Chase Ebersold, 10, of Bend floats off a jump while snowboarding near Red Chair at Mt. Bachelor Nov. 11 Bulletin file photo

After eight months of speculation about who the new owners of Mt. Bachelor ski area could be — including a robust effort to keep the Central Oregon ski area in local ownership — the company that owns Mt. Bachelor has decided not to sell, according to an announcement from Powdr Corp. Friday morning.

Citing numerous factors involved, Powdr will retain ownership indefinitely, according to a statement by Stacey Hutchinson, company vice president of communications and government affairs.

“We’re excited to continue our stewardship of the resort and serve the Central Oregon community with truly one-of-a-kind skiing,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said the company would finalize its advanced wood energy facility, offer a new kids ski free program and various adult passes.

“This is positive news for Mt. Bachelor and we’re looking forward to our continued journey with Powdr at the helm,” said John Merriman, Mt. Bachelor general manager and president. “I want to extend a thank you to the amazing team at Mt. Bachelor for their patience, positive attitude, and commitment to making this one of the best seasons yet.”

The company announced in August that it wanted to sell Mt. Bachelor ski area and Sun Country Tours and two other properties as a way to focus on new ventures in the national parks sector. Shortly after that announcement, a group of community-minded folks came together and made a pitch to Powdr to purchase the ski area. But Mt. Bachelor Community Inc. was unable to make a bid due to time constraints.

One of the founders of the group, Chris Porter, said they thought that this might happen.

“We felt we had enough capital pledged to purchase Mt. Bachelor, but the company was still silent,” Porter said. “ We had a big investor with $75 million and we met every requirement they threw at us, and still we were told the bidding process was closed.
“If they’re serious about selling, we’re serious about buying.”

Mt. Bachelor is a big draw for skiers in the winter, said Jef Knapp, Visit Bend CEO.

“We, like a lot of people who love the mountain, are relieved that this huge question that’s been weighing on everyone’s mind has an answer,” Knapp said. “Bachelor plays such a big role in what makes Bend awesome and unique and the people who come here to ski or snowboard or hike and mountain bike contribute significantly to our economy in ways that do benefit everyone. I think it’s fair to say we’re all very much looking forward to what happens next.

The Utah-based Powdr Corp. has owned Mt. Bachelor since 2001. In August, the company also decided to sell Eldora ski resort in Colorado and SilverStar in British Columbia. The three ski areas were listed with JP Morgan Chase.
Hutchinson said the company still wants to sell the other two areas.

Now that Mt. Bachelor is not for sale, the community group says it will not give up its efforts to purchase the mountain. Dan Cochrane, another Mt. Bachelor Community Inc. founder, said the group will double-down and use the time to finish its package. Any unspent donations will remain set aside with the plan to create a partnership with Powdr to maintain its mission of ensuring the ski area is accessible to everyone, Porter said.

“We’re gonna continue doing what we have been doing the whole time,” Cochrane said.. “We had another group reach out to us that has a significant capital investment potential that we’ll meet with soon.

“Our effort remains the same, we want to seize the opportunity that will allow us to push forward in our original mission.”