Can a community group turn the tide against corporate ownership? One group of locals in Oregon is determined to buy back their beloved mountain.
A few weeks ago, Powdr Corp announced they would sell three of their resorts. This news came on the heels of the sale of Killington Ski Resort in Vermont. Among the three resorts for sale is Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon. Determined to restore local control, Mt. Bachelor Community Inc. (MBCI), a community group based in Bend, is throwing its name in the hat to purchase the mountain.
And from how things are shaping up, they may have a shot.
A Bachelor backstory: from local ski hill to the best bike park in Oregon
Long before the resort existed, locals braved the deep snow, trudging their way up to ski down years before Bill Healy “opened” Mt. Bachelor in 1958. When it did open, one poma lift and two tow ropes pulled skiers up several hundred feet. Installed four years later, the first chair lift took skiers to nearly 8,000 feet.
While Mt. Bachelor had its ups and downs, the resort steadily grew. Today, Mt. Bachelor has over 4,300 acres of skiable terrain, dropping 3,300 feet, with 101 runs accessed by 12 chair lifts. In 2013, Mt. Bachelor added mountain biking and now has 25 trails covering 13 miles.
Bachelor Bike Park was a needed addition to the hundreds of miles of singletrack already in the Bend area. Existing local trails were geared towards XC riding, so Mt. Bachelor’s elevation was an exciting prospect for riders seeking gravity trails.
And gravity they got. Over the years, Mt. Bachelor has built some of the best flow and technical trails in the state, challenging locals and pros alike. Mt. Bachelor has roughly 1,500 feet of descending, with 20 trails ranked intermediate or above to choose from. Six are black, while Mt. Bachelor’s only double-black, RockFall, turns up the tech — steep, chunky, and loose before it drops into the trees and remains steep, chunky, and loose. While having something for everyone, the mountain is geared more toward advanced riders than Oregon’s other lift-accessed bike park, Timberline.
Perhaps most notable is Mt. Bachelor’s Redline, a black diamond jump trail snaking a mile and a half down the mountain. Redline was built by professional rider and trail builder Kyle Jameson and sees riders like Carson Storch and Cam McCaul regularly throughout the summer.
Despite typical ups and downs, Mt. Bachelor became North America’s seventh-largest resort. In 2001, Powdr Corp bought the majority shares of Mt. Bachelor, much to the dismay of many locals.
As a result, locals established community forums and social media groups. These groups’ purpose was sharing snow conditions, griping, and dreaming about having Mt. Bachelor back.
It looks like social media might pay off.
Mt. Bachelor Community Inc.
News spread quickly of Powdr’s decision to sell Mt. Bachelor. Shortly after the announcement, the news went to a private “Mt. Bachelor Conditions” Facebook group. The conversation soon turned to buying the mountain.
“Once we saw the mountain came up for sale, a couple of us had posted on there,” Dan Cochrane told Singletracks. “People were goofing around, saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got $20 and a snowboard I could sell to jump on board.’”
Cochrane is the Co-Chair of MBCI, which formed shortly after Powdr announced its intent to sell. Cochrane has lived in Bend since the early 90s, working in real estate for nearly two decades. He is also a member of that Mt. Bachelor Conditions group.
In this group, Cochrane came across Chris Porter, another local, commenting about buying Mt. Bachelor. However, Porter’s comments were more serious, enough so that Cochrane reached out to Porter. The two hit it off; a shared vision for community ownership of the mountain at the center of their new friendship.
MBCI was born, with the group announcing their intent to buy Mt. Bachelor on local news roughly a week after their formation. After that story ran, the emails came pouring in.
“The next day, we had over 1,000 emails from people that were interested,” Cochrane told us. “[That has] now turned into a couple thousand emails.”
Many emails were thanking MBCI or sharing in their excitement. But other emails were different. Email after email came in from various individuals, groups, and businesses, saying they’d be willing to invest.
And not just small amounts. Cochrane told us that within the first 24 hours, accredited investors were interested in $250,000 and $500,000 options. Another “potential soft investor,” as Cochrane called them, was having discussions in the $5-$10 million range.
Money is essential; this group will need it to put together a proposal to purchase the mountain. However, the overwhelming community response has had the most significant impact.
“This speaks to the excitement that people were just ready to go,” Cochrane said. “Tons of businesses, locally and beyond, offering to help however they could. We’ve got the support of the Mayor, and, yeah… it’s just been overwhelming.”
While the purchase price or what MBCI is trying to raise isn’t public information, Cochrane did share that Mt. Bachelor’s impact is enormous for Bend. He estimated a $175-$200 million annual impact on the community, with Mt. Bachelor itself pulling in approximately $20 million.
MBCI hopes to bring the $20 million the mountain earns back to Central Oregon.
How MBCI plans to purchase an internationally-renowned ski resort.
Along with emails pledging a financial investment, MBCI received emails offering services. To buy Mt. Bachelor, the first step was sifting through those emails and assembling a team — accountants, attorneys, marketing, etc. Initially, many of these services were pro bono.
MBCI started a GoFundMe to kickstart the campaign. They reached the $35,000 goal in a few days. This funding allowed MBCI to begin hiring different firms to help guide them toward the next steps in the process.
And that process is moving fast.
“We continue to meet with members of the community and beyond and follow up with potential investors that we’ve received emails from,” Cochrane explained. “We also have a general sense of the price, so we’re able to fundraise […] in that range.”
The MBCI team will then set up pitch decks and proposals to take back to investors. This will all take place before October is over, as they know other parties are interested in Mt. Bachelor.
“Time is of the essence,” Cochrane shared. “We’re doing everything as quickly as we can, but it also has to be done correctly.” If their investors approve, MBCI hopes to complete everything, with an offer submitted in 60 days.
Who would “own” Mt. Bachelor?
If everything goes according to plan, MBCI will file as a Certified B Corporation. Once established, a board of directors will replace most individuals currently in the core group.
“The way we’re setting it up is we’re seeking like-minded individuals who want to see this legacy opportunity take place for the Bachelor community,” Cochrane told us. “We’re also setting it up in a way that won’t allow a conglomerate to come in and take it over.”
Cochrane and MBCI want to return their “local gem” to their community.
“This is a legacy opportunity, not just for Bend, but the state of Oregon and beyond,” Cochrane said. “It’s people that want the nostalgia of the old ski hill.”
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