(Bend, OR) – Since it’s founding in 2009, the Bend Endurance Academy (BEA) has not been allowed to fully operate its community youth Nordic programs at the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center. During that time, BEA has run its Nordic programs successfully on public lands at the community-managed Meissner Nordic trails. However, with tenuous snow conditions at Meissner in the last two years, the BEA Board of Directors has been trying to secure equal and reasonable access for BEA’s Nordic youth programs to operate on public lands at the Mt. Bachelor-managed Nordic Center, as well as at other US Forest Service (USFS) snow parks.

Past Negotiations
Seven years ago, BEA’s founding board attempted to forge an agreement with Mt. Bachelor to allow kids enrolled in BEA programs to ski at the Nordic Center.  Unfortunately, their requests were denied, ultimately causing them to give up trying to convince Mt. Bachelor to grant access. Instead, the Board established a partnership with the USFS to use trails elsewhere, and successfully secured a permit to run BEA Nordic programs at Meissner Snow Park with the support of the Meissner Nordic Ski Club.

During winter of 2014-15, warmer temperatures and poor snow conditions at Meissner forced BEA to explore alternative trail options at higher elevations where temperatures are colder and snow is more plentiful. As Cris Himes our Board chair explained, “we were hopeful that Mt. Bachelor leadership would see the benefit of pulling together as a community to support local ski programs benefitting local kids on our public lands.” It seemed to us (and many in the community) that having access to our public lands at the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center offered an obvious solution to the problem and would keep the region’s kids skiing.

After weeks of negotiation last February, Mt. Bachelor leadership did agree to temporarily provide paid access to BEA’s youth programs for the last two weekends of last years Nordic season.

Current State of Affairs
Since June, the BEA Board has revisited negotiations in order to create a long-lasting, mutually beneficial business partnership between Mt. Bachelor and BEA’s Nordic Programs. The goals are simple:

– To allow BEA youth access to groomed trails at convenient times that align with family ‹‹schedules; and
– To offer the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center an opportunity to increase revenues and build its future market.

Importantly, BEA is not asking for special treatment, just the opportunity to fairly share our public- land trails when other public trails are not viable.

A Call to Action: “Let the Kids Ski” Campaign

We need our communities help to secure equal and reasonable access for BEA kids to ski on public lands managed by Mt. Bachelor at the Nordic Center.   Please visit the Bend Endurance Academy website to read our Open Letter to Mt. Bachelor and learn more about how the community support BEA’s “Let the Kids Ski” campaign.

About Bend Endurance Academy
The Bend Endurance Academy is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. The Academy organizes and operates programs that promote health and wellness within Oregon. The Academy provides athletic coaching, mentorship, educational experiences, volunteer opportunities and events for a diverse group of youth, young adults, and other individuals who desire to excel at endurance sports. Our programs are innovative, affordable and inclusive. We work to encourage participants to succeed throughout every step of their athletic and individual development.

The Academy’s mission is to “promote healthy living through active, outdoor experiences. We emphasize teamwork, personal growth and community responsibility.”

Bend Endurance Academy currently offer programs for Nordic Skiing, Cycling, and Rock Climbing.