Low snow doesn’t slow sledding

Published 12:00 am Monday, December 30, 2013

WANOGA SNO-PARK —

The runs were icy and wove between brush and exposed rock, but a pack of hardy sledders didn’t let low snow conditions Sunday stop them from having fun.

The sledders included the grandkids of Robben and Chris Jones of Bend.

“We tried to convince them that it was going to be awful, and then we got here and it was awful,” said Robben Jones, 59, “but they are having a good time.”

More than 30 people were at Wanoga around midday Sunday, with even more showing up. Mostly it was youngsters going downhill on sleds, tubes and ski bikes, but some adults were sledding, too.

A couple of weeks of little snowfall and warm, sunny days in Central Oregon have left the snowpack light around Bend. It’s especially evident at the sno-parks along the Cascade Lakes Highway, which are typically bustling this time of year. The parking lot was empty across the highway at Virginia Meissner Sno-park Sunday morning.

Owen Maloney, 8, and his sister, Josephine “Joey” Maloney, 5, were among the happy sledders at Wanoga. Joey said it was a good day to sled, with the slick conditions making the rides fast.

“It’s all icy,” she said.

The Maloneys, the Jones’ grandkids, were in town for the holidays from Portland, said their mom, Robin Maloney, of Portland. Playing in the snow is typically part of their wintertime trip to Central Oregon.

“We usually come up here a couple times a winter, and this is by far the most barren it’s been,” Robin Maloney said.

Maloney wasn’t alone in comparing this year to others.

“We were here last year and there was a lot more snow,” said Marshal Jevning, 45, of Portland. “…It’s a big change.”

Wearing a blue helmet with a rubber mohawk on top and Jolly Roger stickers on the sides, Jevning’s nephew Nolan Wilson, 4, joyfully yelled through his sledding runs Sunday at Wanoga.

Most of the rides ended with him sliding into brush and stopping suddenly.

Nolan said he was having a good time, with his favorite part “being stuck” in the bushes.

His aunt Jamie Jevning, 29, had a different take on the sledding.

“It’s a little rough on your tail bone,” she said.

The low snow pack isn’t just affecting the sno-parks. Two Central Oregon wintertime resorts are also waiting for more snow.

At Paulina Lake Lodge south of Bend, the recent weather has left springlike conditions, said lodge owner Karen Brown. It’s also changed how people get there. Normally this time of year people can ski, snowshoe or snowmobile into the lodge.

“We’re open; the restaurant is open, but you have to park at (Ten Mile Sno-park) and hike in,” she said.

The trucks on snow tracks are still hauling guests into Elk Lake Resort, but resort owner Pat Prieve said the packed ice is rough on the vehicles. The rigs are designed for snow travel, and two have already broken down on the ice.

“We need more snow,” Prieve said.

More snow could be on the way, but first another workweek with highs around 50 degrees in Bend, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton.

A cold front is expected to move into Central Oregon from the northwest toward the end of the week or weekend, said forecaster Marilyn Lohmann. It brings a slight chance of rain and snow to Bend.

“We are hoping that it kind of signals a pattern change,” she said, “but it is a little too early to say that.”

—Reporter: 541-617-7812; ddarling@bendbulletin.com.