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OCT/NOV 2017
NEW CENTRAL OREGON BOULDER-
ING GUIDE BOOK IS EXTENSIVE
A new bouldering guide that covers Central
Oregon will be available soon. There will be
a launch party on October 19th at Moun-
tain Supply. The guide is extensive, with
300 pages, full color maps and topos, cov-
ering 10 public areas with 900 problems.
Bouldering around Bend dates back to the
seventies, but up until now it’s been some-
what obscure. At first climbers were hiding,
avoiding the forest service, and not wanting
anybody else to show up at their favorite
boulders. Many climbers used the boulder-
ing problems to train, practice technique
and increase strength. Today, bouldering
has taken on a life of its own and many
competitions have popped up all over the
country.
Author Jason Chinchen wanted to share
advice and document as many good boul-
dering problems as possible while working
with the forest service and only promoting
areas with public access. By making all
these bouldering spots known, Chinchen is
hoping to build and foster a local boulder-
ing community that will bear the responsi-
bility to care for these areas.
Jason Chinchen was born in British Colum-
bia, but moved to the Olympic Peninsula
around high school. Jason started climbing
in 1991 and not much later moved to the
drier high desert of Bend to get out of the
wetness. In 2010, he and his family moved
into a motorhome, traveled for a year and
a half visiting all of the western parks, later
settling in Bishop, California, one of North
America’s premier climbing areas. Little did
he know this was the spark that would stay
with him and help launch his own guide-
book idea.
The process of climbing 900 problems and
documenting them took about two and
a half years. With climbing partner Jason
Caron, and a host of other local climb-
ers, the two set out to explore previously
unclimbed boulders as well as all of the
established rocks. Most of the areas are
located just near the west side of Bend
in the woods and near the river, while the
furthest area covered in the book is located
near Silver Lake.
Jason Chinchen can be found building
cabinetry, guitars, coaching for Bend En-
durance Academy,doing freelance graphic
design, and of course, climbing.
The new bouldering guidebook can be
pre- purchased right now at: centralore-
gonbouldering.com, or at Mountain Supply,
Redpoint Climbing, and Dudley’s Books
after October 13th. Be sure to attend the
release party on October 19th, 6:30 pm at
Mountain Supply and enjoy beer, food, slide
show, giveaways, climbing videos and more.
IAN CALDWELL RECEIVES BEBIE
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Access Fund is proud to present Ian
Caldwell with a Bebie Leadership Award
for his incredible dedication to Smith Rock,
one of America’s most iconic climbing
areas. Ian has played a central role in the
Smith Rock Group since 2003, coordi-
nating the annual Spring Thing climbing
stewardship event, which celebrates its
25th anniversary this year. Ian also replaces
bolts and anchors at Smith and volunteers
for the Deschutes County rescue team.
Decades ago, Ian was an Access Fund Re-
gional Coordinator and served as president
of the Madrone Wall Preservation Commit-
tee. Ian has also worked to protect climbing
areas across the Northwest and played a
lead role in the 2016 Northwest Sustain-
able Climbing Conference. Congratulations,
Ian, and thank you for your outstanding
leadership.
LAURENNE ROSS ON SCHEDULE FOR
GETTING BACK ON SNOW
It’s been a tough summer, coming back
from my knee injury, but things are starting
to look up as I am finally preparing to ski
in just over a month! My surgery went well,
and although it was a complicated opera-
tion there were no surgical complications
and my body is responding to it nicely. It
has been a slow comeback -- I was non-
weight bearing for the first 6 weeks, then
took a few weeks to relearn how to walk,
was finally road biking at the end of July
(my surgery was March 31st), and now I’m
back into hiking and mountain biking! I’ve
been doing a ton of work in the gym...and
not being able to exercise outside was defi-
nitely the most difficult part of this injury,
aside from the pain. But I am beginning to
finally feel normal again. I’ve been doing
excessive amounts of therapy -- Rebound
Physical Therapy has been super helpful to
me throughout this process. They’ve helped
me get back on my feet and hopefully,
soon, back on my skis.
I got to go on a backpacking trip with family
last week in Yoho National Park, B.C., which
was a well-needed break. Heading into the
wilderness is always a necessity to main-
tain my sanity through the summers spent
in the gym (especially this year with no
breaks for skiing). I’ve been traveling quite
a bit over the last few months -- spending
some time in Park City, UT to work with
my trainers, up in Canada with family, in
Vail to see my doctor/PT, etc. But I have
spent quite a bit of time in Oregon as well
-- I spent my first 6 weeks post-surgery at
home in Bend (I try to block that part out),
and have been in and out a lot over the last
few months. It’s been great to spend a little
more time at home, and I think this time off
snow is really going to make me motivated
when I finally do get to return to skiing. I
know I will return hungrier...I am missing it
so much. Although this process has been
defeating and exhausting I have learned so
many valuable lessons that I will take with
me through not only the remainder of my
ski career, but the rest of my life.
Right now my recovery is going according
to our plan, which is definitely accelerated
but is designed to have me ready to race
by December. I’m feeling stronger and
stronger every day and am nearly pain-free.
I plan on returning to snow mid-October,
but am taking things day by day so as to
not get too far ahead of myself. Everything
is going well... but I know I have to focus on
where I am in order to get to where I want
to be when I’m back on skis. I’m in Vail to
see my doctor tomorrow, then head back to
Oregon for a bit before attending an event
in Park City, UT. Eventually I’ll be spend-
ing a bit more time there with my trainer
right before heading into the mountains
next month. I’m getting really excited to ski
again!
NEW APP GETS YOU OUT ON THE
TRAIL AND INTO THE OUTDOORS
Diverge is an interactive trail map and activ-
ity tracker for outdoor enthusiasts. People
are using Diverge to record amazing hikes,
mountain bike rides, trail runs and other
adventures to see where they’ve gone and
to collect stats such as time, distance and
elevation gain.
Diverge is great for navigating areas where
the app already has excellent map cover-
age, such as in Central Oregon. With Di-
verge, you can come to an intersection, pull
out your phone and know where each trail
will take you. This gives you the confidence
to explore new areas.
Diverge came in handy for a few early
users this summer while hiking up at the
High Lakes. With poorly marked trails and
numerous offshoots, they chose what they
believed to be the correct route. After
things didn’t look right, they pulled out
Diverge to realize they had made a wrong
turn. They used Diverge to navigate back
to the intersection in question and found
the trail that lead to the lake they had been
searching for.
You can also compete with friends to be
the first to record a trail that isn’t already on
the trail map. The new trail will automatical-
ly be added to the map and the first person
will be awarded the First Ascent, which
means
that their
name will
be listed
in the trail
details.
Diverge
was start-
ed by two
brothers
that were
both born
and raised
in Central
Oregon,
where their
love for the
outdoors
began
at an
early age.
They’re
both avid hikers, mountain bikers and ski-
ers. They love doing all kinds of outdoor
activities and are excited to be building an
awesome product for the outdoor com-
munity.
To get Diverge, go to our website diverge-
maps.com and click the “Download on the
App Store” button. Diverge is only available
on iOS at this time.