January 31, Mt. Bachelor

Toph and I hit Bachelor for the day, waking up and sleeping in our own beds back in Sea town. How so? Alaska's ski for free offer with a same-day boarding pass: blog.alaskaair.com/destinations/ski-for-free/

We nabbed a sweetheart deal during an Alaska sale in December and picked a random weekday in January. We were on the slopes by 10:30 am, rode til last chair, and had time to hit two Bend breweries before the flight home.

Conditions: Snowed all day and windy as hell. Summit lift never opened. Lots of wind scour and a little bit of wind loaded soft snow. The groomers, frankly, were amazing with a light coating on top. I am not kidding when I say we rode a mid-mountain traverse that may have been the best run of the day.

Summit opened yesterday and with the impending storm, I am sure it will be game on with great conditions for Vertfest.

I have an AA pilot friend who does this with the exception that his flights are free inc companions. That's a sweet deal, only the rental car to pay for!