Bend cross-country ski race
to honor 1800s mail carrier
■ Organizers of this year’s
annual historic event are
hoping for a large turnout
By Inge Scheve
for the Emerald
The historic John Craig Cross
Country Ski Race, Tour and Wilder
ness Mail Carry takes off March 24,
with activities and races for all ages
and abilities.
Unparalleled views, once-a-year
grooming and the historic nature of
the race place it in a category of its
own, said Toby Bayard of the Tuma
lo Langlauf Club in Bend. The race
typically attracts between 100 and
140 racers and spectators.
“The John Craig has as much his
tory and character as any cross
country ski event in North Ameri
ca,” said John Downing, Tumalo
Langlauf Club president.
“There is growing consensus that
the Oregon Nordic Club can build
the event into one of the premier an
nual western ‘ski happenings’ if we
can get the participant numbers up
and also, starting next year, resolve
some of the logistical challenges of
the event,” Downing said.
This year, the legendary race
sports a new race organizer: the Tu
malo Langlauf Club, which is a
chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club.
“We are investing heavily in the
race in an attempt to grow it to a
500- to 700-person race within five
years,” Bayard said. “We want this
event to become the premier cross
country ski race in the Pacific
Northwest.”
Backing that attempt, the Oregon
Nordic Club has organized for more
than $3,000 in raffle prizes, and the
club is still looking for more spon
sors, Bayard said.
The legend behind the race cele
brates the efforts of John Templeton
Craig, who died in 1877 while try
ing to carry mail by foot on snow
shoes from McKenzie Bridge over
the McKenzie Pass to Camp Polk.
Craig, born in 1834, was described
as a hardy bachelor and a pioneer,
Bayard said.
He was in charge of the McKen
zie Salt Springs and Deschutes Wag
on Road Company for 25 years and
helped build the toll road currently
known as the McKenzie Highway
(242) in the mid-1800s. With the
road in place, the U.S. government
decided to route mail over the road
by horseback in the summer and by
snowshoes in the winter.
An epic snowstorm resulted in
the tragic death of Craig. Seeking
shelter from the elements, Craig
huddled in a cabin near the summit
of the pass. A search party found his
body two months later when they
dug out the buried cabin. Craig most
likely died from hypothermia, Ba
yard said.
“Evidently, he had built a fire be
fore falling asleep,” Bayard said.
“Perhaps confused by hypothermia
when he later awakened, or perhaps
just unable to rekindle the fire, Craig
crawled into the ashes to stay warm.
He never woke again. ”
Craig’s tomb at the cabin site is now
a historic site along the Mail Carry
course two miles west of the summit.
To commemorate Craig’s efforts,
this race was organized in the early
1930s.
“The race was abandoned after a
few years as war intervened and
alpine skiing became more popu
lar,” Bayard said.
In the 1970s, the Oregon Nordic
Club revived the event and has been
running it until this year.
The way the race is organized, rac
ers choose from seven different op
tions varying from 30 kilometers (18
miles) to short children’s races and
classic or freestyle ski techniques. In
the 30 kilometer race, participants
actually carry a piece of commemo
rative mail up and over the McKen
zie Pass in honor of Craig.
In addition to the historical mail
carry race, there are two separate 20
kilometer (12 miles) races, one in
classic style and one in freestyle, and
a 10 kilometer (6 miles) classic race.
There are also two children’s races,
one for kids 11 and younger and one
for those 12 to 17 years old. Finally, a
citizen touring event allows the av
erage day-tourer to enjoy the spectac
ular views that are afforded on Na
tional Forest land along the
McKenzie Pass in the winter.
The 30 kilometer and 20 kilome
ter races climb close to 1,250 feet,
and the 10 kilometer race course has
a 700-foot elevation gain. The chil
dren’s race is a gentle ride that
should accommodate everyone.
“The lava fields stretch for miles,
and there are opportunities to see the
Sisters, Mount Jefferson, Mount
Washington, Three Fingered Jack,
Black Butte and even, on a very clear
day, Mount Hood,” Bayard said.
The race is an out-and-back effort,
Downing said.
“That should be perfectly fine for
this year, given the participant goal
is in the couple-of-hundred-skier
range,” Downing said.
Those interested in participating
or watching the events should call
Toby Bayard at (541) 617-1485, send
an e-mail to tumalolanglauf@tu
malolanglauf.com or check the Ore
gon Nordic Club Web site for more
details at www.tumalolanglauf.
com/JCinfo.htm.
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