The A-to-Zs of Central Oregon: A is for ALPINE SKIING

It's no secret that we're all big ski fans here in Central Oregon. Conveniently located at the foot of Mount Bachelor, Bend has been home to many great skiers throughout history (some of whom are outlined in our previous post about local Olympians). We ski before work, on our lunch break, after work (or even during work, if we're lucky!). We ski straight through May, and sometimes even on the 4th of July!

We're obsessed! We have been since at least 1928 when Scandinavian lumber works Nels Skjersaa, Nils Wulfberg, Chris Kostol, and Emil Nordeen founded the Skyliners Ski Club-- the first group to bring organized winter sports to Central Oregon.  

Photo courtesy of the Deschutes Historical Society

The Skyliners were the first to sponsor ski races in Central Oregon, promoting competitive skiing in the area. They were also founding members of the Pacific Northwest Ski Association.

While there are several places to alpine ski in Central Oregon, Mount Bachelor is the most popular by far. The ski center at "Bachelor Butte" was established in 1958 by Bill Healy, with the help of ski enthusiasts like the Skyliners. Since then, it's become the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort we all know and love.

Photo by Chaney Swiney

With the development of the ski center, talented winter athletes began coming from across the country to train in Bend.

Mt. Bachelor's Head Alpine coach Frank Cammack helped to cultivate top competitors in the sport, including Kiki Cutter, the first American to win a World Cup race (and whom we mentioned in our Bend Olympians post). With Cammack, a great number of Central Oregon skiers went on to compete at national and international tournaments, making Bend a top contender in Alpine Skiing!

Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan

Speaking of skiing, we're so excited to get out in all that fresh, new snow! Stay tuned for more of the A-to-Z's of Central Oregon over the next few weeks on the Wanderlust Tours Blog.

#SustainabilityGoals

At Wanderlust, we’re fortunate enough to spend lots of time in the High Desert wilderness—we keep ourselves busy exploring wild caves, trekking out into old-growth forests, paddling the pristine waters of the Cascade Lakes, and more! This affords us a deep appreciation of the wild places of our world and provides a daily connection to our local landscape and our animal neighbors.

Since we’re lucky enough to see this natural beauty every day, all the more reason for us to advocate for its protection. We’re not suggesting giving up your car or going vegan because although those are excellent ways to minimize your footprint on the planet, we know those are not feasible options for most people. Luckily, there are a lot of little ways to reduce your consumption levels. Even better—there are lots of local companies that can help!

DITCH SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

This is seriously the easiest, most effective way to immediately decrease your waste! Plastic bags, water bottles, take-away coffee cups, and even straws are all huge contributors to the growing piles of non-compostable trash on the planet! So, remember your tote bags when you go to the grocery store, and get yourself a cool travel mug to use for coffee.

Silipint makes really cool, BPA-free silicone pint glasses that can be used for hot or cold beverages. Each cup is made of silicone, which is an environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, sustainable substance. You can even customize them with really cool images or text!

BUY LOCAL

Yes, we’ve heard this mantra before, but it’s true: buying local is a great choice for reducing the impact on the planet! Sure, it’s easier to order something online, but imagine how many total miles that item had to travel to reach you. The environmental toll of ordering a roll of paper towels from Amazon is definitely not worth it.

Luckily, places like Central Oregon Locavore work directly with local farmers to bring you excellent, nourishing food that hasn’t had to travel very far. They have tons of locally-made goodies: bulk snacks, gifts, and fresh, organic fruits and veggies!

HAVING AN EVENT? MAKE IT GREEN!

We know how much planning it takes to host a big event, like a wedding—corralling all your favorite people in one corner of the world, making sure they all get enough to eat, drink, providing fantastic music for everyone from Great Aunt Millie to your Frozen-obsessed niece… it’s amazing that weddings happen at all! (Speaking of which—do you need help with your wedding events? Check out our Wedding Page!)

Probably the last thing on your mind when planning a big event is the garbage, but there it is at the end of the day. If you don’t have a way of disposing of it, it will end up sitting in a landfill, potentially for decades! That’s where The Broomsmen come in: they can help make sure your garbage is sorted appropriately so that yours is a Zero Waste event.

IF IT’S BROKE—FIX IT!

Did your toaster break? How about that electric fan? Obviously, it’s easier to just buy a new one, but why not bring it to a repairperson instead? Or better yet—learn to fix it yourself!

Knowing how to fix your own household items is incredibly empowering. Organizations like The Environmental Center are a real help in this department. Check out their site for upcoming events, including the Repair Café!

Local Olympians From the Past

The 2018 Winter Olympics are in full swing, with quite a few of our locals competing in Pyeongchang! It’s been amazing to watch athletes like Laurenne Ross and Ben Ferguson represent our country, our state, and even our little town on the world stage.

With the nation rallying around some of our friends and neighbors, we got to thinking about other Bend locals that have participated in Olympics of the past. We were delighted to find that Central Oregon has quite an impressive roster of Olympians! We’ve highlighted a few of them here:

Kiki Cutter

Kiki was born and raised in Central Oregon, skiing on "Bachelor Butte," as it once was known. She competed with the U.S. Olympic Ski Team at the Grenoble Olympics in 1968. She went on to become the first American to win a World Cup event-- a slalom race in 1968 in Oslo, Norway.

Kiki only competed on the World Cup circuit for less than three years, but her five career victories led the U.S. alpine team for eleven years! Well done, Kiki.

Ashton Eaton

Ashton's family moved to Bend when he was in fifth grade, and he graduated from Mountain View High School. He attended University of Oregon, competing in their decathlon program. There, he won the decathlon at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship three times, breaking records.

Ashton holds the world record in both the decathlon and indoor heptathlon events, and won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He then defended his Olympic title in Rio 2016 by winning the decathlon gold medal and tying the Olympic record. Eaton is only the third Olympian to achieve back-to-back gold medals in the decathlon. Amazing!

Paul Hait

Although he wasn't from the Bend area when he entered into the Olympics, Paul has lived in the area for almost 40 years, and become ingrained in the Bend community. He is an Olympic champion, and former world record-holder! 

Paul won a gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He broke the world record in both the heats and the finals.

Paul currently lives in Bend, and has many interests and pursuits, including taking photographs of interestingly-shaped clouds.  

Mohini Bhardwaj

Although she, too, was born and raised outside of Central Oregon, Mohini currently owns and operates OOA Gymnastics right here in Bend! She is an artistic gymnast who competed at the 1997 and 2001 World Championships, and earned a silver medal with the American team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece! Not only that, but she is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Mohini is the first hindu Indian-American gymnast, and the second Indian-American athlete in any sport, to medal at the Olympics. Kudos to her!

To all of the athletes competing: good luck! We have immense respect for what you do!