Outside Features

It is easy to get stuck in ruts, even when it comes to outdoor adventure. With so many opportunities for both groomed and backcountry skiing so close to Bend, it can sometimes be hard to justify the gas and time it takes to head out of town and explore some new areas. But for the skier who is out on the trails more than a few times a week, changing up the scenery is definitely worth the effort.

Like a snowball rolling downhill, the energy surrounding last week's cyclocross nationals grew bigger and bigger, culminating in an estimated 10,000 spectators for Sunday's races. The combination of tough racing and effervescent parties uniquely showcased Bend as a work hard, play hard kind of town, and has set the standard for other host cities.

You've been training consistently and are prepared to throw down. Your priorities are straight. You aren't afraid of snow or ice, and probably have a pair of running shoes with sheet-metal screws already in them. Yep, you're a bad ass.

Cyclocross was a novel sport to me last year when I went to watch friends participate in the U.S. National Cyclocross Championships here in Bend. As a road racer, I had a vague perception of cyclocross as a sort of sideshow in the world of competitive cycling. Racing hurts and when I heard 'cross racers sometimes wear costumes while they're competing, it seemed like people just didn't take 'cross seriously enough to really suffer on the bike.

There's often a certain lemming-like quality to cross country skiers. They tend to go only where there are machine-groomed tracks and, as a result, crowds. There are alternatives, however, for those who enjoy solitude and happen to own a pair of general off-track touring skis.
If you're in the mood for a more traditional (read: un-tracked) tour, here's a guide to several places where, if the snow is good (read: deep), the skiing is worthwhile. You'll have the added bonus of running across some wildlife, or at least a few signs that forest dwellers are out and about in the snow.

It would have been easy to blow off last Saturday's Crossaflixion cyclocross race. With snow falling heavily on race day, the appeal of a Nordic ski, or a day on the sofa with a glass of wine, was obvious. With nationals less than two weeks away, however, many local racers packed up bikes instead of skis and headed up Cascade Lakes Highway.
Brent Chapman, the course designer and self-described Director of Fun and Pain for Fresh Air Sports, adapted to the weather at Seventh Mountain by shortening the lap to make it more accessible and safe. “Friday night it started to snow, and it got so heavy we couldn't ride the course,” he explained. “It was melting and freezing constantly.”

As Colin Dunlap and his parents watched racers slide down icy hillsides and endure sub-freezing temperatures during last year's Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, he could tell his dad was unimpressed.
“He wasn't that into it,” says Dunlap, who was a high-school freshman at the time. Colin himself wasn't too sure about the sport, either.