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This year, Jerry Sebestyen organized three beginner ski schools: two "Beginner-Beginner" sessions and one "Beginner-Backcountry" lesson.  All were a smashing success, and snow conditions turned out to be great for all three sessions. More than 50 CONC members benefitted from the beginner lessons. With more than a dozen CONC volunteers serving as lead instructors and co-instructors, students benefitting from low student-to-teacher ratios.

Much of the Beginner-Beginner courses were conducted on the groomed tracks that extend into Swampy Sno-Park and at the Meissner area.  Basic classic technique was presented and practiced.  In the Beginner-Backcountry class, more time was spent in the Swampy area.  Techniques covered were getting up from a fall in deep snow, going uphill off track, and how to slow down, stop, and turn going downhill.

For all classes, I've only heard great things.  Thank you to everybody who participated, everybody who instructed, and especially Jerry for organizing!

Jerry Sebestyen organized a social at BTBS primarily to welcome new CONC members on Tuesday, February 6.  The concept that evolved from Warren's head was to have three information stations: "Gear", "Go Here", and "Volunteer".  We also limited attendance through a signup on the Event announcement, and Eileen supplied the two colors of name tags; one for new members and one for "old" to help club integration.

We kept gear to the basics (no AT or Tele) but with some snowshoes and new stuff (Xplore bindings) thrown in.  Most new members had a lot of questions about gear, so this basic repertoire really served the purpose.  The "Go Here" station was complemented by several maps, from the "One Map" to a few large format SnoPark maps.  A lot of discussion on where to snowshoe and where to go for the easy trails ensued.  The "Volunteer" station (attended by me) had few signups, but a lot of introductions and meeting new members, which was really the point!

The limited attendance (Eileen calculated about 50) was perfect for BTBS.  There was no shouting required like back in November when we overloaded the place.  As a consequence, discoveries like Ed and Mark finding out that they grew up within a few blocks of each other in Ithaca, NY were enabled.  And I got to meet my Crater Lake carpooling buddies, so I felt that the social aspect of the evening was definitely accomplished!  I hope everyone else in attendance felt the same.

Although this was advertised as a beginner event, the four participants that showed up on February 9, 2024, were clearly in the novice level.  We met at the Grove and got to know each other a bit, then headed up the mountain into a sunny clear day!  The predicted high was 30 degrees, but in the sun it felt like 60!

As a consequence we had a some sticking/icing issues on a couple pairs of new skis.  Janie and I decided to do a wax test:  on the right ski she applied F4 liquid wax, and on the left ski I rubbed and corked in 50 year old polar glide wax.  Within a few hundred yards, the conclusion was obvious; the finely aged hard wax was clearly superior.  So we repeated the hard wax rub and cork on Steve's skis for a glide he clearly enjoyed!  Meanwhile Elie and Judy were gliding so well they were making good use of the one ski plow to slow down; a skill not used by either for many years!

Everyone enjoyed the Currant Way-Pine Drops-Tangent loop, which took just under 2 hours to complete.  It was an opportunity to work on weight transfer and glide with a bit of double poling thrown in to the mix.  A bit tiring, but fun!

I sent out a dire warning the week before the club ski trip to Mazama was scheduled for everyone to bring a rain jacket!  I failed to mention the terrible road conditions on Hwy 97!  The forecast did not look good.  But everyone arrived safely, and we did not have any rain the entire week!  Two mornings we awoke to 2-3" of fresh snow.  The last day at Sun Mountain was clear, crisp, and presented us with most excellent snow.

Only nine people signed up for the trip, leaving me to wonder if people are tired of "the same old destination" or if the food service was so bad last year that word got around and few wanted to risk it.  However, I had talked with Andy, the guest manager, and he vowed to step up the food presentation several notches.  And did he ever!

We had appetizers every night by the fire, and he even wore his chef's hat to present Michel with a "Birthday" cake (lemon curd!); because for Michel, everyday is a birthday!

But it was also the dinners and breakfasts that were quite amazing, with four or five courses each.  We were all impressed with the meals and swear we all gained a couple of pounds inspite of the good, daily skiing with the new groomed track right outside the Inn's back door!

Five CONC members refused to join the conga line of skiers heading up to Mt. Bachelor last Sunday.   We changed plans, skied from the Swampy Lakes snopark and were rewarded with a memorable tour in the forests.   It was a compilation of trails, including the Ridge, Shelter, Crosscut and a finish on the Swampy loop.   Trail breaking was part of the experience and we were joined by another club member whom caught up to us.  We experienced a variety of weather conditions; from snowfall, intermittent winds and even some icy crystals.  All enjoyed a great day on the snow.

Better late than never for snow on the trails. In-season maintenance of the snowshoe trails began this week at Swampy. Leaving cold and gray skies in Bend, Dave Alward, Kurt Keasy, Kelly Eager, Chuck DelCamre, Gary Evans, Bill Silliman, Christie Crowe, Dennis Damici, Kurt Koegler and Bob Timmer headed counter-clockwise on the Porcupine Snowshoe trail. We found great snow and temperatures in the 20’s at the sno-park; 34 by lunchtime. Our goals for the day were to clear any blowdown, replace any missing reassurance markers and trim for marker visibility.

 We were excited to shoe the new Summit Bypass trail for the first time after its completion last fall. The extra height from the snow let us trim higher for marker visibility.

After work on  Summit Bypass, the group divided into two teams so we could check and clear all of the trail segments. Several saplings and a few blowdown were cleared.

Snowshoe trail maintenance will continue on Tuesdays; weather permitting. 

Updates on the trail conditions, whether they be problems with signage or blowdown or “all clear” are really appreciated as it lets us prioritize our work. Please use either the CONC Trail form or an email to BobTimmer@yahoo.com

Click HERE for the most recent condition reports for the snowshoe trails

Thanks to a lot of flexibility on the part of the instructor and the students, the four skate ski clinics all happened eventually.  Two were postponed  3 days, one was postponed 2 weeks, and one actually held as originally scheduled.  All the sessions had to be moved from Meissner to the MtB Nordic Center.  Everyone improved and seemed pleased with the lessons.  Photos were hard to come by, as everyone was too focused on teaching and learning, but a few images slipped out.

January 1, 2024 and there is NO SNOW in Bend!!!  The scheduled "show-and-go" ski outing was scrapped of necessity and hikes were substituted.  A few club members began the New Year with a hike on the Riley Ranch trails. It was a clear and cool winter day walking along the Deschutes river through the Ponderosa pines.  A wonderful alternative to skiing as we wait for more snow .  Another group of 14 folks headed to Otter Bench, hoping for trails that weren't muddy.  

And they got that; but as they approached the trailhead with clear views of Smith Rock, they desc-

ended into a fog bank.  No matter!  Everyone mingled and converged into small social groups to welcome the New Year; and ate lunch standing up!

CONC held the 2023 Winter Meeting on December 15th at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Bend.  We were expecting about 75 people, but set up 10 tables with nine chairs each.  A good thing we did, as all tables were occupied!  Eileen Woodward organized the event.  She and Anne Ness provided enchiladas baked at the church, with salads and desserts brought in by many members.

After dinner, all volunteers present were recognized; most of the people present stood up!  They included:

• Those who helped with the event

• CONC Board members

• Club operations & other behind-the-scenes work

• Overnight Trip Committee

• Ski lessons

• Hike leaders

• Ski & Snowshoe outings

• Trail Maintenance & firewood stocking

Following volunteer recognition, the Elections Committee (Warren Preston and Glen VanCise) reviewed the process of asking for all nominations and verified there were no new nominations for President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.  A vote on current members holding these positions was taken by verbal support .  The "Ayes" carried the evening so Eric Ness, Sue Sullivan, Eileen Woodward, and Jan Cigoy were reelected to their current positions.

It was a lively evening and enjoyed by all.  We look forward to our Spring meeting, held in May.

8 CONC members headed out on a terrific ski on Saturday, Dec 9, up to Big Meadow. There was lovely snow and a chance for some nice turns. We did have to re-route at the bottom of Pete's as the creek made accessing the Water Tower meadow a little tricky. But with such a great group, some off-trail route finding was all in good fun.