VIRGINIA MEISSNER SNO-PARK —

Cross-country skiing is a wintertime activity that I always seem to put on a back burner.

Maybe because I know it can be such a grueling, full-body workout.

Whatever the reason, this week was the first time this winter that I made the trip up to Virginia Meissner Sno-park west of Bend for some nordic skiing.

After the recent warm weather, I almost waited too long. A snowy January gave way to a dry February, and now less than half of the trails near Meissner have sufficient snow for skiing.

Meissner, which is groomed for both skate and classic skiing, is located at an elevation of about 5,400 feet about halfway between Bend and Mount Bachelor.

“Up until about two weeks ago the season was going great, but most of February was like a drought,” said Larry Katz, operations manager for the Meissner Nordic club. “We’re down to using just the higher-elevation, north-facing trails. You can tell, not very many people are choosing to ski there right now. They’re either going to Mt. Bachelor, or staying in town and riding their bikes or doing something different.”

But I am not quite ready to let this spell of warm weather make me turn my back on winter sports — and snow is in the forecast for this weekend.

Wednesday morning at Meissner I started from the parking lot and found the classic tracks along the Tangent Loop, the main thoroughfare in the Meissner network of trails.

It was difficult at first, but I eventually fell into a rhythm — my old classic skies sliding along the frozen tracks, the sun on my back as I cruised through the quiet of the Deschutes National Forest.

Linking together the Tangent, Bitterbrush and Gentian trails, I completed a 6-mile route, encountering only two or three other skiers along the way.

Between the towering trees here and there were splendid views of rugged Broken Top, South Sister and Tumalo Mountain.

Snow conditions were not bad, but some areas in the sun were rather soft and mushy. Katz said the snowpack at the area near the lodge and parking lot was about 6 to 10 inches as of Thursday. Higher-elevation, north-facing trails had about 18 to 24 inches of snow. That should leave plenty of snow to allow for skiing through the end of March. But for now, he said, skiers should avoid lower-elevation trails such as Pinedrops, Snowbush and Wednesdays, which lack sufficient snow for grooming and skiing.

“Worst-case scenario, people could park at Swampy Lakes Sno-park and jump on the trail system there,” Katz said. “Then you’re on the north-facing, higher-elevation areas. We’re just trying to limp to the finish line. We’re still grooming five days a week. Last week of March, spring break, we typically groom every day. We’ll just have to see what the weather does between now and then.”

Trails are usually groomed at Meissner Tuesdays through Thursdays, as well as Saturdays and Sundays.

Meissner’s grooming contract with the U.S. Forest Service extends through March 31. Those who seek groomed trails later in the spring can ski at the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center, where it costs $24 for an adult day pass. Trails emanating from the nordic center typically remain open until mid to late May, when the U.S. and Canadian national nordic ski teams come for their annual spring camps at Bachelor.

Crust cruising — skiing along hard, unbreakable snow formed from long-term freeze-thaw cycles — is also an option at area sno-parks. Katz said that April is usually a good time for crust cruising in Central Oregon.

Meissner got an early start this season when it opened trails for skiing on Thanksgiving Day. Trails have been accessible every day since, reaching a base as high as 3 feet, but since mid-February not much snow has fallen at the sno-park.

Last season, the massive winter storm that brought 3 feet of snow to Central Oregon in late February kept the ski season at Meissner going strong into April. A similar storm does not appear to be coming this year. Still, 2019-20 has been a decent season, according to Katz.

“Over the last six years, this season has got to go down as pretty good,” Katz said. “I’d give it a B or a B-plus.

“But winter’s not over yet.”