Outside

A crazy weekend of outdoor festivities kicked off Friday evening with lycra-clad nordies sprinting on a one-block long course.
Competitors went head to head as the sun was setting on a crisp, clear, evening as spectators began collecting downtown to check out the Bend WinterFest. The racers skied down the manicured track between Bond and Wall just getting up to speed before dumping some speed to go around an extremely tight 180-degree turn to sprint back to the finish. Many competitors bit the dust making the hairpin turn.
By the time the final rounds began, the entire length of the course was packed. In the men's final round, Colin Mahood went down at the turn allowing Marshal Greene to glide easily to victory. In the women's bracket, Molly Grove poled out of the gates ahead of Taylor Leach and extended her lead into the finish line. The short track of snow was well used as more than 100 high school nordic skiers competed on Saturday in head-to-head sprint races.

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.