Carol and Bill to focus more on PBSS

We have exciting news. Carol and I will soon have a lot more time to give to Pilot Butte Summit Seekers (PBSS). PBSS is growing faster than we could have ever hoped or imagined and we're shifting our focus in that direction. This will be our last month hosting at Pilot Butte. Starting in April, the 180+ hours per month that went into hosting will go instead to the nonprofit. We believe this is better use of our time because we can do a lot more for the Butte at PBSS than we could ever do hosting. So we'll host at the Butte this month and then move to a nearby RV park in April.

Here's the really good news. We'll both be hiking the Butte more, not less. With PBSS having our year round attention, we'll be hiking months that we never hiked before. Many have already noticed this happening (we hiked the Butte a lot this winter) and that's only going to increase. We're just switching jobs as opposed to leaving--choosing what we think is best for the Butte.

As many know, we were in bad health when we started hosting (Click Here to learn more). Hiking is the main thing that improved our health. Hiking with so many wonderful people also played a big role. This past year is the best we've felt in over 15 years. So the hiking must continue, but it's great to be able to do things that have a broader impact on our community. Switching from hosting to PBSS is like getting a new job with better benefits. We hope others see it the same way.

So expect to see us on the Butte a lot when we stop hosting. In fact, you'll notice the difference right away. March is a huge fundraising month for SMB.  Keeping up with hosting duties, and fundraising on the side, is going to be a challenge and the amount we can hike will suffer. Then all of that changes in April when we'll be hiking a lot more.

No longer hosting at Pilot Butte will be quite a loss. After 10 years doing it, it's hard to imagine not doing it. But we're REALLY looking forward to April when we won't be stretched so thin and can hike the Butte more. See 'ya on the Butte ...

First Sponsor for SMB 2014

We're not even fully ready and we have our first ever Diamond Level sponsor for SMB.  Bend Pet Express contacted us and said they wanted to be a sponsor again this year. It makes sense because they were so enthusiastic and helpful last year. We showed them the sponsor categories and they chose the top one--the new Diamond Level at $350. If that weren't enough, they'll be helping in other important ways as well. More about that later. We officially start fundraising next month. Our prediction that 2014 is going to be an exceptional year seems to be on target. One of the things making that possible is all of the people who have become members. We're launching our new website soon and it will be easier than ever to RSVP for SMB, become a member, and more. Stay tuned ...

Trail Condition Updates Going Again

John, the person who was giving us most of the trail condition reports, got sick recently and couldn't hike. We hear he's getting back on his feet and should be hiking again soon. Jim, and his dog Lola (the world famous poop carrying dog of Pilot Butte), stepped up to the plate a couple days ago and is providing trail reports daily. So, pretty soon, we should be getting reports twice daily.

If you're familiar with twitter, just search on #pbtrails for the reports. If not, you can get them on our

IceTrekkers Diamond Grips available at discount price

With conditions on the Butte hazardous today, I want to remind everyone that Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) is providing a deep discount on the Diamond Grip traction devices we had available at our workshop.  PBSS members get them for $28.95 instead of $41.95 and that's almost certainly the best

Memberships Have Raised Over $1,000

I can still remember someone telling me with great conviction that membership would not work as a fundraiser.  I'm so glad we didn't listen.  We just recently passed $1,000 raised through membership fees.  We figure about 20 percent of that goes to the cost of the membership component (newsletters, postage, buttons, etc.).  That means we have about $800 right now to pay for SMB 2014--roughly half