Hello Bend! We had a blast this weekend at The Powder House annual Powder Palooza. Is there a better way to launch the biggest pre-season winter snow gear sale of the season than to have a party? There was free food provided by Baldy’s Barbeque & the free beer from Cascade Lakes Brewery was flowing! The sun was shining and there was a slight chill in the air to remind us winter and ski season is just around the corner. The amazing fire pits were blazing and live music set the atmosphere for a fun local gathering.
This wasn’t just the sale/party of the season, this was also an opportunity to help those in need. There were tons of raffle prizes including a Mt. Bachelor season pass, a 2-night stay at Elk Lake Resort, and a $1,000 fire pit! All money raised went to benefit the Bethlehem Inn. There was also a food drive, and for every can of food donated, you received a raffle ticket! Next year I will be sure to bring even more canned goods to help those in need and maybe even have a better chance to win one of those awesome prizes.
The event attracted a huge crowd, so Saturday was more about the party than the sale for us. Since we are new to Bend and plan to ski this winter, we were back first thing Sunday morning to beat the crowd and take advantage of the great prices. It was time to get our gear! Since the little ones grow out of their stuff so quickly, we decided the annual ski lease was the way to go for their boots & skis. For only $149 we are able to bring home all their equipment and keep it until the end of ski season. If they grow out of their boots or level up on their skis, we can bring them in and change them out at any time.
My husband and I decided to take advantage of the sale and get our ski boots. Love how professional the staff is and how they take the time to make sure we had the perfect fit! I feel like we hit the jackpot with our skis…we were both able to find demo skis at over half off original retail price! Add in the fact that I scored a pair of killer ski pants on Saturday and I would say this weekend was a huge success for our future days on the mountain!
Speaking of the mountain, after all this talk about skiing, we decided to take a drive up the mountain to check out the snow situation. My son was so excited about his new ski gear, he wore his helmet & goggles the entire drive up!
At this point, Mt. Bachelor is still closed, however there are plenty of areas at the base of the mountain to enjoy the snow. There were a few inches on the ground, and it started snowing like crazy while we were there. We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we decided to drive up. It was sheer joy to see the kids so excited to see snow for the 1st time this season! We will head back up the mountain again soon, dressed in proper snow gear so we can stay for a while longer and get some legitimate snow play in. Why wait for it to snow in Bend when you have a winter wonderland only 25 minutes away!
