Outside Features

This weekend I learned how to find and dig someone out of an avalanche while backcountry skiing. This is something I hope to never, ever have to do in real life.

During his 19 years as director of Mt. Bachelor's Nordic Center, Bob Mathews strove to keep things festive around the holidays. That meant an employee dressed in a full Santa suit skiing around the tracks handing out candy to skiers and the instructors giving lessons while sporting elf hats, ears and tunics.

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.