A12
wallowa.com
November 18, 2015
Wallowa County Chieftain
A12
WEDNESDAY
November 18, 2015
SKI SEASON PREVIEW:
LET
IT
A snowboarder
on Ferguson
Ski Ridge
demonstrates
the style (both
snowboarding
and dressing)
that marks a
true Fergi fan.
Courtesy of Western Oregon University
David Ribich makes a push at the end
Ribich to
compete
nationally
SNOW
Enterprise runner
qualifies for Division II
event in Missouri
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Archives
SKIING COULD COME EARLY TO REGION THIS YEAR
By Scot Heisel
Wallowa County Chieftain
By Kathleen Ellyn
When the NCAA Division II cross
country championships get underway in
Joplin, Mo., on Saturday, rest assured that
Eastern Oregon will be well represented.
David Ribich, a 2014 graduate of
Enterprise High School and current stu-
dent-athlete at Western Oregon Universi-
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regional meet Nov. 7 in Monmouth, Ore.
Ribich won state championships for
the Outlaws in cross country and both the
1500-meter and 3000-meter races in track
before moving on to Western Oregon. He
DOVRTXDOL¿HGIRUWKHUHJLRQDO',,FKDP
pionships last year as a freshman.
During his sophomore campaign he
found an extra gear and managed to beat
his personal best in the 10K by a full two
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So, how does one prepare for national
competition?
“No point in changing anything now,”
Ribich said Monday. “You treat it like just
another meet but with a bigger title. I just
need to focus on it and believe in myself
like I have all season and just go after it.”
Wallowa County Chieftain
F
ingers crossed, skiers. Big storm
a’coming, so they say, and we
could be looking at early skiing
conditions this year. Here’s the
skiing wrap up as of Nov. 18:
FERGUSON RIDGE AND
EAGLE CAP SKI CLUB
Charlie Kissinger, president of the Fer-
guson Ridge Ski Club reports that the last
batch of snow stuck and Fergi volunteers
have done some grooming and packing.
“We got about a foot of snow at Fer-
gi this last go-round, and we’ll do some
grooming and try to pack it down so it
will stick, “Kissinger said. “If we get more
snow on top of that, we could have some-
thing.”
Or not. No one wants to jinx it with
early boasts.
The last few years have seen skimpy
snow on the Ferguson Ski Ridge 9 miles
outside of Joseph and a traditional Christ-
mas-break opening.
“Let’s just say if we have snow we’ll
be open,” a cautious Kissenger said.
In any case, there are still some me-
chanical repairs to be done up at the ridge
and a work-day and potluck is scheduled
for Sunday, Nov. 22. The annual meeting
of the Ski Club will follow at 4 p.m. at
Fergi Lodge.
“We’ve been getting quite a few vol-
unteers this year and it’s been nice,” Kis-
senger said. “But we’re always happy to
have more.”
EAGLE CAP NORDIC CLUB
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a cross country skier, according to Jerry
Hustafa, president of the Eagle Cap Nor-
dic Club.
Hutafa was up on Salt Creek Summit
(elevation 6,120) Nov. 12 and reported
12-14 inches of snow.
“That was before it got warm and
rainy overnight,” he said, “but it’s pret-
ty good cross country skiing. It’s a good
forecast from now on out and I think this
will help settle it and we’ll have a pretty
good base.”
THE STATE OF SKIING
IN WALLOWA COUNTY:
Wallowa County has seen quite a
growth in ski tourism in the last 10
years, according to Hustafa.
“Quite a bit of backcountry skiing
goes on in Wallowa County,” he said.
“We have quite a few locals who
back country or cross country ski and
we get a lot of use from Hood River,
Boise, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Portland
and Seattle as well.”
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Northwest had a bad snow year,
Wallowa County had better snow
than almost anywhere else, “except
for maybe Anthony Lakes,” Hustafa
said.
“Generally our snow pack is a
higher quality in that it is less wet and
dense than it is in the Cascade Range.
We have very good terrain and good
access, and even with the growth we
have had we’re not very crowded.”
See SKI, Page A18
See RIBICH, Page A18
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By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
No. 3 Wallowa’s 2015 football
season came to a shocking ending Sat-
urday afternoon as the Cougars fell to
No. 6 Perrydale 42-36 in a state quar-
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The Cougars led 30-8 midway
through the third quarter but Perrydale
found its stride and ousted the home
team in dramatic fashion.
Three third-quarter incidents
turned the tide the Pirates’ way: Wal-
lowa’s Chandler Burns left the game
with a knee injury shortly after a score,
a penalty wiped out a long touchdown
run by Noah Allen and Cole Hafer
suffered a game-ending injury at the
quarter’s close.
From there, the Wallowa defense
lost its edge. While the Pirates found
little running room up the middle, they
solved the Wallowa riddle with power
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Perrydale tied the game at 30 with
about three minutes left. The Cougars
answered with a Gus Ramsden touch-
down on a 54-yard run, but the conver-
sion failed. Perrydale answered with
1:20 remaining and also failed on their
conversion. The game looked destined
for overtime, but Perrydale’s defense
scored with a late interception for a
touchdown, leaving Wallowa with just
44 seconds to answer.
The Cougars’
Gus
Ramsden
takes one
the long
way around
in the state
quarterfinals
game in
Wallowa on
Saturday. The
Cougars lost
the game
42-36.
See COUGARS, Page A18
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Wallowa County sunrise and sunset November 18 - November 24 (from the U.S. Naval Observatory)
Wednesday, Nov. 18
Rise ..................................... 6:52
Set ....................................... 4:16
Thursday, Nov. 19
Rise ..................................... 6:53
Set ....................................... 4:15
Friday, Nov. 20
Rise ..................................... 6:55
Set ....................................... 4:14
Saturday, Nov. 21
Rise ..................................... 6:56
Set ....................................... 4:14
Sunday, Nov. 22
Rise ..................................... 6:57
Set ....................................... 4:13
Monday, Nov. 23
Rise ..................................... 6:58
Set ....................................... 4:12
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Rise ..................................... 7:00
Set ........................................4:11
Our Annual
A
C
Charity Drive
D
Is on
n Now - Dec
December
cember 18th
18th,
h 2015
h,
Community Bank will match up to $500
(per branch) at 50¢ on the dollar
Funds collected at the Joseph & Enterprise branches will be
Local Money Wo
W orking For Local People
at the W a
allowa Branch will be donated
onated to the W a
allowa Food Bank.
www .communitybanknet.com
Offer your helping
elping ha
hand by donating at any branch of Community Bank
Member FDIC