Skiing at Mt. Bachelor - Mt. Bachelor may be one of the last world-class yet affordable mountain resorts in the U.S. Well groomed, with seven express quads and 3,600 lift-accessed acres, it approaches Snowmass's or Deer Valley's appeal -- but nowhere near their ticket prices. It's a good all-around mountain, with terrain for everyone from families to extreme snowboarders. Plus, the weather on this side of the Cascades is nothing like Mt. Hood's: Nearby Bend boasts 300-plus days of sun a year. The Olympic-caliber Superpipe will be redesigned in 2005-06, and the recent West Village Lodge remodel also ups Bachelor's overall guest experience. Cory

Skiing at Mt. Bachelor - I got to ski Mt. Bachelor in May, about 6 weeks after a major foot surgery. I skied like a wimp, but at that time of year, who cares!? Not much of the mountain was open, but what was open was pretty good skiing on nice spring corn. The US Ski Team was there for practice, and it made for some nice eye candy on the rides up. But wouldn’t you know it, just when I was getting the foot to work, they shut down because conditions were deteriorating. This was at 1:30 pm. Still, starting at 8 am, that’s a full day. Time for a picnic on the deck! Bonni