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NOV/DEC 2019
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NEWS|
BEND OUTDOOR WORX
ANNOUNCES WINNERS
LAURENNE ROSS TO TAKE OFF 19/20
SEASON TO BECOME 100% STRONG
CIRCUIT CLIMBING GYM IS RISING
ON THE NORTHEAST PART OF BEND
Circuit Climbing’s newest bouldering gym
is well under construction. This will be the
Circuit’s fourth gym. The previous three
are all in Portland, Oregon. The 20,000-sq.
ft. facility will be it’s largest to date and
is being built by climbers. Construction is
well under way with new walls going up
every day. The gym will offer a full range of
terrain including top out boulders, and over
200 routes for climbers of all abilities. The
gym will also include a full training area,
dedicated kids climbing area, Yoga rooms,
and a bar serving beer, wine, and kombu-
cha. An early winter opening is expected at
63051 NE Corporate Pl. Keep updated at:
thecircuitgym.com
AdvenChair and Ombraz Win BOW BreakOut Funding Awards
Bend, OR (October 16, 2019)—Bend Outdoor Worx (BOW), announced the winners
of the 2019 BreakOut, the first and only funding event focused solely on the outdoor
industry, held Friday October 11th at the Unitarian Universalists Fellowship of Central
Oregon (UUFCO) in Bend. Bend’s own AdvenChair (advenchair.com), an all-terrain,
human-powered wheelchair that allows people with mobility challenges to experience
wild places won the $5,000 no-strings-attached cash grant BreakOut Award in the early
stage category. Seattle’s Ombraz (ombraz.com), carbon-negative, armless sunglasses with
a built-in cord won the $10,000 no-strings-attached cash grant Ready to Roll award in
the growth stage category. Both award winners were determined by audience vote. In
addition to the pitch event at the UUFCO, Bend Outdoor Worx held a series of educa-
tional sessions during the day prior, presented in collaboration with the Oregon Outdoor
Alliance. The sessions offered valuable information including marketing, distribution and
funding insights from top industry experts.
BOW BreakOut is presented by Northline Wealth Management, HydroFlask, 10 Barrel
Brewing, Ruffwear, First Interstate Bank, Toyko Starfish, District 2, Price Fronk, White
Summers Law, BBSI, and Business Oregon.
P: Peter Morning
Laurenne Ross took to Instagram on Wednesday, September 25th, to announce that she
would not be participating in the 2019/20 ski season. Her decision comes after a long
period of mulling over whether or not she should completely end her career, or continue
to pursue the sport she loves. Back in February of 2019, just before World Champion-
ships in Are, Sweden were set to kick off, Ross found herself once again sidetracked by
an injury incurred during training warm-ups. The 31-year-old athlete originally thought
she could return to the circuit prior to the end of the season, before further examination
showed she had in fact torn her LCL and meniscus and would have to undergo surgery.
She also needs a tibia-fibula reconstruction.
MBSEF BREAKS GROUND ON NEW
FACILITY TO OPEN IN LATE 2020
Given her past injury record, Ross is no stranger to the extensive process athletes must
go through mentally and physically in order to fully recover. Her last major injury she
sustained prior to PyeongChang in 2017. It was an emotional one, one that pushed her
to recover as quickly as possible in order to return for the Olympics. This time around, the
U.S. Ski Team veteran is in no rush. She knows she must honor her body and her health
first if she wants competitive ski racing to remain an option for her in the future.
“I want to do it right: make sure I’m 100% ready when I get back on snow. 100% strong,
100% healthy — in body and in mind. I’m hoping to get back on snow sometime in the
next few months, but that won’t give me enough time to properly prepare for this upcom-
ing winter racing season,” Ross wrote in her Instagram post.
Of course she will miss the World Cup, her teammates, and skiing with other friends
on the tour, but Ross is looking forward to making a strong comeback in the 2020/21
season. -From Laureene’s Blog
$14,260 WAS RAISED FOR
CASCADE YOUTH & FAMILY CENTER
The bike winner, Karen, purchased four of
the 1,426 raffle tickets to support Cascade
Youth & Family Center! Karen, had the
winning ticket for our Santa Cruz Shimano
XTR Megatower raffle! Her new bike is
a bit big for her, so Pine is going to build
her something a bit smaller, and equally
as amazing with her choice of a Juliana or
Santa Cruz logo on the downtube. When
you see Karen on the trails make sure
and give her a high-five! Thank you ALL
for helping us raise $14,260 for Cascade
Youth & Family Center!! You ALL are amaz-
ing!
BRIMSTONE BOULDERS, HOOD
RIVER’S FIRST INDOOR CLIMBING
GYM IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
TOMMY FORD 4 TH AT SOELDEN
WORLD CUP, BEST CAREER FINISH
A new training facility has been a dream for many MBSEF athletes and coaches and now
it is becoming a reality. With strong donations from individuals and businesses, construc-
tion is underway in NW Crossing. The new 9,700 sq foot building on Lolo Drive is next
to Snap Fitness, backs up to Skyliners Rd and is more than twice the size of the current
building on Century Drive. The new building will include: offices, ski and gear staging,
training gym, trampoline area, lockers, waxing room, meeting room, classroom, kitchen,
reception area, storage, and outdoor training area.
The building was designed by Blaise Cacciola and the builder is KirbyNagelhout Con-
struction. The total project with land and construction will cost around $4 million. MBSEF
serves hundreds of youth in alpine skiing, free-skiing, snowboarding, Nordic, and moun-
tain biking. MBSEF has produced plenty of Olympians, including Tommy Ford, Laurenne
Ross, and Ben Ferguson just to name a few.
LANCE HAIDET PODIUMS TWICE AT
2019 UCI US OPEN IN COLORADO
P: Solowattaggio
As usual Tommy Ford had a busy summer
and fall. While you were deep into your
summer activities around the rivers and
lakes, Tommy was in New Zealand training
for the upcoming season that starts in late
October in Austria. By the time you read
this, the Alpine World Cup season will be
well under way. At Soelden, Tommy posted
his best WC finish of his career. Tommy
placed 4th just 0.07 seconds off the po-
dium. It was a great start to the season for
the US Team with Ted Ligety 5th and Ryan
Cochran-Siegle 11th. When home in Bend,
Tommy got fit for the season at Boss Sport
Performance.
In an old church on State Street in Hood River, an indoor bouldering gym is rising. This
will be HR’s first climbing gym and it is well under construction, expecting to open late fall
or early winter. The owners, Conor Byrne and Jen Altschul, are fulfilling a lifelong dream
of owning a climbing gym that will serve the greater HR and Gorge community as well as
visitors to the area. This facility is exactly what HR needed and being located downtown,
it is walkable and bikeable from many of the adjacent neighborhoods.
Head routesetter, Molly Beard, is considered one of the best in the business. Molly is the
only woman with a Level 5 National Chief routesetter, the highest level of certification the
USA Climbing offers. For updates check brimstoneboulders.com.
Lance Haidet, formerly of Bend but now living in San Luis Obispo, won day one at the
Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, Colorado. Lance’s teammate on Donnelly/Aevolo Gage
Hecht was second. Day two saw Haidet land in third, gaining some good UCI points.
Elijah Krause of Bend had a great weekend of racing as well at Valmont Bike Park. The
Bend senior, racing in 17-18, was fifth day one and fourth day two against a strong
field. The 2019 UCI US Open of Cyclocross was sponsored by Shimano and Floyds of
Leadville.
BEND JR CYCLOCROSS RACERS
DOMINATE AT CROSS CRUSADE
Bend junior cy-
clocross racers
totally dominated
the 2019 Hal-
loween Cross
Crusade at De-
schutes Brewery.
14-year-old
Summit High
School Fresh-
man, Ian Brown,
got the local
fans excited
as he lead the
Pro/Elite Mens
1-2 for the first
three laps. Ian’s
second lap, at 6
P: Neil Korn
minutes 30.07
seconds, was the
second fastest lap of any racer all weekend. (only former professional racer Chris Jones
had a faster lap but had a mechanical and DNF). Elite 1-2’s race for one hour and by the
5-6 laps a few of the pros were able to real Ian back in and he ended up 4th with Carl
Decker taking the win. Many in the crowd knew they were witnessing history! Stay Tuned.
Elijah Krause, 18, was 6th in the same Elite race and Jacob Olander (above photo), 17
was 16th in his elite debut. Bend’s Sophie Russenberger (who is currently in college in
Colorado) won the Women’s Pro/Elite Women 1-2. Tanner Wescott, 16 won the Men’s
2-3 race. Natasha Visnack, 15 was second in Women’s 2-3. BMX National Champion
Sophia Rodriguez, 12, won the Junior Women’s 9-12. In JR Men’s 1,2,3, 13-18 year old’s
Bend scored a few podiums and dominated. 1st. Caiden Hartrich, 16, Sam Day 17, was
2nd, Gavin Bowen 18, was 3rd, Parke Chapin, 16 was 4th, Henry Winnerberg 13, was
5th, Zane Strait, 14 was 6th, and Tyler Winans 16, was 7th. Younger Bend Jr racer also
did well. See ORBA.com for full results.