A Few Things to know about Bend….

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Bend has quite the Nordic ski community to match all the other outdoor activities that we have here.

We have hundreds of kilometers of skiing. The best grooming is up at Mt. Bachelor. 64km of national caliber trails are buffed to perfection every day. These guys do a great job, even when it is snowing 2 inches an hour. There are a couple of other places to ski as well that offer some viable alternatives to driving to Mt. Bachelor. Virginia Meissner Snow Park has about 25km of moderate difficulty trail and is groomed by piston bully three times a week. The Tumalo Langlauf Club grooms this area, so please donate if you happen to ski there. Wanoga Snow Park up the street from Meissner Snow Park is another great place to ski, especially mid-week. Wanoga is a snowmobile area and has hundreds of Km's of trails that are groomed for the machines. Catch this area on a slow day and you will get some of the best-groomed skiing in Central Oregon.

There are numerous organizations in the Nordic community here as well. Mt. Batchelor runs the Nordic center and ski school at the mountain, Mount Batchelor Ski Education Foundation caters to junior racers and masters, the Tumalo Langlauf Club grooms Virginia Meissner Snow Park as well as hosts a plethora of social events. The Central Oregon Nordic club runs numerous outings and social events as well. There is a strong racing community here with the local high school league, as well as the numerous clubs, organizations, and shops hosting events all winter long. Many locals travel all over for different races including the American Ski Marathon Series, Senior Nationals, Junior Nationals, and Masters Nationals. For the next couple of years, Masters Nationals will be held in Bend. That is definitely a trip worth taking!

On the elite level, Bend has one of the highest per capita Olympian populations in the country, especially on the XC ski side. Currently the list includes Beckie Scott, Justin Wadsworth, Pat Weaver, Ben Husaby, Suzanne King, Rich Gross, and Dan Simoneau. Add to that the XC Oregon Elite Racing program as well as some of the best juniors and masters in the country and you've got yourself a super competitive race season without leaving home! Not too shabby. Our season is probably the longest in the lower 48. We typically start seeing snow in the mountains by mid October and we start skiing by mid November. The season can run well into July if it is a typical snow year. Everything from powder to ice to corn exists in the Cascades and we often see mixes of all the above throughout the winter. Keeps us on our toes and gives us ample opportunities to test waxes and skis!

Next time you are in town, stop by or drop us a line. We love to hear what our friends and customers have been up to. You never know, maybe you'll see one of us in your neck of the woods!