Outside
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Finally!: The snow is here, so start making plans

Pam Stevenson

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.

Posted inOutside

B.S., err, BCS

The dust has settled on one of the most tumultuous college football seasons with Oklahoma and Florida emerging from the morass of qualified one-loss teams
Mike Ficher

The dust has settled on one of the most tumultuous college football seasons with Oklahoma and Florida emerging from the morass of qualified one-loss teams to compete for the so-called national title. Of course, USC, Texas Tech, Alabama and, particularly, Texas, might beg to differ with the selection of the Sooners and the Gators for the national title game.

Posted inOutside

You think you know your owls? How about a quiz?

Let’s have a little fun with an owl quiz. There are 13 species of owls that call Oregon home, and they range in size from
Jim Anderson

Let's have a little fun with an owl quiz. There are 13 species of owls that call Oregon home, and they range in size from smaller than a robin to almost as large as a male bald eagle. Three are diurnal, but most are crepuscular and nocturnal, and one species has (like your mother and mine) "eyes" on the back of its head.

Posted inOutside

Tour de Indoors: Sweatin’ to the Oldies and the Hour of Power

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
Pam Stevenson

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.

Posted inOutside

Thanks (for nothing) giving

The Source Staff

Left Field had just stepped out of the shower and was in the middle
of stirring up a Pepto-Bismol and 7-Up cocktail (we like to call it a
"Kansas City Mimosa") to both shake off a Thanksgiving Eve hangover as
well as prep the stomach for the near-fatal amount of holiday foods it
would be encountering later in the afternoon when we sat down for some
Thanksgiving day football. But when we turned on the tube, only about
half an hour after the posted kickoff of the Lions/Titans game in
Detroit, the game was pretty much over.
The Titans jumped out to
a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and it was clear that the miraculously
inept Lions would have no chance of tightening the game. As thus we
flip channels through parades, feel-good Lifetime channel movies and
the Weather Channel, all of which were more entertaining than the game
happening in Detroit.

Posted inOutside

The Late, Great Ed Park: Owl pranks with an old friend

Jim Anderson

Ed Park doing what he liked best in the "Good Old Days." Photo by Jim AndersonEd Park, Central Oregon's best outdoor writer, cross-country skier,
runner, and wildlife photographer has gone out among the stars.

Ed
was a gem and an Oregonian through-and-through. He was a graduate of
the grand old "Cow College" (OSU) over in Corvallis, and a student of
Oregon's wildlife treasures. He lived with, studied and wrote a superb
book on our elusive and fun-filled, Northern River Otter, Lontra
canadensis; and for years, was the guts and feathers of the Outdoor
Writers Association of America. As such, he was a prodigious writer for
several outdoor magazines that spanned a time warp from the mid-50s
into this century. Moreover, from the early '90s to when he left us, he
did it with one finger, the result of a terrible stroke in 1991.(Go to
www.owaa.org/legends/legendEdPark.htm, and read the delightful
interview Ed gave not too long ago.)

Posted inOutside

Singin’ the “No Snow Blues?”: Finding a silver lining in the snow drought

Pam Stevenson

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.

Posted inOutside

The BCS Revolt

The snowball that is coaches and other big-wigs calling for a Division I college football playoff is getting bigger by the week, and the Big
Mike Bookey

The snowball that is coaches and other big-wigs calling for a Division I college football playoff is getting bigger by the week, and the Big 12 Conference this season is making a case for a playoff all by itself.
This after a weekend that saw then No.

Posted inOutside

CBC is coming! Christmas means one thing: Time to count some birds

Cal Elshoff of Bend and Mt. Chickadee of the forest looking each other in the eye. Before you go any further, pick up your indelible
Jim Anderson

Cal Elshoff of Bend and Mt. Chickadee of the forest looking each other in the eye. Before you go any further, pick up your indelible pen and mark the
dates of December 14 through January 5, 2009 and write "CBC." Those are
the dates for the 109th Christmas Bird Count, from which
ornithologists, biologists, land managers, habitat scientists and
millions of birders throughout the country glean data and great fun
regarding birds. Can't beat that, no matter what.

During this time,
tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the New World of the
Americas – North, South and points in-between – will take part in a
family birding tradition that has no end of joy and scientific value.

Posted inOutside

Black Friday: Only 27 shopping says ’til Christmas!

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
Pam Stevenson

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:

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