Tracks

Faye Lake Tour

Faye Lake tour
Originally uploaded by oncwillamette

The snow gods have been smiling on western Oregon of late. When last I checked, the snow depth was approaching 100 inches in Santiam Pass, erasing the snow deficits we experienced in February and pushing Willamette Basin snow totals past average for this date.

All this bounty in time for Spring Break!

The picture at right is of a recent trip taken by some club members to the Faye Lake area in Santiam Pass. One happy participant commented after the tour, "Friends - a few of us braved the elements and did a loop tour on roads directly west of the Faye Lake trail on Hwy 22 on Saturday...I find it interesting that three of us had skied in the area for decades without finding this route before. I guess it shows that there are still new places to discover."

A good reminder to get out and break new trails.

Ski School 2011

The Willamette Chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club is pleased to again offer Ski School for everyone interested in learning this beautiful sport. Detailed information about the school and registration instructions can be found on the club's web page under the section titled "Ski School."

We look forward to seeing lots of new folks on the snow!!

Day Tripping: Ray Benson to Little Nash

Looking back at Hoodoo
Originally uploaded by oncwillamette

According to the weather station atop Hoodoo Butte, there is about 50 inches of snow at the pass, and more is likely to fall this week. With such favorable conditions, the annual club tour known as the Ray Benson to Little Nash Traverse is sure to be a delight.

This year the tour will be held Thursday, December 30th and is rated as a B/A tour, mostly due to distance. It is an 8 to 9 mile backcountry route around the south side of Hayrick Butte and Hoodoo Buttes (pictured at left) and down to Little Nash SnoPark on Hwy 20.   Though long, the skiing is usually straightforward and requires few fancy technical skills. Those with steeper ambitions can use the same route, climbing higher to come down faster... ;-) The tour is mostly downhill and a great way to end (or begin) the year. This also a great introduction to backcounty skiing.

If you are interested, contact Jim (503  378  7003) for details.

Seasonal Reading

This is from Jim, an avid reader as well as skier!  Most of these titles are linked from the left navigation panel.   

"I've finally put some information together for the website's reading list.  The existing list might be pruned a bit or shifted to an "archive" page, but I think Steve Hindman's Cross Country Skiing, and Bruce Tremper's Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain should stay on our primary list because they give such excellent coverage of their topics.  There's a new (2008) edition of Tremper's book that I haven't had a chance to read.

Other recommended titles: 
Tony Daffern's Avalanche Safety for Skiers, Climbers & Snowboarders also gives excellent coverage of avalanche safety.  Laurie Gullion's Nordic Skiing: Steps to Success is a great "do-it-yourself" book on xc ski technique.  It breaks ski maneuvers down into simple steps and suggests a wide range of learning exercises and practice drills.  A technique book that I haven't had a chance to read (but would like to) is Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering by Martin Volken, Scott Schell & Margaret Wheeler.  This is part of the Mountaineer's Expert Series, which also produced Steve Hindman's book.

Finally, in a less practical vein:
The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole by Roland Huntsford is an excellent comparison of the techniques used by these polar explorers.  Skiing figures prominently in the ultimate success of Amundsen's expedition.  Fatal Passage: the Story of John Rae , the Arctic Hero Time Forgot by Ken McGoogan is a biography of a little know Hudson's Bay Company explorer with an exceptional record of success in charting portions of the Northwest Passage.  Rae was actually a snowshoer rather than a skier, but the book is still good reading.  Finally, another title that's pending on my "Must Read" list:  Two Planks and a Passion: the Dramatic History of Skiing by Roland Huntford.  It should be fun."

Happy reading,  JIm

December Meeting: Hypothermia

Hypothermia and Other Winter Injuries - Jim Warner, chapter Vice President, will teach the first session of a four-part series on winter safety, travel and survival for all outdoors enthusiasts. When combined, the series provides an overview of winter backcountry safety and travel. 

Tuesday, December 14th, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Pringle Hall Community Center, 609 Church Street SE, Salem, Oregon.

Upcoming Classes

Willamette Chapter ONC Logo
Originally uploaded by oncwillamette

Greetings and Think Snow!

The Willamette Chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club is pleased to announce a four part series on winter safety, travel and survival for all outdoors enthusiasts. When combined, the series provides an overview of winter backcountry safety and travel.

The free series is designed for the general outdoor enthusiast, and is open to participants 18 years or older.

The series consists of three classroom sessions, and a final outdoor skills workshop held on Santiam Pass.

Each classroom session is a stand-alone class on the topics listed below; participants wishing to take part in the outdoor skill session must complete the three classroom sessions. Detailed class outlines can be found at: http://www.survive24hours.blogspot.com/

Classroom Sessions:

Class 1 – Hypothermia and Other Winter Injuries – Tuesday December 14^th

Class 2 – Staying Found – Tuesday, January 11^th

Class 3 – Winter Survival Skills – Tuesday, February 8^th

Handouts will be provided at the class to attendees.

All classroom sessions will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Pringle Hall Community Center, 609 Church Street SE, Salem, Oregon.

Outdoor Skill Session:

Class 4 – Skills Workshop – February 2011 TBD Pre-registration required. Please call (503) 390-1144 for pre-registration details.

The final outdoor skill session will be an on-snow instruction and practice of the skills needed to survive the first 24 hours of an emergency. This will include route finding, snow shelter building, and fire issues. For the hardy and ready, an optional overnight stay will be offered. This is a great hands-on learning experience for the day or weekend.

Jim Warner, vice president

Willamette Chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club

Report on Early Season Conditions

P1080410 Harvey--east to PCT+N Loop
Originally uploaded by oncwillamette

Conditions have been improving pretty markedly in the last week, as this photo suggests. (Santiam Pass, North Loop) A week ago Santiam Pass had 16" unconsolidated snow with numerous "lake" areas. Now the total is 30", with moderate consolidation. So those who've been prudently holding back to save their skis and dignity may need to seriously consider giving the trails a try.

Quid Pro Quo

I have it on good authority that Oregon and Washington have reinstated SnoPark permit reprocity!

While We Wait

P1000146 Maxwell descent.jpg
Originally uploaded by oncwillamette

The weather of late has been promising, with snow sporadically and tantalizingly falling in the passes. On this rainy Sunday morning, a quick check of the TripCheck pass cams shows warm temperatures, fog and soggy snow. Oh well.....

If you too are eager to get out on the snow and can't wait for it to reach necessary depths on the trails, you might want to consider a trip to Nordic trails at two local ski areas. Groomed trails, with their consistent surface and lack of underlying rocks and branches, are a great way to get in some early season practice before the back-country season really gets into full swing. As an added bonus, the lodge awaits with full facilities for those of us not quite aerobically up to the challenge of a full-day trip.

Hoodoo is hoping to open Thanksgiving weekend, and they have posted their 2010-2011 rates. Further south, Willamette Pass Resort is also optimistically projecting a "mid-November opening." Their Nordic rates are comparable to Hoodoo.

Goodbye 10th Mountain?

Santiam Lake Tour
Originally uploaded by oncwillamette

Several members of the Willamette Chapter use Karhu 10th Mountain skis (pictured above on the far left) and speak highly of them.

The following is a note regarding the evolution of this ski. One of our club members reports that he has "an aging pair of Karhu 10th Mtn skis which I really like, but they have around 6-700 miles on them and I know the day of reckoning will eventually come. I'd hoped to buy a backup pair, but repeated checks to mountaingear.com where I got my present skis revealed no 10th Mtns ... or any new-model Karhus at all. So I called Mtn Gear yesterday and a sales person told me she thought the company had been bought out, but she didn't know any more than that. I did a search and found this information at orscrosscountryskisdirect.com:

'K2 Sports, owner of both Madshus Skis & Karhu Skis, has discontinued the Karhu XCD product line and is now producing them as Madshus backcountry skis. Hence, the Madshus Epoch is exactly the same as the former Karhu XCD 10th Mountain skis. Only the graphics are different.'

Turns out ORS, Mountain Gear, Oregon Mtn Community and REI all carry the Madshus Epoch ski--and other versions of Karhu which have been similarly renamed. Hard to know how long K2 might continue these models, so I placed an order at ORS yesterday. 10% discount there currently, and no extra cost to mount bindings or ship.

Here's an article about K2's acquisition of Karhu in 2006: http://www.ski-review.com/ski_news/article/k2_acquires_line_and_karhu/
As noted on the ORS site, for the 2011 model year K2 has rebadged the Karhu ski line, apparently without changes to the ski specs."

Interested skiers who live further south might want to also check Berg's Ski and Snowboard Shop in Eugene. A quick of their stock indicates they do carry the Madshus Epoch, helpfully labeled as "formerly the 10th Mountain."

Might want to check this out, or put them on your list for Santa!