BACKGROUND PHOTO: Several skiers make their way out onto the trails last winter at Meissner Sno-park west of Bend.

Larry Katz admitted he was getting nervous.

Just a couple of weeks ago, temperatures were in the 70s in Central Oregon and there was no snow to speak of in the Cascade foothills.

“I was worried we wouldn’t be open before winter break,” said Katz, operations manager for Meissner Nordic, the nonprofit that grooms up to 40 kilometers of trails at the popular Virginia Meissner Sno-park west of Bend each winter. “I’m always nervous, but maybe I’m too much of a pessimist when it comes to snowfall.”

Katz has lived in Bend long enough to know that the snow always eventually comes, some winters just being later than others.

Mother Nature delivered the goods this past weekend with about 2 feet of snow at Meissner Sno-park, located about 14 miles southwest of Bend along Century Drive. It was more than enough snow to start grooming and to open to cross-country skiers last Sunday.

“I can only remember one really bad winter when we hardly put 40 hours on the snowcat that winter,” Katz said. “I think it was winter of 2014-15. But we’re in great shape, and we’re happy to have the snow. We successfully opened ahead of Mt. Bachelor, which is always a feather in my cap.”

Snowcat operators groomed about a quarter of the trails at Meissner on Sunday and added a couple of more miles on Monday. Katz said most of the network was expected to be open for both skate and classic skiing by this weekend.

Last Sunday, skiers flocked to the freshly groomed Meissner trails with big smiles as winter had finally arrived.

“We had a ton of people up there skiing on Sunday,” Katz said. “Everybody was thrilled. I was riding around in the snowcat with Lev Stryker (snowcat operator), and everybody you go by is waving and smiling. It’s probably the nicest place in Bend on a good day of snow.”

Katz said that cross-country skiing is an ideal way to escape the stresses of daily life, if even for just a short time. And the sno-park is 10 miles closer to Bend than the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center.

“People just like to be out there,” he said. “Between politics and COVID, it’s nice to just get a way for an hour or two, for whatever you need a break from.”

Last year, folks were skiing at Meissner by Nov. 19 after some early season snowfall. This year started later, but only by about two weeks, as Meissner typically begins grooming on Dec. 1.

The Meissner Nordic Community Ski Trails are located entirely within the Deschutes National Forest and have operated under a grooming agreement with the U.S. Forest Service for more than 20 years. The agreement runs from Dec. 1 to March 31 each winter. The high point in the trail system is located at 5,860 feet near Swampy Lakes Sno-park, and the low point is at 5,020 feet.

Trails are scheduled to be groomed Tuesdays through Sundays, and Monday will be added to the schedule during the upcoming winter break.

Meissner Nordic is a nonprofit that is able to pay for grooming of the trails through donations. Those interested can donate online at meissnernordic.org or place their donation in the dropbox located near the lodge at the parking lot of the sno-park.

“It’s a popular place, and it’s free, with quotes around the free,” Katz said. “It’s just a nice community. People like it. I personally like the trails better than the trails at Bachelor, plus it’s 10 miles closer.”