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CONC March Newsletter
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Central Oregon Daily News featured a story and video on CONC: To watch the video, click this link: All Volunteer Central Oregon Nordic Club Keeps Snowshoe Trails Signed and Cleared John Craig Memorial Ski Click this link to watch a video about the Legend of John Craig featured on Central Oregon Daily news. Volunteer opportunity for the John Craig Event The State ONC is looking for 3-4 people for a committee to organize and manage the John Craig event for next year. If you are interested contact John Fertig ( jnfertig@gmail.com ) and he will forward your name to the state organization. Gear Fix Donations for CONC Please take any extra gear you are no longer using to Gear Fix and put it under CONC’s account. Proceeds from the sale go to CONC. |
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Ski Trips CONC members have enjoyed a variety of overnight destination ski trips in the last few months. I hope you will enjoy reading a summary of each trip below. You can click on the name of the trip to read the full blog post. |
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Commentaries from trip participants, including a Haiku:
"Snowy, magical
Views! Geysers, wildlife, skiers...
Yellowstone winter"
"It was a great experience visiting the park on skis. The animals and geysers did not disappoint! We were very fortunate to have our own knowledgeable guide to point out facts regarding the geography, animals, plants, etc." |
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"The Yellowstone trip totally exceeded my expectations. George's expertise of the area's flora & fauna, geology & more made it fascinating & educational. The trip length could have been a day or two longer but as I understand, it was CONC's first "exploratory" trip to Yellowstone. I particularly liked the wintry, dramatic feel of the scenery & the animal encounters. The winter scenes (even driving in a blizzard) were magical and other worldly. The group seemed to work well together & there was a certain esprit de corps." |
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"A major highlight was three thundering herds of bison on our final day of skiing. It’s a treat to spot wildlife from the car when traveling through Yellowstone. It’s even more exciting running into wildlife a mile or two up the trail when there’s nothing between you and them. Group leader George was explaining one of Yellowstone’s wonders when suddenly a herd of bison came charging out of the woods toward us from maybe 200 to 300 yards away. They eventually saw us, slowed down to ponder their next move, then veered off to their right and rumbled by maybe 75 yards away. Then in the next half hour, this happened again with two more herds. We couldn’t help but wonder what had them on the run. It certainly added to the adventure." (To read about the wolves and other wildlife sightings, be sure to read the entire blog post!) |
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"Another part of our Wednesday adventures was a visit to the Chico Hot Springs, about halfway between Gardiner and Livingston. It's a cool old resort, and we enjoyed a soak in the hot pool before having dinner in the saloon and exploring the hotel."
 
The 2024 CONC trip to Yellowstone was a rousing success. The wildlife and landscapes more than outweighed the long drive and record low snowfall. Club member George Wuerthner served as guide to the ten other club members. His long history with and comprehensive knowledge of Yellowstone National Park was invaluable, both in sharing knowledge and devising ski outings that made the most of each day's conditions.
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The only thing we were certain of this year was that 27 people signed up for the Crater Lake trip, and that Friday was going to be sunny and warm, with little wind. The Pumice Desert off the North Entrance is magical in good conditions, and 22 people enjoyed a beautiful bluebird day ski, with Mt.Thielsen in the background.
 
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On Saturday, the road to the rim was still not open, So we decided that John would lead the more adventurous skiers down off the road on the Crater Peak trail.
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Eric was "optimistic" that the gate would open and brought a group back later in the day and was able to drive up to the lodge parking lot. The sun peaked through only occasionally, but at least the cloud ceiling was high enough for a clear view of the lake. The wind had gusts up to 43mph and was biting cold; Kirsten thought the water looked angry!
 
Sunday we split into two groups: one to Snowshoe with a Ranger, and one to ski Silent Creek with John Fertig (again!) leading. Ranger Grimes was explaining how trees survive the heavy snow load. He pointed to John Stephenson, who was the tallest person in our group, and challenged him to wrestle a nearby tree to the ground (actually, to the top of the snow, which was 11 feet above ground). Unfortunately, Ranger Grimes chose a tree that was just a wee bit too big, as even the both of them could not accomplish the challenge! But no matter; we got the point and had fun! Ranger Grimes explained to us that the $30 surcharge for a CL license plate goes to an endowment that funds these researchers. We all decided we would go get a CL license plate next time our registrations came due!
 
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McCall Idaho The BIG smiles say it all! There was fun to be had in McCall. Mo's Way AirBnB hosted 16 skiers and we were joined by an additional seven CONC skiers on our daily outings. A low snow pack in McCall had us concerned but we found plenty of trails that were in good condition.
McCall's varied Nordic ski areas brought a new destination each morning including Tamarack Resort, Bear Basin, and Ponderosa State Park.
After new snowfall on our last ski day, an adventurous group of five skiers successfully made their way up the steep climb to Big Creek Summit!
Lively evenings were spent dining in with plenty of good eats, a bit of dancing with Cliff and Barb, a birthday celebration, and nightly games. McCall was a wonderful new CONC winter destination with great skiing and friendly people!
 
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Mazama
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 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 in spite of the good, daily skiing with the new groomed track right outside the Inn's back door!
 
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I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.' Sylvia Plath
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