Statewide Oregon Nordic Club Chapters year end celebration!
The John Craig Memorial Wilderness ski and tour along McKenzie Pass
Come ski the Pacific Northwest's most scenic and historic Nordic event. The course traverses the beautiful Cascade Mountains just west of Sisters, Oregon and offers views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, and the Three Sisters.
DATE & LOCATION
Saturday March 14, 2009, in McKenzie Pass Highway 242, Nine Miles West of Sisters, Oregon.
REGISTRATION
Registration cost will be published shortly! John Day Award and bowl will be given to the ONC volunteer of the year at the ONC State board meeting directly following the John craig event.
» Click here for 2009 REGISTRATION
Requires 
» John Craig Release Waiver
Contact Information
Email: dtbeede@msn.com
Phone: (206) 619-5961
Registration Forms, Event Information, and Release Waiver can also be found at:
website: http://www.WBSP.org
LODGING INFORMATION
For lodging information, please contact the Sisters Chamber of Commerce.
They can be reached at 541- 549-0251 or by email.
For race or volunteer info: Micheale Giesler at 541 388-4457 (email).
GETTING TO THE START
To get to the start, take Highway 242 (McKenzie Hwy) and Highways
20 and 126 intersect at the western edge of downtown Sisters. From
this junction drive west approximately 8 miles to the John Craig parking
signs on the right side of the road. Park on the north (right) side
of the road only, please.
AN INTERESTING HISTORY
Two
miles west of the McKenzie Pass summit and marked by the Dee Wright
Observatory, is the John Craig Memorial. John Templeton Craig was
born in 1832 and grew up in the McKenzie Valley. By 1871 and for 25
years thereafter he was in charge of the McKenzie Salt Springs/Deschutes
Wagon Road. To read a more complete history of the life of "John Tom"
click here.
Craig's
McKenzie Salt Springs / Deschutes Wagon Road After its completion
the government routed the Eastern Oregon / Upper Willamette Valley
mail over the road. In summer the mail was carried on horseback. In
winter it was carried on John Craig's back. To accommodate the mail
carrier, a cabin was erected about half way across, in which he could
spend the night.
On December
3, 1877 John Craig set out from the McKenzie Bridge, heading east,
with the Christmas mail in a heavy backpack. He never returned. His
death was not confirmed until spring 1878, when two men reached his
cabin and found his body curled in the ashes of his fireplace. It
is believed that Craig, suffering from exhaustion and possibly ill,
reached the shelter built a fire and fell asleep. When he awoke he
found the fire had gone out. Attempts to rekindle it apparently failed
and the half frozen man crawled into the warm ashes and died.
In 1930
the John Craig Memorial was built. It was dedicated by 400 of Oregon's
rural mail carriers. The John Craig Memorial Ski race was first held
in 1934 but after 2 years it floundered-only to be revived in the
1940s. WWII interrupted the race again but in 1951 it was revived.
It failed to catch on once again. It was not until 1972 when the Oregon
Nordic Club revived it. It has been running continuously ever since.
From Sharon who skied the race in 1951.
I'm sending you something I found in one of my 'ancient' scrapbooks. It's a complete
list all the participants in the 1951 J.C.M. race!!....plus each racers finish time!
Note that Emil Nordeen was one of the racers!....also, the old-time Bendite, Nels Skjersaa.
(He was probably the father [or grandfather?] of all those present-day Skjersaas.)
JOHN CRAIG RACE RESULTS
2006 John Craig Results- (PDF)
2005 John Craig cancelled
2004 John Craig Results - (MS Excel)
2003 John Craig Results - (MS Excel)
2002 John Craig Results - (All MS Excel)
20K Classic
20K Freestyle
Kids|10K
