. (photo by Cy Whitling)

It’s going to be fun, and testing at Bachelor starts this Saturday through next week.

And you should join us!

So send us a message, or meet us this Saturday at 11 am at the Pine Marten Express Chair to make some turns, or grab a drink with us at 4 pm Saturday and Sunday at the Clearing Rock Bar in West Village Lodge.

Winter isn’t over.

5 comments on “Spring Ski Review Trip – Mt Bachelor”

  1. I’d love to see some reviews of carving / frontside or groomers skis.
    I found a new found love for these types of skis due to having bumped up Shitty knees and been forced to ski groomers. Too much chatter underfoot led to serious knee pain. I love skiing and now I’m a father over 40 it’s something I want to do the end.
    For yrs I’d been skiing nothing narrower than 90mm underfoot. A demo day in NZ two years ago, I tried some detuned race skis, non fis etc. My god the stability and speed that I experienced on these incredibly well built skis, had me rethinking what I was skiing on and where I skied.
    Thanks (2 sheets of titanal )

    • Ha, totally. This year at Alta on a hadpack groomer day I traded skis with my east coast instructor brother in law. He took my Armada ARV’s and I clicked into a pair of 173 Elan Amphibio’s. I had a total f’in blast. Caught me by surprise. They were stable and so much fun on the bumps. … Can’t wait for all these reviews to land!

      • Sam and Charles, if you love powder but also ski when there is no pow to be found, you should strap on a pair of FIS, full race slalom skis. The last four years I’ve been buying used (but next to new) slalom race skis in the early fall when the racer crowds are upgrading, (make sure the edges aren’t done).

        They make skiing hard pack or groomers super fun….makes you a better skier too. Edge hold and responsiveness are pretty amazing, sure they are a bit tricky but that makes it even more fun to ski. Just thought I’d add the used race ski as a viable option to consider if looking for a front side oriented ski…

        Steve from the still snowy north.

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