r/Bend • u/Visual-Scar938 • 1d ago
Powdr retaining ownership of Bachelor
Was just announced to employees thru email.
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u/skow 1d ago
I wonder if they will invest a bit into maintenance as they are no longer looking to unload it... or if they will continue to just milk it for all they can putting as little into it as possible.
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u/sundays_sun 1d ago
I doubt this means they are no longer looking to unload it. I suspect it means the buyer backed out. So now they are left holding the bag, which they failed to offload in an effort to avoid facing the reality of millions of dollars of deferred maintenance.
So, in reality, they probably now want to unload it more than ever. Not good for the mountain experience next season as we can probably expect another year with frequent equipment failures. Unless Powdr now realizes they'll never be able to sell it unless they cough up the money to replace dying equipment.
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u/Tarekith 1d ago
New Northwest lift fixes next year were already announced I thought.
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u/HyperionsDad 1d ago
Last I saw that was specifically for the power supply lines/systems, and not the lifts themselves. Not the motors, towers, bullwheel, etc
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u/WISCOrear 1d ago
Announced, and evidently it's currently waiting on decision to move forward from forest service, link
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u/Spunky_Meatballs 1d ago
I knew when this was announced that the sale fell through. Otherwise they wouldn't start scheduling large scale maintenance
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u/Forsaken_Juice1859 1d ago
I was afraid this was the case and commented about it a month ago.
When the Epic and Ikon passes went on sale without a peep, it seemed like the window had passed.
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u/developershins 1d ago
Does anyone have the full email to share?
I'm not sure what to take from this. Did the prospective buyers dig in and find that the mountain wasn't worth investing in? Did Powdr want too much money and refuse to accept a fair offer? Did John Cumming have a fever dream and decide he was just going to dump tons of money into Bachelor and then donate it back to our community?
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u/yeastysourpuss 1d ago
Remember the news about how Mt Bachelor had failing electric infrastructure? I bet that came to light during discovery and any prospective buyers wanted a discount based on that (rightfully so)
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u/Mammoth_You9687 1d ago
“Team
I am pleased to share that the sale process announced in August has concluded and POWDR will retain ownership of Mt. Bachelor indefinitely. I am personally excited to continue our journey together with POWDR at the helm.
Additionally, POWDR is committed to continued growth and improvements here at Mt. Bachelor. This summer we are working hard to make significant progress in the Advance Wood Energy Facility, and begin a large project to update the power at the resort, which will double our power capacity, and provide a back-up power line as well. There will be additional exciting improvements that we are working on, that will be announced at a later date.
As if that all isn’t exciting enough, we are also adding a new program for our pass holders called Kids Ski Free. Families are very important to us here at Mt. Bachelor and we want to make skiing and riding more accessible for them. For every adult Unlimited Full Season Pass or adult Outplay Season Pass that is purchased, a child pass for dependent children under 12 can be added free of charge.
I want to thank all of you for your professionalism and hard work through this period of uncertainty. I have been so impressed with everyone’s positive attitude and focus on making sure our guests and fellow employees are having great experiences. We have a special place here at Mt. Bachelor, the future is bright, and I am looking forward to working with all of you to make Mt. Bachelor the best ski resort in the Pacific Northwest.
We will be announcing this news to the public this morning, as a reminder, we ask that any media requests be directed to Presley Quon (pquon@mtbachelor.com) or me.
John
John Merriman President and General Manager Mt. Bachelor LLC Sun Country Tours Inc.”
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u/COforMeO 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lack of slope side lodging and plenty of deferred maintenance. The shit to shine ratio is way out of whack. It's a great mountain but they really let things go. NWX, OBX, Summit are all aging lifts and the buildings are pretty dated. It wasn't perfect under Pape management but those lifts were loading at 8am regardless of how much snow fell the night before. Powdr was a top 3 reason we left Bend.
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u/mtnmdrn 1d ago edited 1d ago
The circumstances surrounding Oregon House Bill 3140](https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB3140/Introduced) played a significant role as well. Currently, recreational Liability wavers are unenforceable in Oregon; meaning that Mt. Bachelor (in this case) is liable for injury or gross negligence and susceptible to costly lawsuits, and significant hikes in insurance costs. This poses a huge financial risk to potential investors.
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u/COforMeO 1d ago
Several interested parties showed up to kick the tires. I don't think the liability issue was everything. I'm sure it didn't help the shit to shine ratio.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/COforMeO 1d ago
Awww, come on boo. Don't get all butthurt because your everything probably wasn't everything.
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u/SpezGarblesMyGooch 1d ago
lol, wonder if the GoFundMe folks can get their money back
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u/Film-Disastrous 1d ago
Nope. One of those local grifters is still crowing about their efforts on Facebook.
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u/smicycle 1d ago
Jim Dandy (I’m naming names)
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u/Film-Disastrous 1d ago
His smugness is a main reason I support most any other option.
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u/smicycle 1d ago
I saw in a thread someone was like “didn’t they take $45k from the community and then cut them out” and his reply was (paraphrasing) “it wasn’t taken, it was contributed”.
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u/Healthy_Proof3446 1d ago
What is an adult unlimited or adult Outplay regular winter season pass? And what do those typically cost? The kids 12 and under skiing free was appealing.
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u/HighLakes 1d ago
You’d have to be insane to fork over hundreds of millions for Bachelor. It’s depressing, but the reality is global warming is going to absolutely wreck its business model. A huge percentage of its income comes from December holiday travelers and we are like 5-8 years from it not being able to even open in December anymore.
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u/pintsizedpistol 1d ago
What a roller coaster of wasted emotion.
Just kidding, had no hopes we’d actually get the goods.
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u/drumscrubby 1d ago
Write merkley who can maybe make chairlift operators accountable to the PUC, if he makes it so. (?)
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u/Emotional_Biz_69 1d ago
Maybe, just maybe they will work with that local group and make improvements to lifts the are clearly needed. I would hope the "family owned" company would want to work with the "local group".
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u/gufmo 1d ago
Wtf does this even mean? The “local group” is two random dudes serving as the mouthpiece for a handful of UHNW people that happen to own real estate in Bend. In what universe, and for what reason, would POWDR have any interest in “working with” these people?
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u/Film-Disastrous 1d ago
Agreed. I think the “local group” is a worse option than POWDR retaining ownership.
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u/Emotional_Biz_69 1d ago
that is why it is in quotes. I guess I needed to add this to the end of my comment.
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u/Necessary-Salt-2131 1d ago
For sure. Stopped being a locals initiative the minute they introduced perks for pay and outside capital investment
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u/long_man_dan 1d ago
They sold it to themselves. Nobody saw that one coming!