Nordic skiing booms in Oregon
Sno-parks in Bend area find more people enjoying cross-country trails By Mark Morical, The Bulletin (Bend, Ore.)
Published: December 31, 2020, 8:40pm
Share: Skiers make their way out onto the trails at Meissner Sno-park west of Bend, Ore. (ryan brennecke/The Bulletin/TNS)
BEND, Ore. Mike Schindler assumed it would take a couple weeks to sell out his seasonlong nordic ski gear rental fleet.
But the co-owner at Bend’s Sunnyside Sports sold out in less than eight hours one day in early November.
“We made it reasonable pricing and sent out an email,” Schindler said. “It was probably 100-plus setups. We had people lining up. That was the real lever of like, oh, wow, there’s a lot of people who are wanting to do this. It was crazy how many people came in and how many people took advantage of that.”
Mike Schindler assumed it would take a couple weeks to sell out his seasonlong nordic ski gear rental fleet.
But the co-owner at Bendâs Sunnyside Sports sold out in less than 8 hours one day in early November.
âWe made it reasonable pricing and sent out an email,â Schindler said. âIt was probably 100-plus setups. We had people lining up. That was the real lever of like, oh, wow, thereâs a lot of people who are wanting to do this. It was crazy how many people came in and how many people took advantage of that.â
Due to the pandemic, more and more folks are hitting the cross-country ski trails this winter or trying the sport for the first time. Much like local bike shops this past spring and summer, local ski shops are struggling to maintain their nordic ski gear inventory.