Resolution Classic Results - January 5, 2020

Conditions were fantastic for this year's Resolution Classic "Tourace" - we call it that because it's hard to give it 100% when you're just out there having fun.  You're kinda racing, but also looking at the views and just enjoying the conditions, so it's halfway between a race and a tour.

Speaking of conditions, there was plenty of snow that had just a bit of transformation from what had been pretty much new snow conditions for two weeks, to a more frozen and faster type.  Some of the course was rocket fast, but some sections were still cold and grippy.  The day before was fairly warm, but it froze up hard overnight and didn't warm up much during the race, keeping things firm and fast.

It was a day to apply a slightly warmer grip wax, somewhere in the violet/purple range, or a very thin and short section of universal klister - that's what I opted to use, but very thin and very short under my foot.  It provided solid kick when my technique was good, while also allowing my skis to glide well.  The snow was the type that would have allowed a pretty good range of things to work, depending on where on the course you really wanted the best kick.

The track was set in a "best line" path in the trail, which made for a smooth course that is quite a bit easier to ski than when it is groomed for both skate and classic (classic track way over on the low side of the trail).  It skis quite a bit differently when it is set like that with wider turns and straighter lines.  It was kinda sad to go groom it out after the day was over.

So, here is the tale of the tape.  Great job to everyone who came out to enjoy pretty much perfect classic conditions.  You've achieved your New Year's Resolution!

2020 Resolution Classic Tourace
10km Course
Name	Start Time	Finish Time	Race Time
Clay Moseley	00:50.0	29:16.0	28:26.0
Sanna Sevanto	01:40.0	31:54.0	30:14.0
Travis Gibson	02:05.0	32:45.0	30:40.0
Scott Baily	00:00.0	31:22.0	31:22.0
Zach Leonard	01:15.0	33:30.0	32:15.0
Liz Quinney	03:45.0	36:04.0	32:19.0
Andy Jones	05:00.0	42:11.0	37:11.0
Tarik Saleh	04:35.0	42:48.0	38:13.0
Kevin Reid	04:10.0	44:13.0	40:03.0
Siobhan Niklasson	02:30.0	42:55.0	40:25.0
Dina Pesenson	00:25.0	42:21.0	41:56.0
Paul Gooris	03:20.0	50:54.0	47:34.0
Steve Venturoni	02:55.0	57:22.0	54:27.0
5km Course
Levi Gibson	06:25.0	25:36.0	19:11.0
Mila Moseley	07:15.0	26:42.0	19:27.0
Zach Gibson	07:40.0	28:27.0	20:47.0
Diego Leonard	06:00.0	28:38.0	22:38.0
Madalyn Baily	06:50.0	32:12.0	25:22.0
Chris Michel	09:20.0	35:33.0	26:13.0
Axel Niklasson	08:55.0	35:58.0	27:03.0
Anders Niklasson	10:10.0	38:03.0	27:53.0
Lindsay Gibson	09:45.0	39:04.0	29:19.0
John Ullman	10:35.0	40:08.0	29:33.0
Phoebe Reid	08:30.0	38:51.0	30:21.0
Aida Saleh	08:05.0	38:48.0	30:43.0
3km Course
Luke Gibson	12:00.0	29:21.0	17:21.0
Quanah Moseley	12:50.0	32:37.0	19:47.0
Harper Reid	13:15.0	36:13.0	22:58.0
Liv Niklasson	13:40.0	37:21.0	23:41.0
Samantha Baily	12:25.0	****	****

Groomers report 1/15/2019

Trails have been rolled and packed as of today.  A big thanks to Chris Michel (CM Arbor Care) for taking on that whole task after the big storm.  It's quite an endeavor to break trail, then roll, then pack/groom.  He had a bit of an issue at the end of his session yesterday - he started in the early morning with the roller (which is made of black polyethylene) as the morning turned into a sunny day.  The lower part of the system is sun-exposed and the roller gets warmed up, creating ice that makes the new snow stick to it.  It "balled-up" and began to drag the snow in the trail, not roll over it.  He had to park it for the day, but he heroically went back up last night to finish the job! 

Logan Ott got out on Friday to groom things for the clinics and the weekend.  A huge thanks to him as well!  It's a hard ask to get folks to give up a Friday night, be out in the cold and dark and hard work environment, to get things in shape.  But, these are great volunteers with big hearts. 

We'll go up tonight to get things fully groomed, probably just in time for another round of snow, but at least it'll be more firm under there. 

We took a good group of SWNSC kids (about 10 kids!) to the Durango season series race #2 (Coke race series).  They were all so awesome and had a great time and experience.  We'll be taking them to the big JNQ (Junior National Qualifier) there in mid-February, so they got a good recon of the courses they'll be racing on for the big event.  It was a lot of driving on wintry roads, but we'll take it!

City of Lakes Loppet Race Report

From our club  member Paul Gooris:

Just finished the Puoli Classic ("half marathon") at the City of Lakes Loppet in Minneapolis.  This year, City of Lakes hosted the AXCS Masters National Championships; next year they host the World Master Championships.  Being a dedicated mid-packer, the podium, let alone age group accolades are not on my ticket.  But it was fun to ski in such a large event (152 skiers in the Puoli), and meet skiers from across the country of all ages and abilities.  

In addition to the marathon and half marathon, there was a ski tour, skijoring events, crew ski (awarded to the leading fund raisers for the CoL Foundation, this a 50 meter dash with teams of 6 skiing together on 20 foot long skis), and youth age group races (see photos).  

And those are just the events I saw on Saturday; other events were held on Friday and Sunday.  Think of the crowds that attend local road marathons or the NM State Cross Country meet, and you'll have an idea of Nordic's following in the upper Midwest.

Matt Liebch (?sp), former Birkie winner, won the marathon race in roughly 1 hour, 15 minutes. That may seem like an extraordinarily fast time...but this brings me to the more serious and concerning part of my report.  The City of Lakes marathon and half marathon are traditionally point-to-point races that start in Theodore Wirth Park and end in downtown Minneapolis, being 42K and 21K respectively. This year, however, there has been very little snow in the Minneapolis area.  The courses had to be changed and confined to loops of mostly man-made snow within the Theo Wirth Park itself.   The marathon was 30-32K (so Matt's time is still screaming), and the half was 14-15K. 

Lack of snow has been a problem for several years, to the point where the City of Lakes Loppet Foundation has invested heavily in snowmaking.  Across the board, skiers were commenting on the shortage, and those from out-of-area, like myself, found it weird to think that there was more snow at home than in Minnesota.

While perusing the vendors and exhibits in the "big tent", I met a group that is trying to draw attention to our changing winters. Regardless of the cause, climate change is happening, and it is having an adverse impact on our sport as well as the rest of our lives.  If you are interested, check out Cool Planet Skiers at coolplanetskiers.org. Their motto: Saving Winter for Future Generations.

Master's World Cup 2016 in Vuokatti, Finland: 30k Classic race

Hi All,

Today was the long distance classic race (30km for me) and it might be best to take it a bit philosophically:

I thought that there was slush, but actually there was white slush, grey slush, transparent slush, yellow slush, brown slush and greenish slush. Then there was water and mud and a big rock. My kick wax worked on the white and transparent slush. First it was raining, then snowing, then raining again, and snowing again. The flakes were getting bigger and denser but luckily we managed to finish just before it got really bad. My glide wax worked on any slush except for the grey or brown one and the yellow if covered with water, but the new snow was like glue and outside the track nothing glided. Some of the big downhills did not have track, and the glide was super uneven. Luckily, we had practiced that at Low O2 challenge a week or so ago. The boots were soaked before the start, but the visor was the best. Looking through it all looked a bit more rosy and the green slush looked almost yellow, and I wasn’t cold except at the toes, but one can wiggle them in the boots in downhills.

At the start I had good glide and no-one was disappearing to the horizon too fast, but the first hill was grey slush and my kick was did not work on that, and I dropped quite far seeing just three skiers ahead of me. My glide was also a bit poor on the first 15km loop and I struggled on the hills before the lake. Knowing that I just decided to take the first lap easy and see how things go. I also felt less energetic than for the other races to start with. So, the racing mood was not quite there. The lake was almost holding, but so soft that the poles were sinking at every push even if I tried all my tricks. This made the double-poling feel slow and strenuous. After passing all the yellow and brown slush on the way up the biggest hill, there was a section where I actually had kick and could ski nicely until the snow started falling so heavily that my wax started freezing. Going down required a lot of ferocious kicking of the skis on the track to get rid of the ice before shooting down. That worked, and I noticed that I actually had a fairly good glide on the track. Staring the second lap I suddenly noticed that I had almost caught up one skier in my own age group. It looked like she had a better kick than I did as she was striding on the flat where I was double-poling. In the first up hill where I still had no kick she pulled a bit away but I caught her again in the next downhill, and could stay tugged in a lot longer than her. So, I skied that way with her for a while and started to feel like in a race. Then on a longer downhill I really pushed hard and passed her. (Notice that passing was a huge effort in these conditions as outside the tracks the snow was like glue and just changing tracks slowed one down a lot). I managed to stay ahead of her in the uphills leading to the downhill to the lake, and then I knew that she won’t pass me again. Skiing started to feel a little better and even if the speed on the lake was pretty pathetic compared to the effort put in to produce that, I felt like I was gliding better. The uphill out of the lake went really well. There was white slush there and I could actually ski. Starting to climb the long final hill I suddenly felt really tired, but decided to go for it as best I could. With the variable conditions faster people from other age groups were constantly passing me and I was passing slower ones. So, it was not lonely there, and having someone to catch in the front all the time definitely helped. The slow pace did not feel quite as slow if you can pass someone, even if they are 30 years older than you. On the top of the hill the wax was icing up again and the same procedure of kicking was manifested. But the downhill glided alright as long as one chose the track that everyone else had been on. At one point I had to take the other track to pass someone, and had to really hammer the next little knoll to get past before the next drop. In one of the corners of the downhill a big rock had become visible, but despite three fast men passing me at that point, I managed not to hit it. In the last part of the downhill fast men were passing me from both sides, but I managed to double-pole the flat well enough that I was not many meters behind on the final climb. The final drop to the stadium glided well, but the stretch to the finish did not as it had been a while since someone had skied on the track I happened to choose. But I had no sprint finish with anyone.

It was hard work. I finished probably 7th or 8th, but not awfully far behind the others except the first lady. And I did beat 2h with both laps taking pretty closely the same time. So, my pacing worked pretty well. The good glide was probably due to that two Finnish men I met in the waxing room helped me with some structure to the glide surface. That’s what I think the Italians had in the relay. My wax was not dragging (except when freezing), and it could have been a lot worse. After some eating and sauna, I think it was actually good fun. It was so extreme, that one can only laugh. Taking it too seriously would just be miserable. And I definitely have never raced on so may different kind of slush.

Check our club's facebook page for videos of before, during and after the race (you dont have to have access to facebook to view our contents). The lake section is pretty telling. I’m poling there as fast as I can with the poles sinking with each push.

Thank you everyone for cheering. It was much needed and appreciated. It makes a huge difference.

Now it’s a few days of asking for us here. Tomorrow is the free-style long distance races and I might take a rest day. Then next week I’ll visit family before heading home. Even if the races could have gone better placing-wise, I have had a blast and great races for myself. There are things I now know I need to practice more and that’s always so much fun. So looking forward to some good snow and skiing company also at home.

Sanna

Master's World Cup 2016 in Vuokatti, Finland: Relays Day

Hi All,

the dicey lake passage

Today we had the relays. The morning started in slight drizzle at temperatures hanging around +2C as on so many days already. The constant drizzle (and occasional pizza-size snow that acts like glue on the track) had made the snow completely soaked and with no day-night difference in temperature it just stayed that way. The water puddle next to our cabin door was the biggest it has been. It’s actually hard to get out of the house without getting wet feet (where are my rubber boots!), and under the water there is solid bumpy ice. So, walking is a very dangerous activity at the moment.

This all has given the race organizers some headaches. The man-made snow on the course is now man-made slush. In the woods that still works, and actually glides surprisingly well, but all the courses rely on crossing the lake before coming to the stadium. There is no other way of going, but the lake ice, even if 1.5ft thick, is getting a bit sketchy. It holds skiers fine, but there is some cracking and seepage so that the surface is just a puddle of water and slush. The slush glides surprisingly well, but that grossing just kills any wax. Yesterday, for the relays and to keep the lake passable for the last races the organizers changed the lake crossing and made a new passage piling up some 2ft of snow in the hope that it the layer would be thick enough to keep the water surface below the trail surface. They worked really hard on it until the ice started cracking under the heavy gorging machines and they had to stop. So, for that section we had a snow passage (that held it over night) in the middle of water pools on lake ice. The passage was not groomed. It was pretty bumpy and class track pretty much non-existent. But we were just above the slush layer as of the end of the race. The last leg skiers said that when they passed, the white snow was only 2 in thick above the such, so we’ll see how it’s going to be tomorrow for the long distance classic. But for the relay it worked.

All the women teams started at the same time at 11:30am. There were a total of 24 teams with 5 of them in my age group. In our team I was on the first leg (classic), Inge on the second (classic), and Cyndy and Sara did the skate legs. I pretty much spent the morning testing glisters as the relay classic course was a bit different from what we have skied so far with a couple of really nice skiable climbs in the beginning, and I really wanted to have some kick too finally. But the snow was so soaked that anything I had tested the day before that had worked, was not kicking today, and I had to go a whole set softer with the glisters. But finally I got kick. It was maybe a bit too thick a layer and maybe could have been spread out for a slightly shorter wax pocket. But I could ski some hills.

team at the finish, happy with 4th place against some tough competition!

At the start, I managed to go pretty well, but soon realized that my skis could have glided a bit better. I ended up asking with one Finnish team from an older age group, a german team from a younger age group and the italian team from my age group. The russian and Finnish teams of my age group had just disappeared to the distance pretty much from the start. I was stronger than any of them in the uphills, but especially the italian always passed everyone in the downhills. So, I decided to stay behind her so that I could use the draft in the downhills without too much effort, and hopefully pass the finn and german. That way we went until the last uphill before a long downhill to the lake at ~3km (the whole leg was 5km).  In that uphill I managed to get ahead of the finn and the german but the italian passed me again in the downhill. The lake was alright. I did not notice any huge cracks, even if others said they were there. The italian was double-poling in the front, but despite her better glide I was catching her and easily staying with her because the surface was bumpy, the poles were sinking through the snow to the slush, and I had a much better technique to deal with all this than she did. Thanks to my background in ski-orienteering, I know how to pole low and under my own skis to avoid sinking poles. So, that was where the tactics were finalized. There was a short but steep climb to the bridge after a drop to the stadium. My only way of trying to be ahead of the italian and give any seconds good for Inge to fight for a 3rd place was to attack the hill like and use all the hill bounding we have done with Dina and Clay to get as far ahead as I could and hope that she won’t catch me in the downhill. So, in the beginning of the hill I pushed past her, tried to ski nicely in the track but it was too mushy, moved to the middle and ran up as fast as I could. Then full on double-poling the whole down hill and flat, and right at the last corner the italian flew by… Anyway, I was right behind her when tagging Inge, and panting really hard. 

Inge did a good ski, but the Italian ladies had phenomenal skis and we were some 10s behind after the second leg. Cyndy skied the best she has ever skied (according to her own words), and pretty nice it looked too especially on the last hill, but the italians were clearly ahead. Sara skied really well too, but we had no chance catching them. So, we ended up 4th. 

Check our facebook page for the two videos from the start, one from the start and one from the exchange between me and Inge (you see the big strong Italian lady in pink/blue suit) - will find a way to add/post those shortly. I’m now off to celebrate with the team-mates, and then to clean and rewax the skis for tomorrow. 30km classic in slush will be interesting. The weather is supposed to get a bit colder, but only on Friday with some new snow also forecast. So the classic long race will be what it has been the last few days.

Sanna

Boulder Mountain Tour 2016 race report from Steve

The Boulder Mountain Tour or "BMT" was held last weekend near Sun Valley/ Ketcham Idaho. Ketcham is referred to by locals as "Nordic Town USA"for good reason. The area has miles of groomed trails along with a world class downhill area. The weather and snow conditions were ideal for this years race.

  The racecourse is 34K and is point to point from Galena Lodge at around 7200 feet to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area at around 6100. The net downhill made for fast times and it's a super fun race.

  The University of Utah ski team pretty much dominated the men's and women's races. The two guys in the second photo went 1and 3 and the women had several in the top 5. Caitlin Gregg edged out one of the Ute women for first overall. Results are posted on the BMT website.

   The photo of the female moose was taken just off of one of the local ski trails . The deep snow this year has forced the local elk population down into neighborhoods and they were everywhere!
   I enjoyed a beautiful day of Alpine skiing on Sunday. The views from the top are spectacular.
    The BMT weekend conflicts with the Alley Loop races and Sun Valley is a bit off of the beaten path, but it is well worth the effort! If you love Nordic, you've got to go! 
Steve

   

Master's World Cup 2016 in Vuokatti, Finland: Day 2

Hi All,

We had the second race today: 10km classic for me. The weather was turning interesting already yesterday, and it forced me to do more ski and wax testing than ever. It was misty, occasionally raining, occasionally snowing a bit. Temperature at +2.5C with gray clouds hanging over everything, and typically to here the temperatures or anything in the weather did not change at all overnight. So, I woke up really early and went to test glisters on the race course before the first start. My glide waxing was pretty much the best I can get with what I have for this weather, and I chose to use the skis for wet conditions. When testing the wax my glister was freezing on the track, which had been drying out slightly with the wind over night. So, I opted to put a really thin layer of glister on the race skis and cover it with the softest hard wax I had, and ice on the wax really kills the glide. The man-made snow also looked like if it could get mushy and pulverized by the male skiers that would start before us, so avoiding too soft and thick glister felt like the best option. That done, we started walking to the warm-up and race area as my start was already 9:40am. By the time I arrived on the testing track, everything had soaked with more rain so that I basically had no kick on my race skis. The only option I had with me was adding the soft hard wax, and that did the trick. I had an alright glide and decent kick on the test track. Even in the start area I tried how the kick felt, and it was alright, maybe not the best, but still sticking on the surface.

The race start went a lot better than the previous start two days ago. I had somewhat comparable glide to the others and could easily follow the leaders on 4th position out of the stadium. Keeping up with them did not even feel hard, but in the first slight downhill it was obvious that I still could improve the glide of my skis a bit. Then in the first up-hill the name of the game was revealed. I had absolutely no kick anymore, and two more ladies passed me. So, my only option was to herringbone-run between the tracks to get any traction. Luckily, the others did not pull away tremendously fast, and I could see them ahead until the longest gradual climb. But my only option was to double-pole like crazy until I could not anymore and then run up all the hills in between the tracks. Luckily, we have been training running with Lynn the whole summer, and I could do that easily and graciously at every hill, even if it was slower than a nice kick-and-glide. The snow was changing really fast during the race too. By the time I was on the lake section (middle of the course), the track there was completely slushy and I had to double-pole between the tracks to get any glide, and the suction started to eat up the glide also on the tracks of the steepest and longest downhill. On top of the tallest hill there was a ice-water seep bursting brown water on top of the tracks making the trail brown slush. So, there will be a lot of ski cleaning to be done today and tomorrow.

I think I placed 6th, but not awfully far behind the group fighting for the 3rd place. The winner was very far ahead, but I think with better kick wax I probably could have stayed with the others, which is most encouraging. It looks like that if I get the skis working better I could be competitive with the crowds in my age group. The weather forecast is for this moist, warm weather to hang around until Friday evening, which means that the conditions will be like today for all my remaining races. For the glide I can’t do much as I used all the tricks I have already, but I can improve the kick, and will try to get that for the 30km race on Thursday. Tomorrow is a rest day and then the relay on Wednesday, where I hope to get a leg to ski too.

Here attached one photo of the start that went a lot better, a photo of the winner in the last uphill (see the nice technique), and me at the same spot, which tells it all…

Thanks, Sanna

Master's World Cup 2016 in Voukatti, Finland: Day 1.

So, today was the 15km classic race here in Vuokatti. The morning opened overcast, but a tiny bit warmer and more humid than yesterday. It was -7C at breakfast, and the forecast for race time was -6C and warming towards the evening. In the warm-up I think my skis were pretty good. I had reasonable kick, and good glide even in a bit mushy, worn-out snow of the warm-up trail. Here the snow on race trails is completely manmade. There is some natural snow too, but to play it safe, the organizers have spread a foot thick layer of man-made snow on all the race trails. Just think about the effort as we ski a 15km in one loop! The course is really enjoyable with rolling hills for the first 5km, then a roughly 500m stretch over a lake to the side of a bigger hill where there is some nicely skiable continuous climb before dropping back to the stadium in the last 2km.

All the racers of my age group showed up in the start. Most were finns and russians with an addition of one lady from Kazakstan and me. I felt really small at the line between huge, strong ladies. Once the little “beeb” told that it was time to take the first push, it was pretty obvious that my skis, even if they felt good to me, did not glide quite as well as those of most others. I skied the first 3km with someone who had a better kick than I did, but worse glide. Then dropped her finally in once the hills got a little longer before the lake. I had no chance even trying to keep up with the front group right from the beginning. They just started far too fast for me. But saw two ladies some 50m in front of me all the time. At the lake crossing I used my double-pole and was able to get slightly closer the those two and after the lake one of them was dropped. In the climbs I caught her and passed, and felt pretty proud of myself, but the 2km downhill showed again where the trouble for me was. She caught me and just blew by. It probably was the skis to some extent, but she was also quite a bit bigger than me. And I could not catch her again as there was just a small climb over a bridge before finish. So, I placed somewhere towards the end of the pack. But I actually think I had a good race. I felt strong all the time and could really hammer it without getting tired. My skis and wax worked alright for what they are. They are not made for man-made snow… Maybe I could have raced a bit more to develop the ability to push more as I had no lack of oxygen here at sea-level and could have done one more loop with the same pace. But as to the goal of having fun in the race, this was completely fulfilled. I have seldom enjoyed the effort of racing as well as I did today, and am looking forward to the next challenges. The weather forecast is for warming up, and the next race (10km on Monday) might be in temperatures well above freezing, which means tricky waxing. But I could try the other pair of skis and see it it works on the man-made wet snow.

Here a few pictures Paul took from the start and along the course. In one of them you see a Finnish lady (#306) ahead of me. She is the one I passed in the uphills, but who passed me in the long downhill.

Hope Alley Loops is as much fun as it always is there. Here the atmosphere is great and I have met a few skiers I met in Asiago. As long as I say away from the up-tight Finnish groups, with the more relaxed americans and more experienced skiers, I’m having a blast.

Sanna

NM Cup Flier and Release Forms are Posted!

See the Google Drive location for the NM Cup Flier and Release Form!

NM Cup Flier and Release Form

Also, we have the first pass of our new [working] version of the club website:

www.swnskiclub.org

Check it out!!!

New Mexico Cup / Low O2 Challenge Weekend - January 30-31

We REALLY apologize about the lack of information for the New Mexico Cup race weekend.

The events are most certainly ON for the two days.  And, the conditions at Enchanted Forest are AWESOME!

It's quite simple: Saturday = 5km and 10km CLASSIC races start at 10am, registration from 9am to 9:45am - don't be late! (kids events, 1-3km will follow)

Sunday = 5km and 15km skate races, starting at 10am, registration from 9am to 9:45am - don't be late!  (kids events, 1-3km will follow)

The weekend also includes the Low O2 Challenge snowshoe races (inquire with EF about details on that).  I think the race is officially on Sunday...???

All xc ski races are $5 (kids are FREE!), but TRAIL PASSES MUST BE PURCHASED, plus normal rental fees, etc.

I'll try to get some forms up to the EF folks to have on hand the days prior to the races, if you want to pre-register.

Great grooming and fun courses await.  Bring the kiddos!  See you there...

FREE entries to nordic events in the Pagosa WinterFest Feb 14-15th.

Happy Snow day!!!

We have a limited number of free entries to give out courtesy of our neighbors in Pagosa Springs, CO, Pagosa Nordic Club. They have a set of very fun events suited for any ability over President's day weekend. 

Best part: 

- plenty of xc ski rentals for kids or adults available in Pagosa. 

- Hot springs are killler (this one is our fave esp with kids: http://www.pshotsprings.com/ - you dont have to stay there to use the hot springs).

- organizers and volunteers are great folks!

- Pagosa Baking Co!

- can't promise this, but in the years past they always had a large amount of swag from local shops to give away, so everyone got something rather than just a winner :)

events:

Sat Feb 14th: Red Ryder BB Gun Biathlon. That's alternating shooting targets and skiing laps, total ski distances (all laps added in) are 'kid' km, 6km, 12km (with 3 opportunities to shoot targets between laps). I'm pretty sure from past years that 'kid' k means whatever distance the particular kid is up for :) They are very flexible and beginner friendly adjusting events for participants on the spot!

Possibly relays and sprints as well.

They are so much fun especially for groups/families with all different abilities!

Sunday Feb 15th: 30k/60k races (or hot springs for the rest of us :). Not something to do 'off-the-couch' but gorgeous, fun and not as hard as some races of that distance!

XC Ski Olympic TV and web coverage links on SWNSC facebook page

We've been posting as much info as we can find to make XC Skiing in Sochi easy to find and follow. Check out out facebook page for links. You do not need to have a facebook account or to log in. 
Just view here and click what you want to see (if a login screen does popup, just close it, facebook can't miss a chance to get you to log in, but you DO NOT HAVE TO LOG IN to view all of our posts and be able to click any of the links we post). 

https://www.facebook.com/swnordicskiclub

Hope everyone is as excited as we are!!! :)))

GO TEAM USA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 25-26 NM Cup/Low O2 xc ski, kids and snowshoe events!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Low O2 Challenge - New Mexico Cup winter events are this weekend at Enchanted Forest.  There are xc ski races, USSSA snow shoe races, and the most fun of all, the LITTLE KIDS' PRIZE GRAB!  (you gotta be a kid to go grab the prizes =)  

We could always use some adults to help out with the kids' events, so let me know if you're able to help out with the prize stations, course patrol (cheering and encouraging is a big help), etc.

They also added a 10 km classic race to the agenda, so in addition to the 5 km classic, there is now also a 10 km, on Saturday at 10am.  The plan right now is to have it run on the UNM NCAA course (2 laps), but that may change.  The "10 km" skate will actually be a little long, probably more like 12 km, as we'll use all the nice gliding inner trails, along with a run out to the UNM loop to finish.

The kids' prize grab (~1 km and ~ 3 km) is on Saturday, after the 5 & 10 km events.  Also on Saturday afternoon, I'll be hosting the FREE "race" clinic.  I'll cover a number of topics, mainly on technique, but also equipment choice, training, wax, nutrition, and secret tricks =)  It will be very helpful if you're planning on racing the Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon too.

Event flyer (not updated to reflect the additional 10 km classic) is here. 

Registration for the events is here.

The snow is still great and there is actually some new in the forecast for Thursday!  Weather looks beautiful for the weekend, though.  See you there!

NM Cup/Low O2 Challenge events Jan 25-26 at Enchanted Forest!

Mark your calendars...the New Mexico Cup - Low O2 Challenge Nordic and Snowshoe weekend at Enchanted Forest is set for January 25 and 26.

Jan. 25 - Saturday will be the 5km "classic style" (no skating) xc ski race, using the UNM NCAA 5km course, followed by the kids' events (likely a 1km fun event, and a longer 3km event, involving both skiing and picking up prizes along the way), and then a free to all registered participants xc skiing and racing clinic that will cover technique, equipment, clothing, and waxing.

Jan. 26 - Sunday will be the longer ~10 to 12 kms xc skate race, the USSSA 5km and 10km snowshoe races, and the citizen's 5km snowshoe fun race.  Both of these events will be challenging, fun and exciting courses.  

I am trying to get the Enchanted Forest ski area to get the correct flyer on their website (www.efxc.com) but there have been some technical issues.  I'll let you know where the link to the proper flyer is when it is ironed out.

Also, don't forget that the Chama Chile Classic is the weekend BEFORE, on (January 18-19).  Find more info atwww.chamaski.com.  This is an awesome set of events at the famous Chile Classic course on Cumbres Pass.  There is a 15km & 7.5km skate race on Saturday, followed by the big event on Sunday, the 10km and 5km classic events, plus the snowshoe.  Combine everything for the King or Queen of the Mountain competition.

Despite the dry conditions south of the Sangres, the winter conditions are great up north.  It snowed on Sunday, which made for some great ski conditions.  Go check it out...

We'll be posting more info and photos on the Southwest Nordic Ski Club's Facebook page (swnordicskiclub).  Also, there are pics of all the years' events past at the SWNSC picasa album

...if these kids can do it, so can you! 

(photo taken this past Sunday at EFXC)

Pagosa Quad Challenge 2012 race report

below are photos and race summary from the 2012 Pagosa Springs Quad Challenge event. This is copied directly from The Pagosa Springs Journal entry by Norm Vance. Original url is http://pagosasprings.com/?p=23606

Special Sunday Edition – The Pagosa Quad, New Mexico Shines!

After a day of snow, Saturday began clear and 10 degree cold at the West Fork Ski Trail.

Clay Moseley of Los Alamos won the solo division (10k skate) overall leading from the start in the skate race. He said he worked pretty hard on the run to make some time on Steve Ilg of Durango who was racing as part of a relay and started with a 5k classic ski. After the run Clay took it somewhat easier on the bike to avoid any injuries having not biked much during ski season. Steve Ilg had great ski and run legs handing off to his teammate Randy Stueve of Durango for the bike and swim. Randy left everyone in the dust during the bike leg to hold the win for the team division.

 

Sanna Sevanto of Los Alamos was leading the women’s race well into the bike leg when she finally got caught by Molly Hummel of Durango, a long time cycling pro who has turned triathlon pro in the last 5 years as well. Molly killed on the bike for the win but Sanna held on for 2nd. Lynn Bjorklund of Los Alamos (who holds multiple women’s running records, including female course record for Pikes Peak Marathon) finished a strong 3rd in the women in her first multisport event which she had to take swim lessons for (they clearly paid off!!). 

 

The women’s winning relay was made up of a fast Pagosan, Emily Dietz, for the frigid run/bike legs and Dina Pesenson of Los Alamos for the ski/swim legs. Last year’s women’s winner and local, Chantelle Kay, had a strong 4th place finish in the ladies despite the whole new level of competition this year with more participants.

 

The temperatures at race start were around 8 F requiring some creative dressing especially for the bike leg. After the event most participants agreed they fared much better on the bike than expected, with only some cold toes at the end of the bike ride, which were nicely remedied by the hot springs pool finish and post-race soaking. 

 

Huge thanks to Pagosa Nordic and friends for putting this on!! As you can imagine, this was a very work intensive event for volunteers and organizers, distributing and picking up gear from all transitions, shuttling racers etc. They were all amazing sports and clearly enjoyed themselves – what a great bunch of people! As with all low-key events like this one, the volunteers outnumbered participants and the sense of community and everyone having a blast, just could not be beat. It was great to see many folks coming out to this event from Durango, Chama and surrounding area. 

 

It’s definitely a great event to start your season with to remind yourself what multisport is all about!

The track was groomed and fast as the pack left the start.

Some were  happy just to be skiing in this beautiful environment.

Back from the first leg...

a quick change of gear was in order..

and the run up and out of the West Fork Valley on a sheet of ice was a challenge.

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Once on the highway a loop up to Treasure Falls and back down  to the chain-up area was the running distance.

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After the run, its on to bikes for the downhill ride to Pagosa.

After skiing and running, “down” is a pleasure.

First into town!

At The Springs Resort ten laps of the pool finished the event.

To win the Pagosa Quad it helps to be in shape!

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Steve Ilg, right, and Randy Stueve won the team class. 

Clay Mosley won the individual class.

Congratulations to all who raced, you all won!

Short URL: http://pagosasprings.com/?p=23606

Masters World Championship 2013, Asiago, Italy PART V

Posting for Sanna:

Hi All,

Our internet connection at the hotel went really patchy with last nights snowfall, so I could not write about Paul's long distance race then. Now things are working better and I'll start with a spectatoer report from yesterday.

Paul coming up the last hill in the falling snow

Already in the morning we had light snow fall. It did not change waxing much but made some uphills a bit soft. Paul chose again my skies as they glide better than his new ones that we bought from here. Had a good hard wax as base and a high fluor coating to help with the moisture. Paul's start was at 10:25, and the cut off time for starting the last loop was at 12:45. If he went as at the middle distance race, he should have no trouble making it (30km in 2h4min), but this was a new race, slightly slower snow and a lot longer distance. We practiced technique a little on the race day and were hoping that would make a difference too. In the beginning of the race I was runnig from spot to spot trying to follow Paul's progress, taking video and photoes. We had planned that I would give feeds and drinks on top of a hill where the loop passed three times. First time when Paul came in there were a lot of people there and everyone cheering. His technique looked good, skiing was easy and the first 10km had not taken too long. Right after he passed that spot, the wind picked up and it started snowing more heavily. I could see various parts of the course from the hill and Paul seemed to start the second 15km loop very well. He didn't look too tired and was gliding well. At that point there were lots of skiers on the course and the women were hitting the last 5km of their 30km race. So, I decided to see them finish before Paul would be passing again. In my age group the gaps were clear. The Russian who skied the last leg in their relay was winning F1 and a Finn was clearly in the lead for F2. Slightly after the women had finished the youngest men passed my spot for the first time. They were going very fast. One of the interests in Paul's race was also whether  his age group winners would lap him. When he came to the feeding station again, he was still clearly ahead of them, and also ahead of another man he had been racing with in the 10km race (lost by 10s). Technique worked still well and he was gliding the uphills easy. In the last uphill before the end of the second loop he finally was passed by the three leaders of his age group, who were racing for the finish. But Paul made it to the third loop some 15min before the cut out time, so he was allowed to finish. The man he had lost to in 10km did not make it. At this time the spectator grouds started to thin out. There were only me and a canadian cupport crew on the hill any more. I tried to cheer all teh skiers as they started to look more and more tired. Some women could not glide up the hills anymore, but had to herring-bone. It started snowing more and more, and the trail got very soft, as less and less skiers were passing. When Paul came , he looked tired, but he was still keeping the technique going. He was with one F4 and one F3, who passed him at the feeding. But next time he came up, they were not too far ahead. One of them had to stop at the hill, and Paul got closer. In quite heavy snowfall Paul finished his race in 3h15min. He was the last that got a result (passed the cut off) in his age group, but there were those who did not make it. He wasn't too eager to go for a cool down. So, we headed home straight away.

pretty race venue after the snow fall

It continued to snow the whole night and we got a good 10-15cm of new powder. That changed the kickwax scenario quite a bit, but in the morning it was sunny and my start being at 10:10am, I was afraid that the track would glaze during the race. So, I played it safe and put a soft layer of Power Grip under covering with Rode blue. At the testing area it worked very well, and teh trails were nice and hard there. At the start everyting went well now. No pushing and grippy track. In the first downhill, however, I notriced that I wasn't gliding as well as the fastest. The first uphill was very soft and the trail was completely beaten up already. The next uphill was even worse and there was no chance of doing anythign else but run it up. At the next flatter part I had to stride where I had bee double-poling all other races. The track was so soft and my wax was draging. The Belarussian lady who was second in the middle distance race passed me slightly after that, and I had no way of going as fast as her. My skis just did not glide that well. Had to make a quick change of strategy. Now it was all about trying to find the least skied, hardest track, where I had best glide. I just kept going, running the smasched uphills and trying to fiind better glide. In the steeper downhills I wasn't too bad, but on the flats it was just dragged. I was doing fairly alright physically and still ahead of the norwegian F1 skier that had beaten me slightly in all the other races. Once lapping, I noticed that my skies started to work a bit better. The track started to glaze more and my glide improved. Felt strong still and just tried to push, passing a lot of older women and being passed by some men. My glide continued improving, although it was still a bit bad on the flats.  In the last uphills I could finally ski up nicely as my wax did not grip too much anymore, and I think my finish was quite strong. So, I was second in my age group, some 4min behind the belarussian lady. Paul said that the first lap she was gaining time on me all the time, but the second lap our distance kept the same. All in all, I felt I had a good race. Was physically strong all the time. I just could not ski faster today. Must say that it felt a bit sour not to be able to really race with the other lady, but this made the middle distance glod taste a lot sweeter.

Sanna on the podium with silver

The awards for today were given at the race venue, as the big tent is prepared for the banquet. So, next we heading there.