Jan 12 - BC Suggestions Santiam Pass/Bend, OR

Heading to Bend, OR this thursday for a friend's wedding and <br>(hopefully) some of central Oregon's finest BC! I'm<br>heading down via Eugene, then heading to Bend on<br>Hwy126. I was wondering where to find good touring on the drive to Bend(Tombstone Summit,Hoodoo Ski Bowl,Santiam <br>Pass, Bend Area?). Probably only will have 2 days for touring.<br>Any suggestions = muchas gracias.<br>

There's lots of good touring possibilities in this area. It will kind of depend upon the weather this weekend. If there's any breaks in the weather (which probably won't happen) I'd suggest Broken Top near Mt. Bachelor. It has fairly good access, although you will have to ski/skin in a few miles to get to the base. You can actually park in the nordic center at Bachelor to start out. Other areas around Mt. Bachelor are open to snowmobiling, so you may have to compete with them. Only problem w/Broken Top is potential avalache and low visibility above timberline. If you're looking for lift skiing, Mt. Bachelor will be at it's finest this weekend as lots of powder is forcasted.<br><br>There are a few areas off of Tombstone Pass that offer good skiing, but are weather dependent because they are at lower elevation (Thursday may be good, but Friday not). Iron Mountain/Cone Peak area offer some good turns not too far from the road.

Thanks alot.

Easy quick tour and excellent tree skiing right across from Batchelor. Topalo Mt (did I get that right?)<br>snowmobiles not allowed on the NE side. Sno park at the base.

actually its Tumalo <br><br>and yes, thats a good easy tour to do right near Bend.<br><br>If you opt to drive over Willamette Pass to get to Bend instead of Santiam theres some good tours right there at the pass. Maiden Peak in particular is a fun one to do just north of the Will.Pass ski area.<br><br>