4
ABOUT THE COVER:
PUBLISHER’S NOTE|
Hard to believe we are more than half way through this winter. I was up at Mt Bachelor on September 23rd shooting
photos at the little rail garden that they had set up. As I write this publisher’s note we are getting pounded up in the
Cascades. A full blizzard affecting lift operations up at the mountain. It’s been a long season already and a strange
one to boot. Could this be the norm in the future? Even if the mountain hasn’t had a lot of powder the Nordic skiing
has been fabulous.
Larry Kite and Warren Miller (RIP)
In this issue, we chronicle the life of two legends, one a local Bend skier, the other an internationally known ski film
producer. Larry Kite and Warren Miller had one major thing in common, their love of skiing down a mountain. Both are
gone now, but leave a long legacy behind for generations to admire their talent and accomplishments. Larry the skier,
Warren the filmer.
Lucas Wachs
Lucas Wachs, started skiing Mt Bachelor as a little kid. He came up through the ranks, his skills got him noticed early
on and today he skis for the love of it. Lucas doesn’t go after the limelight, the limelight finds him. He comes from a
strong ski family, but you won’t see him training for the next Olympics, his focus is filming. Lucas is a soul skier, and
right now his soul is on fire.
Zach Warren Hegelmeyer 1991-2018
We keep getting reminded how fragile life can be here in Bend. Another incredible person and athlete was lost way
too soon. Zach Hegelmeyer, a Bend local who was previously a bartender at 10 Barrel, died while surfing in Bali,
Indonesia on February 15, 2018. Zach was a gifted athlete, he did it all, surf, skate, snowboard, wakeboard, and cliff
jumping. In high school and college, Zach was a standout in baseball, one of the great loves of his life. Zach and his
girlfriend, Aubrey Hancock, had recently moved to Bali in search of surf and a simpler life. A celebration of Zach’s life
was held at 10 Barrel East Side on February 24th.
Mid November, Tim Durtschi, Lucas Wachs, Aus-
tin Smith and I woke up at 2am and began our
tour at 2:45am. Decent trek to get to our sunrise
location, which was unreal to say the least. An
hour or two later, the group found surprisingly
deep enough landings to take a little flight. As I
said it was mid November and to drop cliffs with
confidence is a gamble, but not this time.
-Pete Alport
ig: @pete_alport
From all of us here at Outdoor Central Oregon and the Bend community, our deepest sympathy to Zach’s parents,
David and Michele, brother Chad, girlfriend Aubrey, family, and friends.
1443 NW Juniper Street
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 241-0305
Neil Korn
Gerry Lopez is a busy man. He
could be teaching yoga at a surf
retreat halfway around the globe,
snowboarding in Japan with the
Patagonia crew, or even spending
hours organizing his signature
event, the Gerry Lopez Big Wave
Surf Challenge held every April at
Mt. Bachelor. Here, Gerry holds
his cover that traveled all the way
to Mexico with his wife Toni.
PUBLISHER
Neil Korn
[email protected]
EDITOR
Chris Shredwards
[email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Brian Zager
[email protected]
CONTENTS|
Get Well Soon Brayden Belden
On February 20th, 11-year-old ripping surfer from Laguna Beach was
snowboarding with his family at Mt Bachelor. Brayden was hitting jumps
all day in the park, and building his confidence jump after jump. Every-
thing was going well until his last park jump of the day. Brayden went big
and landed but caught his heel edge and slammed hard.
Ski patrol got him down to the base quickly, and he was flown to St.
Charles Hospital. At that point, it was touch and go. Brayden had suf-
fered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Doctors told the Belden family he
might just have two hours to live. Somehow the doctors were able to sta-
bilize Brayden enough to fly him to the Children’s Hospital in Portland.
Brayden is still in Portland. He is out of the induced coma and breathing
on his own. He continues to improve day by day but the prognosis is still
unknown. Former professional Snowboarder Kevin Pearce, who also suf-
fered a TBI while training for the Olympics, went to visit Brayden in the
hospital and lend support to the family.
Little Brayden is a fighter! Although he has a long road to some kind of
recovery, there is no doubt he will surf again. A friend of the family set up
a GoFundMe, the Brayden Belden Recovery Fund.
6NEWS
8GET2KNOW
10WINTER OLYMPIC WRAP-UP
14FEATURE|REMEMBERING LARRY KITE
18FEATURE|LUCAS WACHS
22POSTER| LUCAS WACHS BY PETE ALPORT
24WARREN MILLER|A LEGACY UNMATCHED
29FOOD | COLORFUL VEGAN
30HEALTH
31FISHING
ND
32THE 32 MT. BAKER BANKED SLALOM
34GALLERY|NORDIC NATIONALS
36CANNABIS COLUMN
38COMMUNITY
40EVENTS
Contributing Writers
Kelly Maer
Dr. Oliver Wisco
Pete Alport
Dave Cieslowski
Terry Foley
Dori Kite
Lesley Peters
Marty Huber
Aubrey Hancock
Ally Galloway
Senior Contributing Photographers
Mike Albright
Pete Alport
Jesse Polay
Contributing Photographers
Edmond Wadeson
The Belden Family
The Kite Family
Jack Ford
Kerry Thalhfer
Warren Miller Film
The Dirksen Family
Scott Huggin
John McColgan
Weymuller Photography
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Sales Manager, Pavel Shmelov