Outdoors

Bend Bulletin: Deschutes River Surf Scene Rips Despite Risks

The surfer was the latest among 10 regulars who recently gathered on the Bend Whitewater Park’s Green Wave. Unlike the others, however, this was the newcomer’s first time. After a quick ejection from the wave and failing to paddle to the nearby eddy, he plunged past a subsequent 2-foot waterfall before he crawled to shore where he lay in pain.

Bend Bulletin: Cold Snap Provides Window for Ice Climbing at Paulina Falls

Forrest Kaye clung by his climbing tools and crampons near the top of one of several 50-foot translucent ice curtains at Paulina Falls.

Several recent cold snaps had fortified the ice walls for climbing — something that doesn’t happen every year.

When he plunged his axlike tool into the ice above his helmet, however, he heard the sound no ice climber ever wants to hear:

Crack-Wooooooomf!

A cargo van-sized slab of ice dislodged itself with sickening speed, crashing five stories below where some of his friends had stood just moments before.

1859 Magazine: A Guide of Central Oregon’s Best Climbing Destinations

Ancient seismic upheaval and and the erosive work of bygone lakes and rivers have carved many of Oregon’s striking landscapes. As a result, pockets of great climbing opportunities abound, according to Cliff Agocs, a rock guide certified by the American Mountain Guides Association. Also the co-owner of Timberline Mountain Guides, Agocs, a Bend resident, has traveled Oregon extensively in search of new climbing opportunities. And he’s yet to climb everything. Here, Agocs provides readers with some of Oregon’s best climbing destinations, including route varieties, rock type and other considerations.