TSC Winter Shootout - Mt. Bachelor, Oregon -
February 6 - 13, 2010

CLASC survived skiing the volcano and I can honestly say that Mt Bachelor was a total pleasure from beginning to end, due to the trip organization by Bob Bourgard and his crew from Bachelor.  The three and a half hour flight into Portland was without issue and all participants had bags and ski’s when we arrived.    Transportation was furnished by RAZ bus lines, which performed above and beyond everyone’s expectations.  RAZ not only transported all to the Sunriver Resort but also had numerous buses to Mt Bachelor every morning, with daily and evening buses to Bend for day and after skiing activities.

With this trip having special circumstances due to participant numbers, CLASC and Space City traveled and partied together as a group of 26.   Everyone enjoyed this combined trip which allowed members of both clubs to meet and ski with new friends.

On arrival into Portland on Saturday we took the scenic route from the airport to Sunriver by way of the Columbia River Highway.  Our first stop was at Crown Point, Vista House where we were greeted by gorgeous views of the Columbia River and a cold 40 mph wind which reminded us it was still winter. 

We continued our journey down the River Highway with its twist and turns where the scenery got more dramatic with lush green canopy’s covering the road.  The highway had numerous sites to view along the way such as majestic waterfalls and many hiking trails.  The group stopped at The Multnomah Falls (620 ft), which is the second highest year round falls in the US.  This was one of the numerous falls along the route and all I can say is BEAUTIFUL.  This would be a great place to visit during the spring and summer so you could have time to enjoy all the sites.

Next we traveled through the Mt Hood National Forest passing through vineyards, and hillsides covered by orchards, which in winter only brought to mind how spectacular this area is during the summer growing season.  The view of Mt Hood was not to be due to low clouds with rain and snow.  Well, maybe next time.  Traveling further south we were greeted by changing landscapes from forest to volcanic out croppings, deep gorges then plateaus with miles of farmland.  When we arrived in Bend the landscape was the occasional volcanic dome and rolling hills with the Deschutes River running through the town center.

We arrived at the Sunriver Resort about 5:30 where we checked in at the Tennis Village Condos.   After checking in we all gathered for a meet and greet at the Sunriver Lodge, Owls Nest Pub and Restaurant, which overlooked the awesome golf course.  Everyone enjoyed some local wines, beers and we filled our pie holes and made ready for Sunday and skiing.

After skiing, the Sunriver Lodge became the site of the Superbowl watching party.  We had food, drinks, silent auction and local brews from the Deschutes Brewery for our enjoyment.  For what turned out to be a very exciting game, with the Who Dat’s taking the prize. My numbers also hit, paying for my ski trip…SWEET.

Monday on the mountain was picture perfect with more exploration of some new terrain having found our ski legs.   Many CLASC skiers took advantage of the ambassadors who showed us some great skiing on the bumps and trees.   After skiing we all loaded into the RAZ bus and took off for the first club dinner at the Deschutes Brewery in downtown Bend.  The brewery had an upstairs room with long bar and a beautiful view of the river and downtown.  We all sampled the local suds along with some excellent fish and steaks.  After dinner we loaded into the bus which took us to the downtown scene where we partied the night away and drank more beer at the local brew pubs.  Of course the RAZ was waiting to take us back to the Sunriver Resort when we finished our beer tasting excursion.

Tuesday was more of the same with blue skies and great conditions with none of the poor visibility and wind we had heard about.  Some members enjoyed the Mountain Picnic at the Pine Marten Lodge and others just skied their little legs off.  That evening the City of Bend was the place to be as the Old Mill District along the Deschutes River opened their shops with Texas specials and free booze at some establishments.  Of course I did some shopping as I am known to do and did drink a few of the offerings.  We also enjoyed lobster and steak on the river accompanied by some fine wine and later caught up with the group to drink a few suds.

Wednesday Mt Bachelor reared its ugly head with fog, wind and snow showers.  It was also the TSC race day with CLASC having 7 out of the 11 in the group races.  With the likes of Zoe and Jeff Wright, Kent Yokley, Gail Rogers, Terry O’Neel, and the disqualified Laura Kinney and Jim Robertson, CLASC still came home with the First Place Trophy.   Wednesday was the CLASC mid week dinner in Bend at the Blacksmith Restaurant.  The evening was full of good wines, local brews, fantastic food and desserts from this classic restaurant.  After dinner we joined the TSC in Bend, which was in the midst of a Texan hospitality evening where many of the restaurants and bars had specials for the TSC.

Thursday was a day of rest so Richard Keller, Laura Kinney and I decided to tag along with 30 others and snow shoe Crater Lake.  Our guide was very knowledgeable of the area and its volcanic and zoological history which made the drive to and from very interesting.  We also found out that the point man has the hard job so we just stayed behind and followed in his tracks.  This trip would have been a gem if we had not been socked in by fog and no view of the lake.  Just one more reason to return in the summer.  We had never been on snow shoes and found it to be a lot of fun but also a great deal of work.

Thursday evening we had the awards ceremony in the lobby of The Great Hall and then headed inside for the dinner and dance.  The Great Hall was the perfect place to hold this with the old style cabin look with huge log beams and a massive fireplace at one end of the room.   We all had a fun time on the dance floor with the Dance Award going to…(Watch that Curb) Debbie Prusak and honorary mention to everyone else for looking so damn good out there.

 Friday was our last chance to ski, so the hard core were out bright and early and braved the conditions to get those last runs in.  Some of us went to see the local parks and canyons in nearby Bend.   That evening we were in town at the Bend Winter Festival where they had live music, ski demonstrations, a festival atmosphere and of course the local brews.  We stayed as long as we could but this old man was tired and the bus was coming early on Saturday morning.

Needless to say we all had our bags out by 5:30am and were heading to Portland by 6:00 and that is the rest of the story.  For the good stories I am sorry to say…What Happens in Mt. Bachelor Stays in Mt. Bachelor.

James Robertson, Trip Leader