(Photo | Courtesy Mt. Bachelor)
Mt. Bachelor, a POWDR company, recently announced plans to add a three-stage, dual zip line, creating a thrilling new mountain experience. Accessible by chairlift and dropping nearly 1,400 vertical feet along the volcano’s slopes, Mt. Bachelor’s high-alpine zip line will be the Northwest’s highest-elevation zip adventure. Construction is underway with a grand opening anticipated in spring 2020. Once open, the resort expects to operate the zip line annually from May through October.
Designed as a multi-stage tour that allows customers to explore the unique volcanic terrain via three zip line spans, riders will fly over open bowls and off-piste terrain previously only accessible to advanced skiers and snowboarders in winter.
“This will be one of the Pacific Northwest’s most thrilling attractions, elevating adventure at Mt. Bachelor for the Bend community and our summer guests in a dramatic new way,” says John McLeod, Mt. Bachelor’s president and general manager. “The zip line adds to Mt. Bachelor’s already rich summer activity roster, which includes scenic chairlift rides, sunset dinners, downhill mountain biking, rafting with Sun Country Tours and the Woodward WreckTangle in Bend.”
The zip line experience will begin in Mt. Bachelor’s West Village base area, the resort’s summer adventure hub. Expert guides will teach important safety principles and oversee a practice session on a short zip line in the staging area.
From there, guests and their guides will enjoy a scenic 12-minute ride on the Pine Marten chairlift to halfway up the mountain and above the tree line at 7,800 feet of elevation.
Stage one of the zip line tour starts near the unloading area of the Pine Marten lift and descends toward the Skyliner lift, dropping 255 feet in elevation along its path. Riders will see Tumalo Mountain and Paulina Peak in the distance while traveling over a roller coaster-like landscape of ridges and ravines below.
Stage two, with awe-inspiring views of South Sister towering above the forest, angles back toward the Pine Marten lift while dropping an additional 263 feet.
Stage three, the final and longest stage, features the Broken Top Drop, the most-thrilling part of the experience. Spanning 3,443 feet with an 866-foot vertical plunge, riders will end their Mt. Bachelor zip line tour on one of the longest, steepest and fastest zip line spans in the Northwest.
“This needs to be on every adventure-seeker’s bucket list,” said Drew Jackson, Mt. Bachelor’s director of marketing and communications. “With its combination of adrenaline-raising drops and majestic views of the Cascade peaks, our new zip line will be an experience unlike any other.”
Mt. Bachelor’s zip line will be manufactured by ZipRider, one of the nation’s leading zip line architects. The specific ZipTour model being installed will feature a patented trolley system that allows riders to control their speed of descent and customize their ride experience based on their comfort level. All three stages will have dual spans, allowing competitive riders to race a partner to the bottom.
