How long does it take to get Northwest running after a big storm? Mt. Bachelor President and GM John Merriman answered that in an October 2026 interview with the Storm Skiing Journal. "Sometimes it takes us, you know, a full day to recover from a storm over there," he said, "just because of all the ice you gotta get off the lift, and you gotta dig it out."
Most of this year's Northwest project is aimed at that lost day. When the mountain opens for 2026/27, the chairs, towers and haul rope on Northwest Express will look the same. The motor, drive, backup power, controls, wiring and storm-recovery setup behind them have been replaced, and almost every one of those changes targets the stretch right after a storm. In the same interview, Merriman called Northwest "our most popular lift, especially on powder days."
A wildlife calendar decided the scope
Northwest Express and 10 new runs opened in the 1996-97 season, according to Mt. Bachelor's history page. Merriman described its terrain as advanced, "bowls into tree skiing," with decent pitch, on one of the longest lifts around. He also said the lift had become unreliable. The motor had lost power over time, and on some days the lift couldn't run at full capacity because of power draw. He said that when the old lift was fully loaded on big days, it could cause power blips elsewhere at the resort.
The usual fix for an aging detachable is a new lift. Merriman explained why that wasn't an option here. Northwest runs through spotted owl habitat, and under the Forest Service's general rule there is no work in that area after October 1. "Trying to install a lift from October 1st to the time we open is not going to happen," he said. He added that the restriction can be eased, but approval usually takes years.
So the resort and Doppelmayr went with what Merriman called a modernization: keep the towers, chairs and rope, and replace the guts. The new drive components match those on the Skyliner Express. Skyliner, a six-pack that replaced a 1989 quad, opened December 19, 2023, KTVZ reported.
The cost gap is large. Merriman estimated a new six-pack on the Northwest line at "15 plus million" and put a modernization at roughly a third to half of that. The work was done in two phases. Power to the lift was upgraded last season, and the lift itself was rebuilt this summer and fall.
What stayed and what changed
The Bend Bulletin and Mt. Bachelor's own project updates list the parts of the lift on each side.
| Kept from the 1996 lift | New for 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Towers | Electric motor and drive |
| Terminals | Diesel backup motor and fuel tank |
| Chairs | Drive and controls cabinets |
| Haul rope | Communication and fiber lines, mostly buried |
| Upgraded power and a new bottom transformer | |
| Two-story operator and patrol dispatch shack at the top | |
| Semi-enclosed chair storage at the bottom | |
| Maintenance garage at the bottom terminal |
The Bend Bulletin reported about 5,000 feet of new communication and fiber line in May. In mid-September, KTVZ covered the work as still in progress. Mt. Bachelor's September update described the goal as "a more reliable, efficient and storm-ready Northwest chairlift for the 26/27 season."
How the changes shorten storm recovery
Several items in that right-hand column address the same problem.
Wiring underground. In past winters, Northwest's communication and fiber lines hung above the treeline and took on heavy rime ice, according to the resort's project blog. Ice put tension on the cables and sometimes pulled them loose from their connection points. That triggered faults, and crews had to stop the lift and track down the problem. The new lines are buried from the top terminal down to Tower 15 and run overhead from there to the bottom. The September update says the maintenance team expects fewer interruptions from ice buildup.
Chairs stored under cover during storms. The new semi-enclosed chair storage at the bottom terminal is meant to cut down on storm recovery and snow removal. The resort says it will speed up opening after major weather events. Northwest has roughly 176 chairs, and Merriman agreed when the interviewer cited that figure.
Night drive. With the chairs stored, crews can run the empty rope slowly through a storm cycle. Merriman put the speed at about half a meter per second and said the Summit lift already works this way. Keeping the rope moving limits ice buildup, so the lift is far easier to start once the storm passes.
Power that holds up on busy days. Merriman said the power issues should be resolved for this season. "We shouldn't notice any issue with Northwest," he said. He said the new motor is more efficient and more powerful and should allow higher speeds on clear days.
Crews will still dig the lift out after storms. Merriman said that "ideally, we have a lot less ice clearing that we have to do, and we get it open for people on powder days a lot earlier."
Wind still sets the limits
The upgrade addresses ice and storm recovery. It does nothing about where the lift sits. Dustin Smith, Mt. Bachelor's operations manager, told Central Oregon Daily that Northwest's orientation exposes it to brutal winds and that it is one of the first lifts closed, along with Summit, when wind requires it. Merriman said the same. The resort is "constantly having to lower the speed due to wind," he said, and "those kind of things that will always exist."
Expect the upgrade to show up on the calm mornings after a storm. Those are the days when ice and buried equipment used to be what kept Northwest closed. On windy days, the lift is likely to sit on hold the same way it always has.
The lead-up to December 4
Mt. Bachelor is targeting a December 4 opening, conditions permitting, KTVZ reported in September, about three weeks after this post goes up. The resort's Mountain Report lists the same date for the whole mountain. The base area picked up 2 to 3 inches of snow overnight in late October, according to KTVZ.
The logistics around the mountain work the same way as last year:
- Driving. In winter, Century Drive ends at West Village and the Cascade Lakes Highway is closed past that point, per Mt. Bachelor's driving page.
- Parking. General parking at West Village, Sunrise and Skyliner is free and first-come, first-served. A limited number of paid, reservable spaces sit near the lifts at West Village and Sunrise, according to the resort's parking page.
- Bus from town. Cascades East Transit's winter Mt. Bachelor route connects Hawthorne Station and the Mt. Bachelor Park & Ride near the Pavilion with West Village Lodge and Sunrise Lodge. CET's fare table lists the Mt. Bachelor fare at $7 one-way or $12 round trip.
- On the mountain. The free Interlodge Shuttle loops between West Village and Sunrise and stops at Skyliner about once an hour. The posted schedule runs 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on weekdays and 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
After the first big storm of the season, Northwest's status on the Mountain Report the next calm morning will show how much of that recovery day the new equipment saves.
If your winter routine runs on Century Drive and you're thinking about a home closer to the mountain, Kenzie Carlstrom can help you weigh your options with local market knowledge. Start with a free home valuation of your current Bend home.
