Local group, despite rush of attention, won’t buy Mt. Bachelor ski area

PORTLAND – A Bend, Oregon-area group that tried to wrangle investors to buy the Mt. Bachelor ski area, garnering national attention, told supporters by email on Monday that it ran out of time to submit a bid.

Mt. Bachelor Community Inc. was formed by Chris Porter of Sunriver and Dan Cochrane of Bend, avid users of North America’s seventh-largest ski resort.

They launched an effort to secure investors to buy the ski resort after its owner, Utah-based Powdr Corp., last summer said it would place it on the market, in a sales process overseen by JPMorgan Chase.

The community group’s initiative blossomed into an underdog story – other expected bidders were large industry players – chronicled in local media, the Oregonian/OregonLive and a January New York Times feature, “Revenge of the Ski Bums,” that cast them as devotees seeking to save not just the resort, but “their way of life … from the titans of the industry.”

On Monday, Mt. Bachelor Community Inc. emailed supporters to say it was “unable to submit a bid due to timing constraints” – and, it claimed, other bidders “had a five-month head start.”

A Powdr spokesperson disputed that characterization of the timeline.

“No one had a head start,” said the spokesperson, Stacey Hutchinson, in an email. “We announced publicly that we were putting the resort up for sale in August of 2024 and everyone expressing any interest in the resort was sent to (JPMorgan Chase) who is running the process.”

Hutchinson said she had no sale updates to share.

In its Monday evening email, the local group pointed out its national recognition as a reinforcement of the strength of its idea. It noted the New York Times story and that “an Emmy Award-nominated director is now exploring a Netflix film about this community-led effort.”

Porter told the Oregonian/OregonLive that his group had secured investor pledges in the range of $100 million, though no investors funds had traded hands.

“We didn’t want to put the cart before the horse,” he said.

The group had planned to raise more money through a securities offering, he said, but had not formally filed to do so.

In the email, the group hinted it might partner with another buyer in an unspecified capacity.

“Any potential buyer would be wise to recognize the depth of community support behind this initiative,” the email stated.

Porter said his group was in early talks with other bidders about a potential joint venture, though he declined to go into specifics.

Collaborating with his community group, he said, would give a new buyer “insight into the heart and soul of this mountain.”