May 22nd, 2010. Bend, Oregon. Flurries of snow can be seen from my kitchen window. The Three Sisters, Broken Top and Mt. Bachelor are invisible, heavily cloaked in swirling white clouds. The skis have been retired for the year, but the mountain is calling. The powder has been accumulating for the last 36 hours and the peace, quiet and untracked snow of some Cascade summit sounds pretty inviting.
It is almost 11 a.m. by the time we pull the skis, skins and transceivers out of summer storage, so we opt for a trip up to the Summit of Mt. Bachelor. With a couple of dogs in tow, we start to climb. Bend unfolds below us. What we know is a May afternoon feels a bit like a December dawn patrol. The lifts are quiet, the slopes are empty and Mt. Bachelor feels like our own private resort.
Only in Bend Oregon can you have your pick between mountain biking on sweet single-track, a run along the Deschutes River Trail, fly fishing on the Metolius, and powder in the Cascades, all on the same day in late May.
My relentless love affair with Bend continues.