BOOT TEST HEADQUARTERS 2024-2025 Mt. Bachelor
The vast mid-mountain Pine Marten Lodge rocks as a boot testing headquarters, and it has nothing to do with the epic views of the summit or the stunning peaks of the Three Sisters wilderness. The lodge space is a sprawling, two-story work of mountain architectural art that gives us enough space to rack over two-hundred pairs of boots and spread out our test team of 15 men and 15 women with room to work. Being able to slide in, buckle up and click directly into bindings for a test run to any one of 7 high-speed chairs opens-up huge testing options for our team. While some testers might favor a particular 3-run testing route, over and over, others may choose to test the boot in terrain and snow conditions that are dictated by the particular test model, and instant 360-degree access out of our test center just can’t be beat, anywhere.
We have done our boot test even later in April, and many brands will do independent product testing of new models throughout May, but we have found that late March and early April is guaranteed good skiing. Sure, we’ve gotten a little rain some years and yes, we get some high winds (it is Mt. Bachelor, remember), but every year we get some fresh pow—we’ve had waist deep days during the test several times—and some killer, long-vertical, south-facing backside Spring corn days, and always some ripping frontside groomers. It really is a boot testing playground—and if you think about it, where we want to test is where any skier wants to ski in the Spring. So, book it now and we’ll see you there in April!
