Traverski members dressed in their finest threads to enjoy our annual Christmas Party on December 15th. The party included a delicious buffet dinner, games with prizes, and dancing. The Board also announced that Al Doyle was this year’s recipient of the Most Valuable Traverski Award. Congratulations Al!
Skiing opportunities have been plentiful for all those interested. There has been participation in the MSC Winter Carnival weekend, January 4th – 6th at Big Snow Resort; Spirit Mountain Day trip, January 26th; Traverski hosted a Meet & Ski at Welch Village for all MSC club members on Saturday, February 2nd at Madd Jax, the adult chalet. There have also been many impromptu ski days.
We had 26 people go on our trip out west to Mt Bachelor, February 9th – 16th. As we were about to land in Portland, the captain informed us that we had a WW II vet from Pearl Harbor riding on our plane. His remains were being brought home to Oregon to be laid to rest. The captain said it would be a bit before they let us off the plane due to the respect of unloading the WW II vet first. What an emotional heart wrenching moment. We got to watch out the window all the service people, fire departments, family, etc. as they unloaded the casket. This is a moment many of us will never forget.
The skiing, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing was great! We had our own personal shuttle bus to the mountain and back to the hotel every day. It snowed every day we were there, receiving between 3 to 4 feet of snow throughout the week. It was a bit hard to see at the top of the lifts due to the snow and wind. And then there was the fun with the flat light and depth perception, making you wonder where and when the bumps would show up.
Traverski Mt Bachelor Ski Trip
On a day off from skiing, a small group of us went hiking at Smith Rock State Park in the morning (where there was little snow) and then went snowshoeing in the afternoon in a different area and it snowed the whole time. Another evening, a few of us went on a lava tube cave tour which was interesting and informative. Many want to go back to Mt Bachelor in a few years!
It’s that time of year to transition over to a new Board after our March elections, and the Board Bash will be in April.
In May our meetings will move outdoors to Essex Park, where we will meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays each month and we will be focusing on warmer outdoor activities! If you are in Rochester and want to say “hi”, stop on by. You can check out our website, traverski.org.
Kathy Meaden
Traverski Snowshoeing in Oregon
