Outside

Conservation Alliance
Tackling Maple Canyon In 1989, four main players in the outdoor industry identified a very important need to protect and preserve wild places in the great outdoors. The North Face, REI, Patagonia, and Kelty determined they were providing people with the equipment necessary to enjoy wilderness and wild places, but doing little to protect and save those places. The Conservation Alliance became the solution these companies were looking for - a way for them to give back. The four companies decided to contribute a portion of their profits from the year to a fund for distribution to grassroots conservation efforts all across the country. Since that time, 150 outdoor companies have joined the Alliance and have contributed more than $6 million to conservation efforts. Close to home, Oregon Natural Dessert Association and Deschutes Basin Land Trust have been on the receiving end of Conservation Alliance funds. These monies help protect and preserve lands near and dear to our hearts and soles of our feet.

Living the high life at Pioneer Peack in B.C.If I could look into a crystal ball filled with a snowman and snow
flurries abounding after a good shake and dream up the perfect
backcountry skiing adventure, it would contain the following: fly into
a backcountry hut with several psyched powder lovers, ski all day -
every day - for a week in untracked terrain among jagged peaks and
glaciers, then head back to the hut for lots of good cheer and gourmet
cuisine while basking in the glow and tales of the day's adventures.
This
fairy tale came true the first week of the New Year as my wife Molly
and I drove north to Golden, B.C., After meeting up with the
enthusiastic group in Golden, 20 of us gathered our gear and food at
the helicopter loading site. It was a clear day with great visibility,
perfect for a heli ride. I was fortunate enough to ride shotgun on the
first of five trips our group took to get all our bodies and supplies
into the hut. We flew along the Columbia Arm of Kinbasket Lake, the
headwaters of the Columbia River, before swinging west into the Adamant
Range of the Selkirk Mountains. My eyes bulged as the views became
better with every minute. The heli set us softly down just below the
Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut in a hanging valley surrounded by
picturesque B.C. mountains.

The best part of competing in the Great Nordeen Nordic race is the stories and tales formulated before, during, and after the event. Everyone has a story about how well, or not so well, their wax worked; how the person in front of them augured into the bank going down the first steep twisting downhill; or how they bonked on the last grueling uphill.

Although the angry hordes of beanie-topped ski bums, ski junkies, and ski snobs were bitching (even more than they normally do) a month or so ago about the somewhat late arriving snow this season, the snow has arrived. With one dump after another coating the mountains and foothills, there's not too much else to crow about.
Well, there's always something to bitch about - wind, lift lines, irreverent Sno-Park etiquette, and my favorite: too much snow - but now there's an excuse for the boarders and skiers of all variety to step down from the "Snow's Never Good Enough" soapbox and get out in the snow.
And if these complainers are so skilled that they require the most "epic" of conditions, then it's high time they come out for some good ol' fashioned competition. Whether you're a downhill shredder, a boarder with some sick steez, or a Lycra-clad Nordic buff, there's some fierce competition at your fingertips this weekend in Central Oregon.