Outside Features

PHEW!
Let It Snow!Patience is a virtue. Not one of mine, but sometimes you have no choice. As Tom Petty used to croon, "The waiting is the hardest part." We can all breathe a sigh of relief now that the long wait is over. A beautiful full moon snowstorm finally blew in last Friday night, dumping 23 inches of fresh powder on Mt. Bachelor over the weekend. Both the alpine and nordic areas opened Sunday on a limited basis. On the downhill side, the Pine Marten and Sunshine lifts went into action, while the upper trails and Woody's were groomed on the X-C side. With frigid single digit temperatures and more storms predicted for the remainder of the week, it looks like winter is here to stay. Kind of like a new boyfriend who turns out to be a couch surfer, just remember how much you wanted it when it's still lingering around come May.

Testing the power threshold on Bend's spin scene. Isn't it ironic that the year you decided to fork out for a season pass there is no snow? I thought it would make for somewhat similar irony for the Outdoors column to be about the Indoors this week. Due to my shoulder injury, I've been frequenting some of Bend's best indoor cycling venues the past few months. We are blessed in Bend with a treasure trove of great spin instructors and cycling coaches, and I'd like to introduce you to a couple.

Who needs a lift ticket anyway?Mount Bachelor may be under new management, but Mother Nature is in
charge. To the dismay of Thanksgiving vacationers and local ski buffs,
not to mention Powdr Corp execs, Mt. Bachelor lacked enough snow to
open during the Thanksgiving weekend and I'm willing to bet that
continues to be the case when this issue hits print. I've lived in Bend
nearly nine years, and this is the latest start to ski season I
remember.

The object of my affection.Months ago, I said I'd write about Stuff again. So, just in time for your holiday shopping, here is my Top Ten list of outdoor gear. It's not a list of the ten essentials recommended for survival nor the hottest, coolest, most unaffordable equipment. It's just a random collection of some of my ol' faves and a few things on my wishlist, David Letterman style:

Ahhhh, a two-hour trail run along the Metolius, a campfire, a mug of hot chocolate, a good book and a great dog.I first came across Pam Houston's colorful stories of adventure and
travel in magazines and more recently I read the book that won her
fame, Cowboys Are My Weakness. Last week, she visited Bend as one of
the guest authors for the Nature of Words and I wrangled my way into
her writing workshop. Pam, a single 46-year-old woman, has a house in
Colorado, teaches at a university, loves dogs and takes inspiration
from the outdoors for her writing. That sentence describes Pam Houston,
but applies equally to me, so you can understand why I sensed a kindred
spirit when I met her.

Hopefully, some of her words of wisdom
rubbed off on me to your benefit as a reader of this column.
Unfortunately, "Adventure Racers are My Weakness" just doesn't seem to
have quite the right literary ring to it to match her standards. I'll
keep working on it.

FIRST TRACKS
First tracks across Dutchman FlatWhat more could you ask for on November 4th - an Obama
victory and a foot of fresh powder on Bachelor! Yippeee! The day after
the elections, my friend Lisa and I scored some of the very first
tracks of the season on Woody's and Easy Back. We skied across Dutchman
Flat into the nordic area through perfect snow and found the groomer
had just made a pass to pack down the base. I'd say it was an
auspicious start to a new season and a new era.