Oregon Nordic Club
Willamette Chapter
Salem, OR 97308
oncwillamette.org
March 2023
The last day of February and in ODOT’s words it is “snowing hard and continuously”. Santiam Pass has a six-foot snowpack and spring skiing looks like a good bet. [March 3 update: snow 8-10’ deep on the Circle Lake Trail]. This is a year to ignore the daffodils blooming in the garden, leave the bike parked in the garage and keep the skis waxed and standing by the door. There will be good skiing in March. The club has a full tour schedule running through early April. Best of all, the Oregon Nordic Club’s John Craig Memorial Ski will be held on Saturday, March 18. Don’t miss this chance to race or tour the groomed McKenzie Pass Hwy to Windy Point and Dee Wright Observatory with skiers from throughout Oregon. The skiing will be smooth and the views among the finest in the Cascades. See the flyer below for details and sign up information.
SKI VIDEO CORNER
Here is a link to a preview of the John Craig Ski Event—beyond beautiful on a sunny day. https://youtu.be/FQUw_dLuCrA
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
Please renew your membership for the 2022-2023 season. For only $20 you receive access to all the inside club news, and the satisfaction of supporting our efforts to promote and improve cross-country skiing for everyone. You can download a renewal form at https://oncwillamette.org/membership. Join us for a great season on the snow.
WEEKEND DAY TOURS
Under current COVID-19 safety guidelines it is possible to resume the club’s scheduled ski tours. However, individual members should assess their risk carefully before deciding whether to ski with a group. We are responsible for our own safety. No one should participate in a club tour if they have symptoms that might indicate Coronavirus infection. The Willamette Chapter will require everyone to be vaccinated to participate in club tours. Tour leaders may require proof of vaccination. Carpooling to the trailhead is an individual choice. Those who carpool should wear a face covering as a precaution. Tourers should maintain 6’ social distance at all times and wear face coverings when social distancing is not possible.
Guests are welcome on Willamette Chapter day tours. Please contact the tour leader for details and to ensure the tour matches your interests and skill level.
We need more tour leaders for weekend tours; please step up and lead a tour to your favorite destination. If you wish to lead a tour, suggest a tour destination or learn more about tour leading, contact Jim Todd (503x378x7003). The tour schedule is sparse at present due to Holidays and uncertainties about early season snow conditions; more tours will be added as the season progresses. Remember, impromptu tours are always an option. If you yearn for a day on skis phone Jim or a skier on the roster emailed last month. Connect with your fellow Club members and get out when it snows.
March 4 or 5, Saturday or Sunday: B Tour, date and location depending on weather conditions and group interest. Contact Bob Young (503x621x6626).
March 5, Sunday: A Tour, Santiam Pass, possibly even a day on Hoodoo’s tracks. Contact Jeanne Miller (503x588x0473).
March 11, Saturday: A Tour, a return to Hoodoo’s Nordic Tracks for easy cruising on groomed snow. Contact Jim Todd (503x378x7003).
March 11, Saturday: B Tour, Santiam Pass area, location depending on snow conditions and group interest. Contact Jeff Starr (503x851x8403).
March 18, Saturday: A or B Tour: John Craig Ski Event at McKenzie Pass. Ski to Windy Point or Dee Wright on groomed snow–check the “Ski Video Corner” below. Put this one on your calendar; see details above.
March 25, Saturday: A Tour, Big Springs SnoPark or the North Loop at Ray Benson—depending on snow conditions. Contact Jim Todd (503x378x7003).
March 25 or 26, Saturday or Sunday: B Tour, date and location depending on weather conditions and group interest. Contact Bob Young (503x621x6626).
April 1, Saturday: A or B Tour, depending on group interest; Santiam Pass area. Contact Jim Todd (503x378x7003).
April 8 or 9, Saturday or Sunday: B Tour, date and location depending on weather conditions and group interest. Contact Bob Young (503x621x6626).
April 9, Sunday: A Tour, Santiam Pass area. Contact John Hortsch (503x507x5727).
April 15, Saturday: B Tour, Santiam Pass area, location depending on snow conditions and group interest. Contact Jeff Starr (503x851x8403).
Tour Ratings: A key to the Tour Rating codes:
“Beginner” = Easy, short distances on flat or gentle slopes; appropriate for first time skiers.
“A” = Easy, distances up to 5 or 6 miles with a few slopes; basic skills are required; some of these may not be suitable for 1st time skiers.
“B” = Intermediate or experienced; distances of 6 to 12 miles or possible elevation gains of 2000 feet; may include steeper sections; some downhill skills are required.
“C” = Advanced, longer with greater elevation gains; includes both trails and off-trail with frequent steep terrain.
“D” = Expert, very difficult or long; possible backcountry travel and/or ski mountaineering.
WEEK DAY SKI TOURS
Why not break the shackles that bind you to the calendar this season? Try a mid-week tour. Contact one of the enthusiasts below and arrange an escape from routine. If you want to be added to this list, send your phone and email to Jim Todd, and we’ll include it in the next Newsletter. Likewise, contact Jim, if you want your name removed for this season.
Weekday skiers:
Bill Caldwell 503x385x6494 wbcaldwell1 at q dot com
Chuck Daellenbach 541x928x4256 daellenbachc at comcast dot net
Frank Hoffman 541x475x0185 hh_tex at msn dot com
Denise Hughes 435x828x2273 salemhughes at gmai dot com
Bianca Klar 503x949x9089 bianchiklar at yahoo dot com
Bill Nelson 503x576x1278 bnelson at pacificomm dot net
Mark Olson 503x559x0728 mark at olson dot us
Foxie Proctor 503x581x0207 foxieproctor at comcast dot net
Denise Sanders 503x859x4597 dsander at wvi dot com
Jeff Starr 503x851x8403 jeffstarr3 at gmail dot com
Jim Todd 503x378x7003 toddwac18 at gmail dot com
Jerry Vessello 503x931x6344 jvess at comcast dot net
Craig Wojcik 503x931x2705 ccwojcik09 at comcast dot net
Pam Wojcik 971x312x3984 pjwojcik09 at comcast dot net
Bob Young 503x621x6626 arch.byoung at gmail dot com
TOUR REPORTS
February 4, 2023: Berley Lake by Bob Young
Saturday looked like the best day for this weekend ski. Mark, Jeff, and Aaron joined me for an exploration to Lower Berley Lake. Jeff and Aaron were continuing their testing of the pull sleds they have put together. We stopped at Maxwell to check the snow conditions and quickly rejected the icy surface as an option. The surface at Santiam Snopark was only slightly crusty and quickly improved as we climbed. We basically followed the Skyline trial to the abandoned Berley Lake trail where we found other tracks coming from a slightly lower approach. At the lake we met a couple of guys from the Central Oregon ONC. We had occasional sun breaks with only a few light snow showers on the return trip. Some of the side slopes and the steep climb to the Berley saddle presented the challenges Jeff and Aaron were looking for, and maybe more. The sleds performed amazingly well. The temperature stayed about the same all day and the glide remained great all day. Trail breaking was only a couple of inches deep. This was about a 6 mile trek and explored some new terrain for me, which is always a treat. A good day to be on the snow.
Photo by Bob Young
February 11, Saturday: Martin Lake by Jim Todd
Bob, Bob, Chuck, Lisa, Mark and I met at Santiam SnoPark for a ski over the Cascade Crest to visit east side lakes. First we skied east along Hwy 20 to the snowed in PCT parking lot and then climbed north towards Three Fingered Jack. The surface was icy in the morning and some of us resorted to skins and climbers; but with a determined effort we all made it up over the ridge to the east slope. Here we found easier skiing out to the Heavens viewpoint overlooking Square Lake. After a comfortable lunch break (sunny skies and a wind sheltered hollow) we dropped off the north side of the ridge into the bowl above Booth Lake and found easy skiing on soft snow. It was a pleasant cruise around the bowl above Booth with a short climb up to the shore of Martin Lake. Checking the time, and our energy levels, we decided against skiing down to Booth Lake (and climbing out again). Instead we followed our tracks back over the ridge for a final downhill to the SnoPark. It was a good day on skis.
photo by Bob Young
February 15, 2023: Brandenburg Shelter Ski by Bill Nelson and Frank Hoffman
We met at Ray Benson Snopark at about 9:45 with some trepidation, as skiers more experienced than we had politely declined joining us so soon after a major storm. However, the sky was clear with no breeze and a temperature of 7°. A dozen or more trucks with snowmobiles soon came into the Snopark. Heading out, we found broken trail on the south loop with tracks 6-8” deep. We turned east on the south loop tie and then south on FS 910 for our first unbroken snow. About 12” of very light powder covered a solid base, and skins worked well for trail breaking. We traded off leads on the south-trending section. Frank then set the course east—momentarily on FS 942, then roadless with some jogging back and forth to miss occasional thickets. We arrived at Brandenburg shelter at 12:30 to find several friendly snowmobilers taking a break. They were from the valley and were riding 800-1000cc machines that seemed to do quite well in the snow. Since it was sunny and calm, we had lunch outside the shelter and talked with a couple, one of whom was skiing, the other snowshoeing. Skins off, we returned as we had come with the benefit of our tracks, arriving back at our cars at 3:00. We had to admit that our fears were largely disproven. It turned out to be a fine day, spring-like, yet with early-winter-like very skiable snow.
Photos by Bill Nelson
February 25, Saturday: fresh snow and sunshine; three reports from the same day!
Lava View Loop and Lava Lake Snopark by Frank Hoffman
The Lava View Loop and Lava Lake Snopark lie at the end of the east ridge of Echo Mountain, making them part of the old Cascades. The trail was logged out by Beth Dayton and the Salem Salamanders and re-signed by Jim Todd assisted by Ron Allowitz and me a couple of years ago. For my first ski on the trail, the clearing and signing made all the difference as much of the trail goes through heavy forest custom made for disorientation. Why do this kind a tour on a clear, sunny day with recent new snow? Well, it was a Saturday after stormy weather, guaranteeing numbers of snow lovers both motorized and unmotorized. This low-level, obscure Snopark with many old-growth trees seemed to offer a chance for solitude. I was not disappointed. There were only two other cars in the Snopark when I arrived and two when I left. I saw no one. For the climb onto the ridge, kicker skins worked well breaking trail in 6+” of new snow. An early section of the trail had jumbled features somewhat difficult to traverse. Diamonds mostly served well, with a few areas requiring some puzzling to figure out the actual trail. After lunch on the ridge, I removed the skins and descended through open forest in steadily heavier snow. I skied under one suspended log and traversed around another. These were the only trees across the trail. Once off the ridge on FS 2065, sun and warmth made the new snow clump under my skis. Full-length glide wax greatly improved the ski back to the Snopark. This loop was 4 miles with 420’ elevation gain and took me four hours including lunch.
Photo by Frank Hoffman
Silver Falls State Park: by Jeff Starr
Saturday was a rare opportunity to cross country ski at Silver Falls State Park 30 minutes from home rather than a typical 2-hour drive to Santiam Pass. The Catamount Trailhead is at 1700ft and our planned route would gradually climb to 2500 ft. Aaron I decided to risk the possible lack of snow to ski in an area that is rarely skiable, but a very close drive. Bringing our thrift store “rock skis”, we started on a minimal base that slowly gained depth to an acceptable level. We were rewarded with great views and scenery including a lunch spot on the top of a clear cut with views of the Santiam Canyon and Mt. Jefferson. The snow was sometimes sticky and we discovered the best snow was in shaded north facing slopes. We were rewarded with a wide variety of scenery.
Our route took us east on Lookout Mountain Road across the park boundary to a clearcut high point of 2500 ft with good views. On the route back, we turned north at the junction with the Lost Creek Trail taking a fire/maintenance road with excellent snow coverage. The maintenance road eventually merged back onto the Lookout Mountain Road about 1 1/2 miles from the parking lot. Discovering how the snow depth had decreased in the full sun on Lookout Mountain Road, we skied towards the parking lot looking for an access point to the full shade of the Catamount Trail. Having gained access to the trail in about a half mile, we were surprised to find the Catamount Trail skiable, but packed down from mountain bikes. About 1/2 from the parking lot, the minimal snow depth on the Catamount Trail encouraged us to cut back over to the road where we needed to take off the skis to hike back the last half mile to the truck.
photo by Jeff Starr
Lost Lake Creek Mdw: by Jim Todd
Anna, Bob, Bob, Jack, Mark and I set out from Santiam SnoPark on a cool morning (22F) hoping to ski to Santiam Lake. Snow was variable due to recent storms and wind redistribution. In a short distance you encountered light snow with skis sinking a couple inches, a deep pocket of powder, a stretch of wind slab, a patch of sastrugi and then a spot where wind had scoured down to ice crust from the previous snowfall. Compounding the challenge, tempratures rose to 43F by noon, adding tree drip and icing skis to the mix. Progress was slowed a little by snow conditions, a lot by pauses while I switched from kicker skins to waxes and back again and finally by an extended wait to repair a boot that ripped off its sole (remember the duct tape).
We made it to Lost Lake Creek Meadow for a late lunch, but decided against continuing to Santiam Lake. As a consolation we climbed the ridge for a great view of Three Fingered Jack before enjoying the downhill run back to the SnoPark.
photo by Jim Todd
March 1, Wednesday: Lava Lake Trail from Big Springs Snopark by Genice Rabe
Bill Caldwell, Bob Wells, Jim Todd, and Genice Rabe set out from Big Springs Snopark on the Lava Lake Trail on a beautiful sunny day with temperatures below freezing with ideas of an easy ski to Lava Lake. They were not counting on or thinking about the possibility of two feet of new snow on an unbroken trail. But that situation made itself present. We took turns breaking trail one exhausted skier after another. Jim made the comment that we really would have appreciated the assistance of four or five more skiers. In five hours we went four miles and expended many calories. We made it to the Lava fields, but not the lake. Nevertheless, the large fir trees were inspiring, the heavy snow beautiful, and the weather wonderful. We felt we had accomplished something and left good tracks for the couple of Nordic Ski Club members we met on the way back to the parking lot.
Photo by Bob Wells
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
1. Santiam Pass Travel Notes, March 3:
A. With recent heavy snow the plows have blocked all the low elevation roads (Pamelia, Straight Creek, Parrish Lake, Big Meadows) along Hwy 22 with snow. There are no safe places to park below Big Springs SnoPark. Hopefully these side roads will be opened up when the weather clears.
B. At Santiam Pass there are usually a few parking spaces just off Hwy 20 on Big Lake Rd. where FS 801 goes east to ODOT’s gravel piles. But right now 801 is plowed out and today heavy machinery was parked on the road. It’s probably not a good place to leave your car.
C. The Santiam Pass traffic jams of 2021-2022 have eased this season. Although Hoodoo’s parking lots have filled on weekends, there have been empty spaces at Ray Benson and Santiam SnoParks and the drive between Ray Benson and the Hwy has been relatively easy.
2.
Kicker notes
February 2023 Frank Hoffman
Why kicker skins?
“I have kicker and full-length skins but it’s the kickers that live in my pack. You never know for sure when you might want them and sometimes it’s not until you are headed back on a trip and the surface is just scarier than you want for the down-hill and the kickers can really help you slow down.” – Bob Young
Kickers also help give additional grip for trail-breaking in deep, loose new snow. Compared to full-length skins, they’re much lighter and easier to put on and take off.
Materials
The oldest ski skins come from China’s Altai mountains, where skiers have been nailing horse hair to the underside of their skis for over 4,000 years. In Finland, badger fur was used for the same purpose. The first modern ski skins developed for recreational use in the 1930s used sealskin. Basically, any animal skin with short, stiff hairs can be used for ski skins.
Today, two types of material are commonly used for ski skins: mohair and nylon. Mohair skins are made using the hair of Angora goats. In recent years, a hybrid mix with mohair/nylon 65/35 has become the standard for climbing skins in an effort to combine the best characteristics of the two—and this mix works well for users of kicker skins. The features of the materials break down this way:
Nylon
- Most durable
- Heaviest weight
- Bulkiest
- Least amount of glide
Mohair
- Lightest weight
- Highest amount of glide
- Least amount of bulk
- Least durable
- Least uphill traction
Nylon/Mohair Mix
- Lighter than pure nylon skins
- Less bulky compared to pure nylon skins
- More durable than pure mohair skins
- Better glide compared to pure nylon skins
- Better grip compared to pure mohair skins
What kicker skins are available?
For some time, Black Diamond (BD, originally Chouinard) has almost singlehandedly dominated the kicker skin market, most recently with their Glidelite Mix kicker skins. Fischer makes a dedicated ski-skin package using skins that aren’t readily transferable to other xc skis. Typically, BD kicker skins have been available at outdoor stores that carry ski equipment like REI, Mountain Shop in Portland, or backcountry.com. As of this writing (Feb 2023) a BD staff person told me that there will be one more limited production run in early spring 2023; the staff person hadn’t been told why BD was discontinuing kicker skins. With care and regluing, skins should last for years; as well, kickers have simple design and could be fabricated from full length skins.
How do they work?
BD kicker skins are attached a few inches ahead of the ski binding using a metal or plastic “slider plate” and strap riveted onto the
leading edge of the skin. The strap ends go around the sides of the ski and buckle on top. The slider plate provides a smooth transition from ski to skin. The rest of the skin’s backing attaches to the ski with glue that can stick and be removed many times. The nap of the mohair/nylon (snow) side of the skin points backward to grip and allow the ski to slide forward while strongly resisting backward movement. Inevitably the skin creates some resistance to forward movement as well, making it useful to slow descent.
Black Diamond Glidelite Mix kicker skins
Skiers often have concern about applying the skins’ glue side to ski bases that have ski wax on them—either hard grip wax, hard glide wax, or a liquid wax like F4 or MaxiGlide. Might wax contaminate the skin’s glue? Yes and no. There’s general consensus that cold waxes like green or blue hard wax or hard glide wax, well buffed, should not be a problem. Similarly, dried and buffed F4 liquid wax seems to be OK. It appears riskier to apply skins over warmer hard wax like red or violet, or over a base to which MaxiGlide has just been applied; these waxes are best removed before using skins.
Size
Kickers are typically about 30” long, but they come in several widths. Those of most interest to xc skiers are 50, 65 and 80 mm, and of those 50 mm is the most universal—it should fit a ski of just about any width. A rule of thumb is to get a skin whose slider plate width fits or is a bit smaller than the ski width at the slider plate’s attachment point to the ski (a few inches ahead of the ski binding). It’s a good idea to measure the width of this attachment point or to simply take one of your skis to the shop when you purchase skins.
Wider skin widths are for use on wider skis. These wider skins might require trimming for proper fit—proper fit meaning the skis’ metal edges are exposed for the length of the skin, which allows the ski to maintain solid edge-hold on icy and off-camber terrain.
Trim to Fit
Assuming you’ve purchased a kicker skin sized to your ski, you should have to do little or no trimming. If the skin allows both metal edges of the ski to be exposed at the waist (narrowest part) of the ski, no trimming is necessary.
If trimming of skins is needed to expose the skis’ metal edges, you’ll need a sharp cutting tool. Perhaps the simplest and quite effective is the BD trim tool—a razor edge mounted in a plastic holder which costs about $3. While effective, this tool requires repositioning the skin on the ski to complete the trim (see below).
BD trim tool
Alternately, you may want to try the G3 trim tool: after centering the skin on the ski, run the tool firmly along each edge from slider plate to tail. The tool’s blade is offset so that it cuts a few mm inside the ski edge, leaving the edge exposed. Cost is about $7.
G3 trim tool
Of the two, I prefer the BD tool, though others have had success with the G3. Wetting either tool may help it cut better.
How to trim kicker skins with the BD trim tool:
- For waxless skis, center the skin on the ski while positioning the slider plate a few inches ahead of the ski binding. This positioning allows the skin’s tail to securely adhere to the smooth ski base beyond the end of the waxless pattern.
- Wrap the strap over the top of the ski and secure it with the cam lock buckle. Make sure the strap is tight to ensure the slider plate remains firmly against the base of the ski.
- Using the trim tool, firmly trim the overhanging* LEFT edge of the skin with the nap (toward the skin’s tail), flush with the left edge of the ski. Use the left ski edge as your cutting guide. *This may just be the section of the skin near the ski’s waist.
- Remove the skin and stick it to the ski again, this time placing the trimmed left edge 1/8” or 3 mm inside the left edge of the ski. Now 1/8” or 3 mm of the ski’s left edge will be visible.
- Firmly trim the overhanging RIGHT edge of the skin toward the skin’s tail. Use the right ski edge as your cutting guide.
- Remove the skin and stick it to the ski again, this time placing the trimmed right edge 1/4” or 6 mm inside the right edge of the ski from slider plate to skin tail. Now, 1/4” or 6 mm of the ski’s right edge will be visible.
- Trim the LEFT edge of the skin again toward the skin’s tail as in step 3. Center the skin on the ski: now, 1/8” or 3 mm of the ski edge will be visible on both left and right edges.
You can round the corners of the skin’s tails for better retention.
Attaching Skins to Skis
Ski bases should be clean and dry—remove snow, debris, or warm waxes. On very cold days, skin adhesive will perform better if you keep your skins warmed inside your jacket when not in use.
Start out by aligning the skin’s slider plate onto the ski base a few inches ahead of the ski binding. Bring the slider straps around the ski and firmly secure them with the cam lock buckle. Then press the skin onto the base of the ski, working slowly from slider plate down toward the tail, ensuring that the edges of the skin are properly lined up inside the ski’s edges. With skin attached, run the heel of your hand firmly down the length of the skin a few times to make sure it’s firmly attached.
Storing Climbing Skins
When you’re ready to take your skins off, take one ski off and set it vertically. Unbuckle the strap, grasp the slider plate and strap, and jerk downward; the skin should come off fairly easily. Fold the skin in half over the mesh protector that came with the skins (BD Cheat Sheets), glue sides in. Then fold again. Repeat for the other ski and place the skins in their storage bag.
After you get home, the skins need to be dried. To do this, leave the skins loosely open at room temperature for several hours away from direct heat sources. When they’re dry, refold them over their Cheat Sheets and store them in your ski pack. Off-season, store them in their bag out of sunlight in a cool, dry place (such as a refrigerator) with mesh sheets in place to help preserve the glue.
Maintaining Climbing Skins
You may need to renew the glue to keep skins sufficiently sticky. A tube of Black Diamond Gold Label Adhesive ($14.95 at REI) can be used for spot repairs as needed or for full regluing of skins (one tube per skin). Some tips:
- watch several youtube videos first to see variations in technique
- white gas works as a solvent for clean up
- when applying the new glue, work in ~6″ lengths at a time since the glue begins to stiffen up in a few minutes and becomes harder to evenly spread
- after the glue has been spread and left to air out for +8 hours, iron the glue with parchment paper strips to help smooth the final surface and get a ‘close to factory finish’
- fumes are strong so excellent ventilation is important.
On sunny days, transitioning from warmer sunlit snow to colder shaded snow can cause skins to ice up and collect snow, producing severe drag. To counter this, you can use BD Glop Stopper Wax or BD Free Glide Skin Spray either in the field or prospectively—ideally the night before your tour.
If you start to pick up snow in the field, remove your skis and thoroughly scrape all the snow and water out of the skin’s hairs (a credit card or small wax scraper work well). Then take the Glop Stopper Wax and vigorously rub it in, covering the whole skin.
When you notice snow collecting on your skins, that may be a sign that your waxless skis will provide adequate grip and that skins are no longer needed.
Despite best practice, kicker skin tails sometimes loosen and detach from the ski. A quick and effective fix is to reapply the skin as well as possible, then tightly fasten a stretchy BD or Voile strap around the skin near its tail. Gorilla tape can also be used for a temporary fix, but it abrades quickly.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
The Willamette Chapter has an active volunteer program assisting the Forest Service with ski trail clearing and marking; shelter construction and maintenance; and firewood stocking. Thank you volunteers! If you have questions about out volunteer projects or would like to join one, contact Mark Olson (503x559x0728) or Jim Todd (503x378x7003).
The Deschutes and Willamette National Forests do essential work keeping our ski trails open, marked and signed through the winter; but they are desperately short of winter recreation staff. We can help them use their limited resources efficiently by sending a Trail Report whenever we ski the marked trails. “Cascade Volunteers” records volunteer activity and reports directly to Forest Service offices. You can access their Trail Report form at: https://cascadevols.org/usfs-work-report/. (Note: the form requires a trail number, but our ski trails are not numbered; just enter any number in the “Trail Number” field, then describe the trail in the “Trail Name” field). You can also report your observations by sending an email to Jim Todd: toddwac18 at gmail dot com.
SNO-PARK PERMITS
The Willamette Chapter will not sell Sno-Park permits in the absence of our regular monthly meetings. Sno-Park permits may be purchased online at the Oregon DMV: https://dmv2u.oregon.gov/eServices/_/. Annual permits purchased directly from DMV cost $25—no handling fee. The process takes only a few minutes and includes a downloadable copy you can print and use immediately while waiting for your permit to arrive in the mail. Buy a permit and support Sno-Park plowing.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Newsletter now includes an Announcement Section. There members can post ski related items for sale, cross-country related questions, inquiries about conditions and suggestions for ski trips. Please send your announcements to Bob, Jim or Denise for inclusion in the Newsletter. Another good place for these items is on the website, ONCWillamette.org
1. Hot Waxing your skis? Jim and Bob have placed a bulk order for Swix Universal Glide Wax. They are offering 180g blocks to interested skiers for only $14. This is less than half the price of temperature calibrated waxes and should be satisfactory for all but the most serious XC racer. Contact Jim (503x378x7003) or Bob (503x621x6626) if you wish to purchase wax. Your tips and tails will thank you and you will ski smoother and easier.
2. Salem Summit Co., our local mountain shop, is now selling cross-country skis and boots in addition to renting them. They have the Salomon Snowscape 7, a good general purpose touring ski. If you are searching for new boards, this is the same ski they rent so you could try before you buy.
3. Bob Wells, a new member of the Willamette Chapter, is looking for a safe place to practice “Ski-Shooting” (akin to Biathlon), an activity he enjoyed while living in Wyoming. If you know a safe place to ski and target shoot or would like to try this activity, please contact Bob at 307-203-7930 or mailto:rawells.evts@gmail.com.
2022-2023 OFFICERS & BOARD MEMBERS:
Available President
Jeanne Miller Vice President
Bob Young Treasurer & Membership
Denise Sanders Webmeister
Genice Rabe Newsletter Editor
Jim Todd Day Tour Chair
David Forkner ONC State Board Rep & Board Member
Pam Wojcik Overnight Trip Coordinator & Board Member
Mark Olson Volunteer Coordinator & Board Member
Christine Young Board Member
Available Board Member
ONCWillamette 