Hello and welcome to the first newsletter from the Tilly Jane A-Frame cabin for 2013. By the time you receive this, the winter outdoor season will be winding down with longer and warmer days. This doesn’t mean that the winter sports season is done as there’s still plenty of snow on the ground but it does signal that the end is nearing. As a life-long Portlander, I was somewhat disappointed with this year’s season. As some were saying, it was a, “no nino” year. Yes, we received some good snow coverage but it came in epic dumps. Starting off in November, the mountain got like four feet to get us going then it dried up for 4-6 weeks with little to no snow accumulation. Then we got another huge dump in late January/February. So much for all those climate warming naysayers…..
As most of you know the cabin is now managed by the Oregon Nordic Club, Portland chapter under special use permit from the US Forest Service. This was the second full season of reservations managed through Reserve America (RA) (www.reserveamerica.com). A-Frame reservations were temporarily shut down in early December due to a hold up with the lease and getting the RA reservation confirmation letters updated to include the appropriate door lock combination code. Our apologies if you were impacted by this closure. One other consequence of this issue involved all reservations made prior to the closure not receiving the proper door lock code combination. This was identified early and I have been calling the affected users and providing the correct lock combination. The confirmation letters are quite lengthy and we have very little leeway in updating them to meet our needs. But it’s a trip how many users DON’T READ THEM. I can’t fathom how or why the group leader would start off without being sure that you can get into the structure. We highly suggest that you print off your confirmation letter and bring it with you. It will help in sorting out authorized users from those people who don’t make reservations. It also has the door lock code. Overall, the reservation process seems to be working. We haven’t seen any vandalism or break-ins this year. We have had several reports of double bookings. Please notify us at (tillyjanecabin@gmail.com) if you encounter this issue. If you can, please provide a copy of the confirmation letter. We’d like to get to the bottom of this and determine if there’s truly an issue. Overall, everything appears to be working well. Food for thought, Friday and Saturday nights are still the most popular and book up fast. Our recommendation is to book early!
FREE nights at the A-frame
The ONC mission is to promote the values of cross country skiing and winter outdoor experiences. Part of our lease allows the club to block out one weekend a month to allow club members exclusive access to the cabin. The ONC Board recently passed a resolution to allow ONC members FREE access during these weekends. What does this mean?
- By joining and becoming an ONC member, we are not required to book and pay for our club weekend reservations through RA.
- General A-Frame overnight pricing is $15 per person, per night plus a $9 RA booking fee. A two night stay could run you $39. An ONC membership runs $27 a year and $33 for a family.
- Access to additional discounts at area outfitters.
I became involved with the ONC for the sole purpose of working to improve the A-Frame cabin. It’s one of two remaining structures open to the general public and it’s in need of some major repairs. This speaks to some of the ONC values. The club offers access to other overnight trips, day trips and monthly programs throughout Oregon. What are you interested in? Do any of these things appeal to you? Give a thought to becoming an ONC member! For more information, go to www.onc.org , Portland chapter. Find the membership application under the forms section.
Ongoing maintenance to improve the Tilly Jane experience
We’re working on improving our website and Facebook page, so please bear with us and support us with your ongoing comments and great experiences!
Finally, we’re beginning planning for the upcoming maintenance season. As always, we could use your help for the annual wood haul, held the first Saturday in October. Last year we experienced one of the lowest turnouts for this event. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to haul and stack this season’s wood supply. We had roughly 12 people show with only 4 non-ONC members. If you’ve enjoyed the cabin during the winter, please plan on giving back! The cabin will not be available if we don’t have wood to heat it! Mark your calendars for October 5th.
Other opportunities include: finishing up interior painting, trail marking, working with the FS to remove several problem trees, addressing the toilet situation (it’s full) and beginning the planning of a restoration master plan. What are you interested in? Please contact us at: tillyjanecabin@gmail.com with your ideas or suggestions. We’ll keep you informed with scheduled work days, please do your part and help maintain and improve the cabin.
Andre’ Fortin
ONC Board Member