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VOLCANIC CONFLUENCE
CHICAGO WEEK 2015, Feb. 21-28

MT. BACHELOR, OREGON

By Mary Kreinbring
ith a theme of “Volcanic Confluence,” good times
erupted at Chicago Week last winter. Mt. Bachelor,
W the 2015 venue for CMSC’s annual ski party, is a
stratovolcano, part of the Cascades Mountain range. It sits in
the Deschutes National Forest and boasts a lot of varied skiing
with few lift lines. Our group stayed at Sunriver, a year-round
resort community of homes¸ condos, meeting space, and a
village mall. Both Sunriver and Mt. B are about 20 minutes
from each other and the lively town of Bend, Oregon.

Though it wasn’t the Northwest’s best snow year, everyone
noticed Mt. Bachelor’s great grooming. We enjoyed sunshine
most of the week and a day of powder for the finale. Many
folks took advantage of alternative activities: snowshoeing,
Nordic skiing, dogsledding and lava cave tours.

This year’s CW comprised 124 people from 12 CMSC clubs:
Club 400, Chicagoland Club 50, Duneland, Fleetwind, Hustlers,
Inland, Joliet, Nomad, Omaha, Piccadilly, Sitzmark (Chicago)
and Skunk Hollow. The clubs flew into Portland with a few
individuals choosing to fly into Redmond.

Upon arrival at Sunriver on Saturday night, folks dropped
luggage at their condos before quickly heading off to get this
party started. The first event in CMSC’s week-long luau was a
buffet dinner at Sunriver’s massive and historic Great Hall.
Leis were handed out and everyone enjoyed a relaxed
evening after a long day of travel.

Sunday morning we had our first Chicago Week breakfast
buffet. This daily event became the place to meet your friends
before the ski day started. Sunday night was our first Bend
Night. Some people strolled Bend’s downtown and dined, while
others took part in that cherished Chicago Week tradition, the
Pub Crawl, with its challenging Trivia Scavenger Hunt. Teams of
four visited a quartet of local drinking establishments seeking
answers to life’s persistent questions such as “How many eyes
DOES the peacock have?”

In keeping with the week’s volcanic island theme, we enjoyed
Monday’s group lunch in Mt. Bachelor’s base lodge Caldera
Room, decorated in full Hawaiian style. That evening we bused
to Bend’s unique High Desert Museum for dinner and drinks,
music, exhibit tours and a live presentation with a peregrine
falcon.

Tuesday afternoon’s Fun Race was followed by an après-ski at
mid-mountain Pine Marten Lodge, offering spectacular views
from the deck. The party ended with a private CW “Last Tracks” Photos by Rick Drew
to the base. That evening CWers enjoyed club events, dining in
Sunriver Village and the CMSC Hospitality Suite at Sunriver
Lodge. CMSC’s annual Chicago Week winter getaway took on the tropical
trappings of sun-kissed Hawaii at Oregon’s Sunriver resort community.
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