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Skimo News – Mar 28, 2018: Tour du Rutor, Pan-American Ski Mountaineering Championships, and more…

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It was a relatively big weekend in the skimo world with athletes competing overseas at the Tour du Rotur in Italy, and on this side of the Atlantic at both the Pan-American Ski Mountaineering Championships at Lake Louise and the gnarliest cross-country ski race out there, the Grand Traverse in Colorado.

Kylee Ohler on her way to winning Pan-Am Championships sprint race.
Kylee Ohler on her way to winning Pan-Am Championships sprint race.

USA and Canada Race News

Pan-American Ski Mountaineering Championships – Lake Louise, AB – Mar 23-25:

With top US athletes currently spread out all over the world Lake Louise still attracted a strong group mainly coming from Colorado and Montana. The Canadians were out in full force for both men and women.
Make sure to check out our link to full results as there were also Junior and Cadet categories.
Vertical race – Friday:
The men’s race was a tight affair most of the way as Rory Kelly (USA) was only slowly building his lead over Eric Carter (USA but living in Canada) and current Canada’s fastest skimo athlete Nick Elson. Peter Knight (CAN) came in fourth after putting in a strong showing.
In the women’s race, coming off a fresh win at Shedhorn the previous weekend, Sierra Anderson took a dominant win over  Michela Adrian and Jaime Brede (all from USA). Fourth went to the first Canadian Michelle Roberts.
> Full results – vertical
Sprint race – Saturday:
Saturday’s sprint race attracted less athletes than anticipated yet still provided for a great event for the resort skiers. All top favorites cruised to the finals without much problems.
The men’s finals featured a strong pack of six and delivered an exciting race. While Nick Elson took off right from the start and build about 10sec lead by top of the boot-pack, the rest was swapping back and forth. Eric Carter was able to away by the top transition and then hold on to second place while Rory Kelly just held off Chris Carr (USA) for third. Travis Brown (CAN) and Jon Brown (USA) took 5th and 6th respectively.

Nick Elson building his lead while a battle was raging behind him
Nick Elson building his lead while a battle was raging behind him
From left: Carter, Nelson, Kelly
From left: Carter, Nelson, Kelly
 
The women’s final featured a similar script when Kylee Ohler, Canada’s top skimo athlete the last few years, went on a mission and convincingly won. The battle for second was a bit tighter with Michela Adrian coming ahead of Sierra Anderson at the end. 4th went to Lori Ann Donald (CAN), 5th to Jaime Brede (USA) and 6th to Martha Burley (CAN).
Women's podium, from left: Adrian, Ohler, Anderson.
Women’s podium, from left: Adrian, Ohler, Anderson.
The junior and cadet categories delivered great spectating as well and provided an insight into the talent pool in both countries.
> Full results – sprint

Individual race – Sunday:
With great weather and good racing temperatures it was time to take on a big and technical course the organizing committee laid out throughout the best terrain of the Lake Louise Ski Resort – over 1700m vertical spread over 5 climbs and a distance of over 20km to cover.
The first 30min of the men’s race was quite close as the weekend’s familiar trio of Rory Kelly, Eric Carter and Nick Elson was keeping things together. However, after the first descent, long time training partners, Carter and Elson started to pull away and kept building their lead even when breaking trail – they know how to do this very efficiently. They tried to break each other on the last ascent yet both failed so everything was to be decided in the last descent. Skiing together, Elson took a pretty big fall so Carter stopped to check on him. While Elson was fine the two decided to it was safer and more fair to finish hand-in-hand to tie for first. Kelly was able to secure his third place despite the closely following Peter Knight who put in another great performance.
In the women’s race, all eyes were on Sierra Anderson, Kylee Ohler and Michela Adrian – the first two being favourites on paper. After 2h 20min of racing the difference between the winning Andreson and second Ohler was only 1min 47sec, although, Andreson was in the lead the whole way. Third place went to Adrian who stood on the podium on each of the three days.
> Full results – individual

Grand Traverse – Crested Butte, CO – Mar 24:

The following recap was sent in by Nikki LaRochelle, who represented USA at the 2017 World Championships. Thank you very much Nikki!
After weeks of Crested Butte having clear, sunny skies, a storm rolled in on Friday – the day before the midnight start – forcing race organizers to switch the course to the “Reverse” format to mitigate potential avalanche danger. This course profile is similar to the proper course, with climbing 6,000 ft on a 34 miles long route.
Conditions on the course were variable – once racers exited Crested Butte Ski Area, they traversed through East River which had very thin coverage and plenty of grabby sagebrush. Luckily, the snow bridge creek crossings were intact and the snow quality improved as racers ascended up Brush Creek to the Friends Hut aid station. Just past this checkpoint, athletes ascended up towards Star Pass and then turned around to descend back down Brush Creek. This made for tricky downhill skiing as there was two way traffic in a dense forest with fast conditions. Once racers navigated this low angle descent, they had to skate and eventually run down Brush Creek Road to the Upper Upper trail which circumnavigates the south side of Mount Crested butte. Here the conditions were exceptionally thin and athletes had to decide between skinning and running. There were extensive dry patches along the way making this decision a tough one.
The race was led from start to finish by the men’s team, Cam Smith and Sean Vanhorn. These guys were on fire and seemingly untouchable by the rest of the field. Teams in second through fifth place were back and forth for the first half of the race but ultimately spread out after the descent from Star Pass. Laird-Sullivan team were able to make up major time in the second half and were able to overtake Greydanus-Jordan for second at the very end of the race. The co-ed team Brad and Nikki LaRochelle was in the front pack mix the first half of the race and settled into fourth for the second half. The women’s team Smith-Susla won uncontested with the second place women’s team 32 minutes back.
The following recap was sent in by Cam Smith, who also represented USA at the 2017 World Championships. Thank you very much Cam!
Crested Butte has had a tough winter. We are close to record low snowfall. Most of the lower elevation sections of the course were totally dry. But as luck would have it, the biggest storm of the season came in the day before the race. 2.4in of SWE fell at backcountry weather stations, forcing the course to be “reversed” back to Crested Butte. The course was in surprisingly good shape given the weather. Organizers and volunteers did a great job. We were on skis for about 32 of the 35 miles, and despite the challenging weather they were able to mark things very well. We did do a fair bit of trailbreaking at the front for most of the race. Since the course was flatter than normal we felt comfortable taking it out a little harder than we otherwise would.
We were at the front right away and nobody came with us. So we just kept moving at a pace we thought was sustainable, which ended us giving us a sizable lead for most of the race. We made a point not to look over our shoulders so didn’t know the next team was 1 minute or 30 minutes behind us. We knew that no matter the lead if we let up or made a mistake the teams behind us would be happy to take advantage. The highlight of the race was skiing back down the two way traffic. We were cheering for the uphillers while they were jumping out of the way and cheering right back. It was a pretty neat race experience. I even saw my sister on her way up, as well as other friends out completing their own races.
The GT is an amazing community event, it’s so cool to see your friends and neighbors out on course. Even though you’re deep in the backcountry there are folks out cheering your names in the middle of the night. There are hundreds of people preparing the course, organizing the event, and giving up a night of sleep to support the racers. It really brings the community together which is a big part of why we love the race so much. The volunteers and race staff are the real heroes of the weekend.
> Full Results

NE Rando Race Series Finale – Bromley, VT and Sunday River, ME – Mar 17 and Mar 24:

Contributed by East Coast SkinTrack.com Correspondent Jonathan Shefftz. Thank you Jonathan!
On March 17th the NE Rando Race Series returned to Southern Vermont for its fourth of five USSMA-sanctioned races. Bromley provided conditions that were the perfect antidote to the rapidly diminishing snowpack at the NE Rando February 24 race at Berkshire East, MA following a week of temps in the 60sF and even 70F, followed by the groomer-fest at the SkimoEast March 3 race at Jay Peak VT. Instead, after over six feet of snow during the first half of March, Bromley served up descents of cut-up powder interspersed with some tight moguls.
The approximately 5,000 feet layout started with a loop around the edges of the resort boundary and then three cycles of an inner circuit comprising a full skin, short ski, short boot, and full ski. Milan Kubala took his second NE Rando win of the season, followed by Abe Meyehofer and Alex Nichols. For the women, Katie Vadasdi also took her second NE Rando win.
In the age classes, for Masters, Race Director Jonathan Shefftz took the win, ahead of Cameron Chalmers and Thomas McHenry in third, while Barbara Tardiff took her second win of the season for women. Stratton Mountain School nordic racer Asa Chalmers took his second win of the season for U17. Alaskan nordic racer Canyon Tobin took the U20 win while also just barely missing the Open podium an shocking the entire field by leading the first ascent … on regular touring gear, all borrowed!
The season wrapped up on March 24 at Sunday River, Maine: by far the most expansive course layout in the East, starting at one end of the resort, zig-zagging up and down the lower mountain to the other end, then finally working its way back by zig-zagging up and down the upper mountain. Almost all of the 5,600 feet of vertical comprised steep tight bump runs.
Ed Warren took his second NE Rando win of the season, followed by Jan Wellford and Brian MacIlvain (“fresh” from the Pierra Menta). Whitney Withington smoked all of the bump runs to take the win over Jen Downing. Race Director Jonathan Shefftz won for the Master’s.
> Full Results

International Race News

Tour du Rutor – Italy – Mar 23-25:

After coming off a very strong showing at Pierra Menta where they placed 10th, we were all awaiting how will the team of John Gaston and Tom Goth (both USA) fair in another famous European stage race. Tour du Rutor takes place every second year and is always attended by many very fast teams.
Here’s a very nice video from the second day:
Racing between the top 3 men’s teams was very close every day and ultimately the overall differences were small. Italian’s Michele Boscacci and a yound Davide Magnini won by only 3min over their countrymen Matteo Eydallin and Nadir Maguet who had another 3.5min over over a French team William Bon Mardion and Xavier Gachet (3rd at recent Pierra Menta as well). Tom Goth and John Gaston had very even placing every day (11th, 10th and 10th) to score another top 10 result at a prestigious European skimo stage race. Congrats!
In the women’s race, it was the recently crowned European Champion Axelle Mollaret (FRA) partnering with Jennifer Fiechter (SWI) to take all three stages and ultimately the overall with about 6min over second placed Italian team Alba de Silvestro and Katia Tomatis (Axelle Mollaret partner at Pierra Menta). They had a significant gap over third placed Lorna Bonnel (FRA) and Severine Pont Combe (SWI).
> Full Results

Upcoming Events

With the skimo racing season coming to a close soon there are still a couple of events worthwhile considering. Check out our calendar and hop on the start line for one more challenge!

Skimo News – Mar 20, 2018: New 24h World Record, Pierra Menta News, Upcoming Pan American Skimo Champs, and more…

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Last couple of days have been the busiest and the most exciting for the skimo world in all of this season. Let’s not waist screen space and dive right into it…

Upcoming Pan American Ski Mountaineering Championships – Mar 23-25

We want to bring your attention again to the upcoming Championships that will take place over three days in the beautiful Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta, Canada.
The event will features three different races – vertical on Friday, sprint on Saturday, individual on Sunday – and is expected to attract the fastest athletes from US, Canada and maybe even Mexico and South America.
The prizes are plenty, there is quite a bit of new snow at the venue, and athletes of all levels are welcome to line up along National team members either on the same courses or shortened versions.
For all event’s details and for registration please go here.

Mike Foote Sets a New 24h Record!

On the morning of March 17, after months of training and preparation, Mike Foote started to climb his first of the 60 laps in an attempt to set a new 24 hour world record in the most vertical climbed and skied. The next morning, he would become the new world record holder with a total of 61,200 vertical feet or 18,654 metres climbed!
As our friend, we cannot be more proud and happy for him! Yeaaah! 🙂

Mike set his record on a fairly short 310m climb at his "home" resort in Whitefish, Montana which happens to be one of our favourite places as well.
Mike set his record on a fairly short 310m climb at his “home” resort in Whitefish, Montana which happens to be one of our favourite places as well.
For many, Mike might be unknown but in the endurance trail running world he has achieved some incredible results over the years such as a podium at the famed Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc and 3x second place at Hardrock 100. Mike is also The North Face Athlete, member of the US National Ski Mountaineering Team, raced Pierra Menta in 2017 and placed 26th in a vertical race at the 2017 World Skimo Championships.
We will have more details coming about Mike’s training and his record attempt in an interview in the next couple of days.

2018 Pierra Menta: Joy and Sorrows of Champions

Mid-March is traditionally reserved for the iconic 4-day stage race in the beautiful mountains surrounding Beaufort and Areches villages in France.
United States fielded arguably their strongest team ever – John Gaston (previously 15th at this race) and Tom Goth – who ultimately placed in the top 10 overall to set a new men’s North American historical benchmark at PM.
> Overall results are here our day-by-day recap below will provide the full story.

Men’s race recap:

While last year’s supreme winners, Italy’s Damiano Lenzi and Matteo Eydalin, were the biggest favourites on paper there were other three teams that could seriously thinking about winning.

While the unfortunate accident took out Kilian Jornet nothing should be taken away from Michele Boscacci winning his first Pierra Menta with his father Graziano, a winner of the 2002 Pierra Menta, watching from the sidelines. A truly grand family achievement! (Pierra Menta photo)
While the unfortunate accident took out Kilian Jornet nothing should be taken away from Michele Boscacci winning his first Pierra Menta with his father Graziano, a winner of the 2002 Pierra Menta, watching from the sidelines. A truly grand family achievement! (Pierra Menta photo)
The first day went super well for a local French team, William Bon Mardion and Xavier Gachet, who were the underdogs coming into the race, as they took the win by a couple of seconds ahead of Italians Robert Antonioli and Michele Boscacci. Only a minute behind, third place went to the famous Spaniard Kilian Jornert and his new teams race partner Jakob Herrmann from Austria. Time gaps were very small between the top three teams. Lenzi and Eydalin struggled to fourth place with almost five minutes down on the victors.
> John Gaston and Tom Goth eased into the race to place 16th.
On day 2, traditionally hosting the longest stage, things started to get really interesting when Jornet and Herrmann forced the pace most of the day to take the win. Lenzi and Eydalin abandoned the race as they didn’t feel up to the task. Boscacci and Antonioli battled the whole way but ultimately finished second again, yet loosing only 4 seconds to the winning team. The French team conceded over 4 minutes and it was safe to assume they fell out of contention for the overall win.
> John Gaston and Tom Goth delivered a great performance to claim 10th in the stage and moved up to 12th overall.
Boscacci and Antonioli started the day 3 in “pole position”, leading Jornet and Herrmann by about a minute in the overall. However, thanks to Jornet’s experience and motivation of his teammate they pushed the pace in grand fashion to win the stage by over 3 minutes ahead of the Italians, and claiming the overall lead by about 2 minutes. Gachet and Bon Mardion finished safely in 3rd.
> Gaston and Goth continued with their measured effort to place 11th in the stage and staying 12th overall.
The final day brought the biggest disappointment in skimo’s recent history and a bag of mixed emotions. As Jornet and Herrmann were on a mission once again, the Spaniard suffered a fall in a descent mid-stage and broke his lower leg. He is fine otherwise. Heavy wet snow was coming down since the morning to make conditions really challenging. Behind them an amazing battle for the stage win unleashed as Bon Mardion and Gachet found their legs from day one. At the end, they beat the Italian team by only 12 seconds with Boscacci and Antonioli collapsing in the finish to claim the surprising overall title.
> The US Team rallied into 8th place in the stage and jumping to 10th overall.

Women’s race recap:

The women’s race was a little less exciting but it did bring a surprise. The strongest team on paper, French Laetitia Roux with Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg, uncharacteristically struggled to even match the duo of Axelle Mollaret (FRA) and Katia Tomatis (ITA), and kept loosing minutes in the first three stages. Only on the last day did they prevail to claim at least one stage. On the other hand, Mollaret and Tomatis delivered a spectacular performance to win three stages and the overall title by 11 minutes over Roux and Forsberg.

Katia Tomatis and Axelle Mollaret full of joy. (Pierra Menta photo)
Katia Tomatis and Axelle Mollaret full of joy. (Pierra Menta photo)
Third place was never really contested as Spanish team of Mireia Miro and Marta Garcia put in a solid effort every day to always place 3rd.
Of note, is the fourth place of a purely Swedish team consisting of Ida Nilsson and Fanny Borgstrom.

USA and Canada Race News

Marmot’s Revenge – Jasper, AB – Mar 17, 2018:

The Canadian Cup came together for the third weekend in a row at Marmot Basin in Jasper, AB for the very first time of this event. Fresh snow day prior to the race made for soft conditions along with warm temperatures. The Canadian Rockies snow-pack is deep at the moment and with a mid-mountain start, racers were treated to excellent skiing. Unfortunately, dense fog rolled onto the course making for challenging race conditions. Racers in the elite course covered five ascents and descents totaling approximately 1800 meters of climbing.
Peter Knight, the devious course designer, broke trail up the first climb. After the first descent, Nick Elson, feeling strong after two recent wins at Panorama and Squamish, pushed off the front with only Eric Carter following his track. The two swapped the lead through the remaining race until Elson opened a gap on the final boot-pack and transition, skiing into the finish with a 10 second lead.

As a "revenge", for designing such a tough course, Peter Knight was left to break trail on the first climb. All in good spirits ;) Marmot Basin photo.
As a “revenge”, for designing such a tough course, Peter Knight was left to break trail on the first climb. All in good spirits 😉 Marmot Basin photo.
Kylee Ohler remains the undisputed women’s leader and won, also taking 5th overall, with more than 30min gap over second place Marg Fedyna. The third step on the podium went to Courtney Post.
> Full results

Shedhorn Race – Big Sky Montana – Mar 17, 2018:

With arguably the scariest course on the North American skimo circuit this race is no joke! The big terrain of this unique resort provides a spectacular setting for a proper ski mountaineering event.

Big Sky ski patrollers always put on a great course! Photo by COSMIC (Joe Risi).
Big Sky ski patrollers always put on a great course! Photo by COSMIC (Joe Risi).
While we don’t have the backstory from this race we will mention the winners on the elite course and you can find out the rest in the results below. First place in the men’s category went to Max Taam, who is US Skimo Team member and one of the best skimo athletes on the continent when it comes to technical courses. In the women’s category the top prize went to Sierra Anderson from Breckenridge, CO.
> Full results

East Coast races:

We don’t have any reports from that side of the country this week.

Upcoming Events

Grand Traverse
Those not attending Continental Championships in Canada will likely be competing at the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse from Aspen to Crested Butte. It’s a bit too early to make any predictions about weather conditions but we do suspect that repeat champions, John Gaston and Max Taam will be tough to beat, even with John likely tired from his amazing performance at Pierra Menta. Or is Max coming to race in Lake Louise? Who do you think will put up the best fight? What do you expect to see from the women’s teams? Let us know what you think!

Skimo News – Mar 16, 2018: Backcountry skimo racing in Squamish BC, Power of Four in Aspen and more…

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It has been quite busy last two weeks for race organizers, athletes and us as well. However, we are reporting only on three races as we are still waiting for recaps and results to be sent to us.
The next two weeks will be busy again, especially with the Skimo Pan-American Championships taking place in the beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta over three days Mar 23-25.

USA and Canada Race News

Ski to Sky – Squamish, BC – Mar 10:

A brand new race, and the only entirely backcountry skimo race in Canada (and one of the only three in North America), was held this weekend in Squamish, British Columbia. The inaugural event held at the Sea to Sky Gondola – organized by US and Canadian National Team members Eric Carter and Nick Elson – sold out 85 entries with a week remaining to the race date. Organizers contended with difficult weather conditions in the week leading up to the race but managed to prepare a great track on a modified course to account for increased avalanche danger.

We set a double track on most of the course.
We set a double track on most of the course.
Race day arrived with a crisp, perfectly blue sky and there was an excited buzz as volunteers headed out on the course along with guides, and search and rescue personnel. The majority of the athletes were ski tourers and trail runners completing their first race while a few National Team members were excited to enjoy some racing action off-piste.
Amazing scenery above the top transition.
Amazing scenery above the top transition.
Athletes lined up for a Le Mans style start, running out from the gondola station and up a short hill where they put their skis on for a 2 km skate and out towards the course – fastest skiers covered this section in just over 8 min. Once skins were on athletes cruised up the Shannon Creek Valley before heading onto a technical skin track into the alpine. Despite warm temps and sunny skies, ski conditions were pretty good on the north facing slopes below the Stadium Glacier. Skiers had a treat as they climbed up the double skin track to the high transition with views of the Sky Pilot massif dominating and the Pacific Ocean down in the valley below.
Elite racers completed two laps of the alpine section of the course while Rec category completed one. Nick Elson took the lead from the start and skied away from Travis Brown and Joel Desgraniers, both from Alberta, opening up time on both the ascents and descents finishing in 1hr and 40min. The women’s open field was led by Oregonian Megan Erspamer in 2hrs 49min, beating out Moni Ambrozaitis of North Vancouver. The short course was won by Jiri Prochazka of Whistler for the men and Kyle Kirkegaard of Squamish for the women.
Nick Elson had an impressive lead already after 45min of racing.
Nick Elson had an impressive lead already after 45min of racing.
Upon the successful return of all the racers, everyone converged on the beautiful Gondola deck to take in some sun, drink a lot of Backcountry Brewing beer, and get their hands on a TON of prizes from race sponsors.
The race organizers would like to thank all our sponsors, volunteers, and athletes for an amazing day! We should also note that we’ve raised more than $500 to donate to Squamish Search and Rescue!
For more info on Squamish Skimo, check out our website (www.squamishskimo.com) or follow @Squamishskimo on Facebook and Instagram
> Full results

Power of Four – Aspen, CO – Mar 3:

A couple of days before flying over to Europe to race the magical Pierra Menta, John Gaston partner once again with Max Taam for one of the biggest skimo events in North America. In grand fashion, the duo set a new course record and comfortably won this race for a fourth time.

John and Max way out front.
John and Max way out front.
They were followed home by Cam Smith, a rising skimo star, and his partner Paul Hamilton. Third went to an experienced team of Rory Kelly and Jon Brown.
On the women’s side, two experienced racers and both mothers – Nikki Laroche and Lindsay Plant – won with a sizeable gap of 30min over the second placed Sarah Tory and Caroline Tory.
>  Full results

Steep Dreams – Panorama, BC – Mar 3-4:

New-kid-on-the-block last year, the Steep Dreams two day skimo event enjoyed little warmer temperatures than a year ago.
The first day hosted the vertical race on a 500m course. In his first race of the season, Nick Elson and Kylee Ohler took the wins. The top 3 men were within 20 seconds.
The next day, lining up for his second race of the season, Nick Elson didn’t leave anyone in doubt about his form as he marched on to build a massive 11min lead by the finish line. Second went to Peter Knight, a steady force on the Canadian scene, who just held off Joel Shehan, one of our Montana friends and a potential candidate for the US Skimo Team next year.
The women’s individual race once again belong to Kylee Ohler who also won with a big 25min gap. Second went to Michelle Katchur Roberts and third to more of sprint specialist Lori Anne Donald.
> Full results – Vertical race, Individual race

Upcoming Events

The Pierra Menta is in a full swing right now and will finish tomorrow. American duo, John Gaston and Tom Goth, are currently sitting in 12th after 3 days of racing. If they hold on to it then that will be the best ever North American result.
Marmot’s Revenge, another new race on the Canadian calendar, is taking place on March 17 in the beautiful Jasper, Alberta.
March 17 will also host the big terrain Shedhorn Skimo Race at Big Sky Resort, MT and while on the east coast we will see a race at Bromley Mountain.
The weekend of March 23-25 will belong to the Pan-American Championships (also Canadian Championships) in Lake Louise, Alberta. And of course the Grand Traverse in Colorado will be on that weekend as well.

Skimo News – Feb 27, 2018: North American racing + Jornet and Antonioli took Euro titles as Mollarete dominates women…

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Exciting racing all around the North America and severe weather conditions for athletes at the European Championships on Mount Etna on the Italian island Sicily!

Jornet pressing the gas pedal while Italians are hiding from the strong wind. Photo by ISMF.
Jornet pressing the gas pedal as Italians are hiding from the strong wind. Photo by ISMF.
In non-racing news, US National Team member Teague Holmes nabs the second descent of an incredible steep line on the Aiguille du Chardonnet in Chamonix, first opened by Vivian Bruchez and Kilian Jornet. Their descent of the “West-by-South-West Couloir” is an awesome example of true ski mountaineering!
Somewhere in the maze of couloirs. Photo by Teague Holmes.
Somewhere in the maze of couloirs. Photo by Teague Holmes.

USA and Canada Race News

Wasatch Powder Keg – Salt Lake City – Feb 23-25:

With the US National Championships in Taos cancelled few weeks ago, the Salt Lake City crew stepped up and hosted the event as part of the classic Wasatch Powder Keg. It was a great weekend of racing. The temperatures were cold and there was lots of new snow.
There was a great turnout of kids with a large cadet (14-17) and viking (U14) divisions. Weather made the skiing on the course great, but course setting challenging. An accident in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday morning caused a 2 hour delay in the race start due to the canyon being closed.

Men's teams race podium at Wasatch Powderkeg. Photo by the race organizers.
Men’s teams race podium at Wasatch Powderkeg. Photo by the race organizers.
Tom Goth and Gemma Arro ran away with the sprint titles. John Gaston returned home from Europe in strong form and punctuated his dominance on the domestic scene with another year as national champion in the individual race, with Gemma Arro taking her 2nd title of the weekend. Gaston and Max Taam took the team title over Goth and Andy Dorais. The women’s team event only featured two teams with several of the top women electing to race in the co-ed division instead. Caroline Gleich and Kathryn Bowman were the women’s team winners.
> Full Results

ROAM Randonne Rally – Nelson, BC – Feb 24:

Canadian athletes descended on the powder capital of the World, the Whitewater Ski Area in the Kootenay Mountains of British Columbia, for the 3rd of the SMCC Canadian Cup races. A new course kept racers entirely in the front bowls, eliminating significant portions of undulating ridge skinning from previous years. This meant direct ascents and incredible fall line skiing in their slack country terrain. As always, fresh powder fell in the days leading up to the race so athletes had the treat of first tracks on each descent (as well as breaking trail on the ascents).
The athletes started up the cat track on a crisp, blue morning and quickly turned onto the skin track for the 1500m+ course. Peter Knight took the first big turn breaking trail before trading off with Eric Carter who then pushed ahead solo for the last ascent to ski to his second win in Nelson. Kylee Ohler had a Men’s race podium in her sights but was held off by Canadian National Team member, Matt Reid, and chased by the eventual “Queen of Coldsmoke” Lori Ann Donald. Marg Fedyna rounded out the Women’s podium. Also of note was Junior racer Noah Shuhe’s result in the open men’s long course race.
> Full Results

Berkshire East – Massachusetts – Feb 24:

Write-up provided by our New England Skimo correspondent Jonathan Shefftz.
On February 24, the NE Rando Race Series returned to its January 20 venue of Berkshire East in Western Massachusetts (moved from the backcountry venue of Mount Greylock on account of 0% natural snow). Temperatures 60F warmer than the -20F January 6 season-opener at Magic resulted in skinning conditions that tested racers’ slush-avoidance tactics and water-saturated climbing skin glue. Fortunately, the boot-pack segments mainly followed hardened trails in the Thunder Mountain Bike Park, and the skiing conditions were fairly standard spring fare (albeit about two months too early!).
The nearly ~5,000 feet vertical course layout entailed three cycles of a circuit that started with a full skinning ascent up the 1,000’ mountain. For Open men, Jerimy Arnold took the win and fellow Team Hagan member Alex Nichols took third to sandwich Abe Meyerhofer in second on the podium. For Open women, Kadie Vadasdi moved up from her January third to take the win. For 45+, Race Director and Team Hagan member Jonathan Shefftz added a win to his January runner-up.
> Full results

Skimo Chutes and Ladders – Blacktail Mountain, Montana – Feb 25:

Write-up was provided by Jason Mills, one of the founders and organizers of this new event.
chutes-and-ladders-raceSkimo is becoming more and more popular in Montana’s Flathead Valley thanks to the liberal up-hill policy at Whitefish Mountain Resort, the now-classic Whitefish Whiteout skimo race (150 participants this year!), and a four-week Wednesday night skimo race league at the same resort.
Thanks to Flathead Valley residents Jason Mills and Jed Hohf, Montana has new race at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area in Lakeside, a small ski area 15 miles south of Kalispell. BTW, Blacktail Mountain currently has the 11th deepest snowpack in the country with 115 in., all natural snow!
The goal for Chutes and Ladders was to be a little different: Offer something challenging and competitive for the elite racers and something weird and fun for the rec skinners. The name Chutes and Ladders wasn’t just a “clever” race name, it was an allusion to the crux of the course: competitors had to climb two ladders over boulders throughout the race – a nod to the “old school” skimo races at Jackson Hole and the ladder up and over Corbet’s Couloir.
Fifty-three racers lined up in some heavy winds and about two inches of fresh. With the race starting on top of the mountain, racers skinned for about three minutes, transitioned, and then descended 1,400 ft. to the base of the lifts. Racers then circumnavigated the ski area, skinning and skiing about 50/50 piste/off-piste, encountering two ladders along the way.
The men’s elite field (three laps, 5,600 ft.) was lead all the way by Flathead brothers Joel and Jeff Shehan, with Joel coming in first, Jeff about five minutes behind in second, and Cyril Burguiere in third about five minutes after. (Of note: The Brothers Shehan flew to Salt Lake City on Friday night, raced the Powder Keg Saturday, flew back Saturday night, and raced Chutes and Ladders on Sunday!)
While the women’s elite field only hosted three athletes, Nikki Kimball (Bozeman, MT), Amber Steed (Kalispell, MT), and Claire Kniveton (Whitefish, MT), the three ladies traded spots all throughout the race, with Nikki and Amber eventually coming in hand-in-hand for first and Claire less than two minutes back in third.
This was the first ANNUAL Chutes and Ladders. We hope you’ll come race with us and climb some ladders in Lakeside, Montana, in 2019!

International Race News

With World and European Championships alternating, it was time for the best Euros to battle it out in 2018. The island of Sicily might seem like a strange place for ski mountaineering, however, the volcano of Mount Etna is high enough to have snow and there have been World Cups hosted here in the past.
Unfortunately, the last week’s Championships have been marked by severe storms which forced the organizers to cancel the seniors sprint and vertical races (while the younger categories were able to complete their events), with the later one being thankfully re-run on the last day.
With Italian men crushing this season’s World Cup races and Kilian Jornet back from a shoulder injury, it was obvious there would be “fireworks” in the skin tracks!

Jornet pressing the gas pedal while Italians are hiding from the strong wind. Photo by ISMF.
Jornet pressing on the gas pedal as Italians are hiding from the strong wind. Photo by ISMF.
Currently, the Italian Skimo team has 5-6 athletes capable of winning any World Cup level individual race on any given day. With that, Robert Antonioli and Michelle Boscacci took it by the horns to only be followed by Kilian Jornet through the mid-point of the individual race. As expect, Jornet doesn’t race for second so he ultimately took the rein to build a nice gap by the top of the last ascent. However, the amazing Robert Antonioli pulled off one of his signature descents and blasted to the finish with a time to spare for golden celebration. Michelle Boscacci chased down the Spaniard as well to position himself for a sprint finish (there was a small skin-up section to the line) where he just nipped Jornet for silver. What a race!
Ski like Antonioli, celebrate like Antonioli :) Photo by ISMF.
Ski like Antonioli, celebrate like Antonioli 🙂 Photo by ISMF.
In the vertical race, Italians were at it again and trying to see whether one of them could break Jornet eventually. At the end, it was the flying Spaniard emerging first from the heavy fog at the finish line. Second went to an incredibly talented 20-years old Davide Magnini who will likely dominate World Cups in 2-3 years. Bronze medal went to a little known Antonio Alcalde Sanchez of Spain. Robert Antonioli took 4th and Swiss Werner Marti 5th.
In women’s races, all eyes were on Laetitia Roux (FRA) as she has lost only a very few races on the World Cup level for many years now. But this time it was her team-mate, Axelle Mollarete who took down the Championships in style. First, she won the individual race and then a took gold in the vertical as well! Roux managed second in the individual were she was closely chased by two Swedish athletes – Emelie Forsberg and Fanny Borgstrom who finished 3rd and 4th, respectively.
In the vertical race, Mollarete won with a comfortable margin while Victoria Kreuzer (SWI) took silver and Alba de Silvestro (ITA) captured bronze.
Women's individual race podium. Photo by ISMF.
Women’s individual race podium. Photo by ISMF.
> Results – for some reason there were no official ISMF vertical race results published (or communicated to us)

Upcoming Events

The Quebec-based SkimoEast series will be at Jay Peak in northern VT for the second of its two annual Quebec vs. New England showdowns. Following the latest of the (too) numerous February thaw-refreeze cycles, much of the challenging terrain in the typically expansive course layout is currently closed, but midweek snowfall could add up just in time for the March 3 race date.
Canadian racing continues at Panorama Mountain Resort for the Steep Dreams Ski Mountaineering Festival which includes a Vertical and Individual event as well as a unique “Skiduro” category with timed downhill segments.
In Colorado – teams are lining up for the Power of Four race. No insight on entries but we expect to see some decent competition at what is usually a pretty exciting event!
> For full events calendar visit this page

Skimo News – Feb 20, 2018: Pete Swenson Returns, Transcavallo Stage Race, Upcoming Races

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It’s a very brief news cycle this week with just two races to report on. Colorado and Utah have finally begun getting significant snowfall but are far behind seasonal averages. Skiing continues to be excellent in Western Canada with new snow and high pressure days. The Canadian Rockies are still dealing with deep cold and significant avi hazard.

Beautiful winter landscape at Transcavallo race at Alpago, Italy.
Beautiful winter landscape at Transcavallo race at Alpago, Italy.

USA and Canada Race News

Race the Divide – Monarch Mountain – Feb 17:

Racing action continued in Colorado at Monarch Mountain where the elder statesman of US skimo, Pete Swenson, reminded the rest of the field not to count him out just yet! Taking the win with a gap of 4 minutes to second place and almost 9 to the first sitting National Team member! Jamie Brede battled it out with Eva Hagen, with Jamie narrowly taking the win by just 10 seconds and Sierra Anderson rounding out the podium. Colorado youth skiing continues to grow with 6 Espoirs and 1 Cadet in the field!
> Full Results

International Race News

World Cup racing was on break this weekend, however, most athletes attended a three day stage race at Transcavallo, Italy – the site of the snow-less 2017 World Championships. With much more snow this season, the course looking dramatically different, competitors had beautiful technical ascents with long and rock-free descents. The Italian duo of William Boffelli and Manfred Reichegger came out on top in men’s category while Martina Valmassoi and Dimitra Theocharis won the women’s.
> Full Results

Reichegger and Boffoni
Reichegger, an Italian ski mountraineering racing legend, leading Boffelli on their way to winning 2018 Transcavallo.
Martina Valmassoi during the first stage.
Martina Valmassoi with her partner during the first stage.

Upcoming Events

It has been a relatively quiet week of racing but much stands on the horizon. In Europe, the European Ski Mountaineering Championships will take place this weekend. Kilian Jornet is back at full racing strength and surely be keen to show his dominance. Anton Palzer has announced his withdrawal due to illness. Will we see the Italians continue to hold the podium positions or will the French and Swiss athletes step up? The only American athlete anticipated to attend is John Gaston.
In the Unite States, the relocated US National Championships will be held at the Wasatch Powder Keg. The men’s race seems to be a clinger for Tom Goth on his home course with Gaston racing overseas but several up-and-coming racers prove to be challengers. Mike Foote is our bet for a challenge to Goth. East Coast racing continues at Greylock.
In Canada, the SMCC Cup reconvenes at the b at Whitewater Ski Area in Nelson, BC. This race ALWAYS delivers big powder and interesting racing. Expect a competitive field with athletes coming from Alberta, Montana, and a large Coast contingent. Nick Elson, multi-Canadian National Team member, will be making his season debut to compare to current National Champion, Joel Desgreniers. On the women’s side, we expect Kylee Ohler to continue her overwhelming dominance of the Canadian scene though we’d love to see some US athletes come to challenge her!

No Ski Mountaineering Racing at 2022 Olympic Games? What about 2026?

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skimo_olympic_equation
With 2018 Winter Olympic Games in full swing in PyeongChang in South Korea let’s take a moment to evaluate where skimo racing stands in relation to the Olympic Games.
It has been over a decade since the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), the world governing body for ski mountaineering racing, have started its formal efforts to push skimo into the Olympics. Such recognition is a big goal for any sport as it traditionally leads to more financial stability within the sport, more business opportunities and other new perks for its athletes and federations.

Latest News – February 2018

Last week, just before the 2018 Games have started, there was an official announcement made by interim International Olympic Committee (IOC) Beijing 2022 Coordination Commission chair Juan Antonio Samaranch, saying: “Beijing has not asked for any new sports on the programme… We are happy with that and will not be proposing any.”
Earlier that week, IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell commented: “I think the gap between popularity and participation and global audiences between the existing seven and any others probably makes that jump to new sports a little bit harder than in summer,” basically suggesting that it will be very difficult for any new sports being added to Winter Olympics while the IOC is definitely looking into adding new disciplines within existing sports.

Ski Mountaineering Racing at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games

One of the desired steps for including ski mountaineering racing in the Olympic Games was to have it appear at the Youth Olympic Games first. While skimo was successfully approved for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland it looks like that decision, for now, had no impact regarding the big Games.
Despite the positive development for skimo in the Youth Olympics, USA won’t be sending any young skimo athletes to the 2020 Games as its Olympic Committee expressed recently that it won’t select athletes in sports that are not already included in the “adult” Olympic Games. For Canadians, there is still a chance the country might send one female and one male skimo athlete to the 2020 Youth Games.

ISMF Recognition by the IOC

Last year, the IOC has officially recognized the ISMF federation which had been seen as particularly huge success by the ISMF as achieving another critical milestone in the whole process.

Skimo at 2026 Olympics?

The host city for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be decided in September 2019 while final decisions on new sport inclusions will take place few years later.
We believe that inclusion of ski mountaineering racing will be somewhat dependent on which country hosts the 2026 Games as this will define the extra resources that will need to be deployed by the organizers. Calgary, Canada and Schladming, Austria are among the bidding cities that have very suitable environmental conditions for skimo.
With all that said, we have to ask – Does ski mountaineering racing have a chance to be an Olympic sport by 2026? While the chance definitely exists there are significant headwinds to overcome.
Also, there is perhaps a more important question to answer – Is it good for skimo to become an Olympic sport? Four years after writing this highly debated piece – What if SkiMo becomes an Olympic sport? – I am personally still undecided on a clear answer one way or the other.
What are your thoughts?

Skimo News – Feb 14, 2018: No Skimo at 2022 Olympics, Mike Foote Wins in Whitefish, Kilian Jornet Winning Again

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Skiers in Colorado rejoice to the first snowfall of the season! Meanwhile, in the Canadian Interior, skiers are flocking to the ski areas due to high avi hazard in the backcountry. Us in the Pacific North West are emerging from another storm and frantically applying sunscreen and searching for the sunglasses we didn’t need since summer time.

2022 Olympics Without Ski Mountaineering

Last week, a little bit under the radar, an announcement has been made by the International Olympic Committee that no new sport will be added to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Three federations that have been recognized by the IOC have been hoping to include some of their disciplines in Olympic Games, these include skimo’s ISMF and ice climbing’s UIAA.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) sports director Kit McConnell claimed innovation at the Winter Games has already been ensured by the addition of new events within existing sports on the program:
“When you look at the innovations we had in Vancouver and Sochi [2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games], the winter program was already moving ahead, with not just new sports but new events in existing sports…”

USA and Canada Race News

COSMIC Tellurando – Telluride CO – Feb 10:

A trip to Colorado’s San Juan Mountains are always a treat. The box canyon of Telluride and more specifically the Main Street of Telluride served as the starting line for the 2nd year of the TELLURANDO, thanks to the amazing team at Jagged Edge Mountaineering. The race is a benefit for the Telluride Mountain Club PI Avalanche Foundation.

Lead pack at Tellurando. Photo by Brashear Photo.
Lead pack at Tellurando. Photo by Brashear Photo.
Athletes, including several members of the US Ski Mountaineering Team, began by running down Colorado Avenue at 5.30 AM while the ski town was still asleep. Top teams finished 23 miles and 11,000 feet of vert before a major snow storm, others had to brave the snow squall. At the end, 48 racers were treated to fresh pies and Howitzer shell trophies. National Team member Rory Kelly won the solo event while Max Taam and Scott Simmons teamed up to win the open teams division. On the women’s side, Holly Simmons won the solo category as Maddy Fones and Patricia Franco claimed a win in the teams division.
Also of note was a junior athlete (under 17) Kyle Soukup who finished 4th overall!
> Full Results

Whitefish Whiteout – Whitefish MT – Feb 10:

Ben Parsons on his way to win the 2015 edition on his home mountain.
Ben Parsons on his way to win the 2015 edition on his home mountain.
With a fantastic community behind this event, great course layout, and a full support from Whitefish Mountain Resort, this race is a must do for every skimo athlete. While there have been many that have shaped this event over the years there are two iconic personalities we want to recognize – Josh Knight, the resort’s events manager, and Ben Parsons who had been the magical force behind the local skimo community and have touched many lives beyond that.
On race day, close to 150 racers lined up to tackle a well redesigned race course featuring steep descents, very challenging skinning, two boot-packs, and a final big downhill instead of a finish at the top of the mountain like in the years past. The new changes made the race little longer and improved its flow.
Similar to last year, Mike Foote, US National Skimo Team member and an accomplished trail runner, took off like a bullet to never be seen again. Joel Shehan, one of Whitefish’ finest athletes, surprised everyone and managed to closely follow Mike for a good part of the first half of the race. While these two were running away with the top spots the battle behind them took much longer to settle. At the end, both steadily improving, Andrew Mayer and Jeff Shehan took 3rd and 4th respectively. SkinTrack’s Stano Faban chased up to 6th place after a slow first climb.
In the women’s race, another US National Team member, Michela Adrian, delivered a well paced effort to snatch the win from Chelsee Pummel. Third went to Lizzie English.
One more thing we would like to point your attention to is a successful weekly skimo night series the local community have created. With over 60 participants showing up on average, the five event series takes place in the five weeks leading up to the Whiteout race.
> Full Results

International Race News

It’s been an interesting year for World Cup racing. With a handful of cancelled races and some odd venues, there’s only been one individual event so far! Luckily the snow conditions in the Ecrins mountains in France were ideal for an individual and a vertical event.

Puy St. Vincent World Cup – Ecrins Massif, France – Feb 8-9:

Kilian Jornet (ESP) made his return to racing this weekend after a shoulder surgery this fall, though the Italians continued their domination with Robert Antonioli and Michelle Boscacci taking first and second in the individual event. Axelle Mollaret (FRA) upset the skimo queen Laetitia Roux (FRA) and both were chased by an Italian espoir athlete Alba DeSilvestro.

Marti Werner doing his best to stay with Kilian Jornet.
Werner Marti doing his best to stay with Kilian Jornet. Photo by ISMF.
Kilian managed to climb back to the top of the podium in the vertical event by out-running Swiss vertical specialist Werner Marti and currently the most consistent skimo athlete Michelle Boscacci. The vertical event was a particularly interesting show with athletes finishing at an outright run! Axelle Mollaret swept the World Cup weekend with a second gold in the vertical over Vicky Kreuzer (SUI) and Claudia Galicia (ESP).
John Gaston was the only North American athlete in attendance and finished 16th in the individual and 20th in the vertical.
> Full Results – all disciplines 
> Vertical race video
> Individual race video

Upcoming Events

Looking ahead, on February 24 will be the third race in the North East five-event skimo series – most likely to be a return to the January 20 venue of Berkshire East, given the highly unlikely chances of pulling off a 100% backcountry race at Mount Greylock due to another warm wet period coming up.
We’d also like to point your attention to a brand new event in Squamish, BC. Held entirely in backcountry terrain above the Sea to Sky Gondola, it should be a pretty awesome event. Check it out – www.squamishskimo.com

New Remarkable Dynafit P49 Bindings and Pintech System: Videos and Photos

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dynafit-p49-bindings-1
During my recent visit to ISPO outdoor trade show in Munich I was looking for a Dynafit booth to no avail. I headed to Pomoca instead, as both companies are owned by the same corporation, to find out where I can see the new Dynafit Pintech binding system and their new P49 binding…. and I found it there on display in a back corner.
It has been almost three decades since the revolutionary LowTech binding system was introduced to the market by Dynafit. First, Dynafit enjoyed the benefit of industrial patent protection which lead to their ski touring bindings market domination. After that they have been fighting competition from every direction with many brands “copying” the ingenious invention with only slight improvements.
Today, 30 years later, it looks like that Dynafit is going to try and set a completely new standard for ski touring bindings once again!

Dynafit P49 Heal Piece

Dynafit P49 Toe Piece

More about Dynafit Pintech and P49

Pintech "adapted" Dynafit DNA race boot (designed by Pierre Gignoux) clicked into the P49 toe piece.
Pintech “adapted” Dynafit DNA race boot (designed by Pierre Gignoux) clicked into the P49 toe piece.
The Pintech system is a “reverse” version of the LowTech – the pins are on the ski boot rather than on the arms of the toe piece. This design allows for a significant decrease in weight of the toe piece and offers an easier step-in.
Boot is about to click into the binding.
Boot is about to click into the binding.
Close-up of the Pintech adapted ski boot. The pins are spring-loaded.
Close-up of the Pintech adapted ski boot. The pins are spring-loaded.
At this time, we don’t have accurate and official information on how the binding releases but the functionality is perhaps already built into the design of the toe piece and the system as a whole.
The P49 binding weighs only 49 grams per foot and due to the completely new design will require a very specific boot.
To release from the binding, you just press the two side buttons with your fingers and pull the boot upward. It feels easy to do with gloves on as well.
To release from the binding, you just press the two side buttons with your fingers and pull the boot upward. It should be easy to do even with gloves.
Boot locked into the heal piece and in ski mode.
Boot locked into the heal piece and in ski mode.
The P49 heal piece design is quite remarkable as well. As you can see, the classic two pins have been replaced by a grooved slot where the new boot heal metal piece easily slides into.
Boot in climbing mode with the heal riser running through the middle of the heal piece.
Boot in climbing mode with the heal riser running through the middle of the heal piece in this position.
Obviously, we all have questions about how exactly does the binding release, when it will be in stores, how much will the whole system cost, and so on. While the binding might still need to go through changes before it hits the stores, it is definitely the most innovative piece of ski mountaineering/touring gear we have seen in long time.
The metal bar between the two rubber lugs is an attachment point for a new design of crampons.
The metal bar between the two rubber lugs is an attachment point for a new design of crampons.

Skimo News – Feb 1, 2018: 2019 Gear Introductions, World Cup Vertical in Andorra, US Race Reports

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Right now, industry insiders are schmoozing at a plethora of trade shows and new gear leaks continue to entice racers. Instead of visiting the Outdoor Retailer show in US again, we flew over to Munich for ISPO – the biggest winter outdoor gear trade show in the World – as our application for official media accreditation has been successfully approved a few weeks ago.
As for snow conditions, they remain lean in the US Rockies while the Canadian Rockies deal with high avi danger. The Coast Mountains are battered by storms that bring either heavy rain or heavy snow depending on where you are lucky enough to be based.
World Cup skimo racing continues before a short break and the beginning of the Grande Course racing in just a few weeks. Read on for our recap of current racing action!

Women's podium at WC vertical race in Andorra last week. Photo by ISMF.
Women’s podium at WC vertical race in Andorra last week. From left, Victoria Kreuzer in 3rd, Axelle Mollaret in 1st, and Emelie Forsberg in 2nd. For video see lower on the page. Photo by ISMF.

New gear at ISPO Munich

Over the next couple of days, we will publish articles with more detailed info about the new cool gear we found at ISPO. Meanwhile, check out our Instragram and Facebook feeds as we have been posting gear photos there while at the show.

USA and Canada Race News

SkinTrack skimo clinic at Whitefish, MT – Feb 9:

We would like to bring your attention to the clinic we will be teaching the night before the Whitefish Whiteout race. There are only 14 spots available in total and only few are left. All proceeds will go to Ben Parsons’ family fund. We are looking forward to see you there.
» Click here for more details and to register.
– – – – – – – – Now the Race News – – – – – – – –
Racing took place all over the US, including both Coasts and a mini-event at the SIA show in Colorado. We don’t have any firsthand info from the SIA sprints but we do know that Sierra Anderson and Cam Smith took the respective wins and the event overall raised $1000 for the USSMA. Right on!

Loup Loup Skimo Race – Methow Valley, WA – Jan 27:

The below recap was sent in by Sam Naney, race co-director. Thank you!
Conditions for the second-annual Loup Loup Randonee Races couldn’t have been better this year. A blizzard moved in at 2am on race morning and blanketed the course with freshies. This year’s event featured one, two, and three lap race options (~1300’ gain/lap), as well as a new “ultra” race format: the 10,000ft challenge, inspired by four participants last year who vowed to skied 10,000ft every time they adventured together, and continued on after last year’s race.
Race morning was a bit of a scramble with the blizzard ongoing and many racers stuck on the other side of the mountains due to weather. We postponed for 30min before sending the 10k stalwarts off. Thirty-four competitors started off the line ranging from only 17 years old to 74! Moving quickly to the front were several race gear-clad competitors who maintained between 25-30min laps the whole race, an average climb rate of almost 3000’ per hour. Quickly breaking away to the front was young gun Peter Butler and man-about-the-mountains Patrick Fink. Trading leads and seeking every second’s advantage in transitions the two pulled away from the group and by the eighth lap, Peter had gapped Patrick by over a minute. He crossed the line in 3 hours and 18 minutes, barely two minutes ahead of Patrick. Equally dominant in the women’s race, Canadian Marg Fedyna cruised through every lap in style and finished in 4:26, still only six minutes ahead of Seattle-based racer Holly Davis in 4:32.
Beer and quesadillas flowed like wine at the aid station/finish zone and as the sun broke through in the early afternoon the 80s tunes cranked up, the bonfire surged, and racers pushed through cramps, hangries, and skin failures to complete their requisite 10k vertical. At the end of the day we had a 97% finisher rate and an entire hour remaining to ride lifts and close out the area. Keep an eye to CascadeEndurance.com for information on next year’s race!
> Full Results

Burke Mountain (SkimoEast) Race – Vermont – Jan 28:

East Coast athletes converged on Burke Mountain, located in the far northern tip of Vermont, just south of the Canadian border. Light rain the night before followed by freezing temperatures glazed over the entire mountain, turning a steep groomed skintrack segment into an impromptu decide-for-yourself bootpack, adding many slippery moments to an otherwise moderate ungroomed skintrack, and transforming the ungroomed descent into a luge run of semi-controlled high-speed side-slips.
Team USA dominated the podiums. Jen Downing took her third straight win for the year, followed by Whitney Withington and Robyn Anderson. US national team member Ian Clarke repeated his win from last year, Ed Warren repeated his runner-up from last year, and Benoit Simard was Canada’s lone podium member. Antoine Corbeil was the only junior to complete the full course. (Contributed by our East Coast correspondent Jonathan Shefftz)
> Full Results

International Race News

Font Blanca World Cup – Andorra – Jan 3:

The third meeting of the World Cup took place in Andorra this weekend. Font Blanca is a special place for Eric as his very first World Cup to place there.
Unfortunately, the high-mountain nature of the course makes it difficult for organizers to deal with changing weather conditions. As with several previous years, storms created challenging avalanche conditions that caused the organizers to first change the course, and then, minutes before the start of the individual race, cancel altogether.
anton-palzer-davide-magnini-andorra-vertical
The vertical was still contested at Arinsal resort the following day and was won by on-form Anton Palzer (GER) who had struggled in earlier World Cups this season, and Axelle Mollaret (FRA) in the women’s race. It’s worth noting that only a 20-years old Davide Magnini (ITA) finished only 5 seconds behind Palzer, and only lost the race in the very end.
Americans John Gaston and Rory Kelly took full advantage of the high altitude racing and utilized their Colorado acclimatization to help with excellent finishes in 16th and 18th respectively!
> Full Results – men and women

Upcoming Events

Major racing takes a break this weekend both in North America (due to the cancellation of US Nationals in New Mexico) and Europe. Check back next week for a racing preview!

Skimo News – Jan 23, 2018: World Cup in Switzerland, Canadian and US race series continue

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It’s been an interesting week in skimo! Colorado snowpack remains lean, although, Utah has seen a few glimpses of winter.
Meanwhile, the West Coast is getting pounded with Whistler Blackcomb reporting over a meter on the storm board and Mount Baker Ski Area getting overwhelmed too. It’s a good time to make a trip West!
In Europe, parts of Chamonix are being evacuated due to avalanche risk threatening the town as snow and rain continues to blanket the Alps. It will likely be a good year for Haute Route hopefuls!

Start line in Fernie shows that the Canadian scene is getting few more spandex every year.
Start line in Fernie reveals that the Canadian skimo scene is getting few more spandex every year.

USA and Canada Race News

The US Ski Mountaineering Association has been dealing with some frustration lately:
First, US Nationals have been moved from the Taos, New Mexico venue to the Powder Keg in Utah due tolack of snow.
Just days later, an announcement came that the US Olympic Committee would not be selecting any American athletes to compete in the 2020 Youth Olympic Games. Stating that the USOC does not support sports at the Youth Olympic Games level that are not yet Olympic sports. This begs the question, even if ski mountaineering racing is eventually admitted to the Olympic Games, to what qualifying standard will the USOC hold USSMA athletes? It’s likely that a certain World Cup ranking will be required to be selected to the Olympic Team. We should look to Nordic skiing for their criteria.
There is no word yet on how or if the Canadian Olympic Committee will be selecting any Youth Olympic Games athletes for 2020.

Fernie Lizard Skinner – Fernie, BC – Jan 20:

After a two week break, Canadian and Montana athletes met again in Fernie, BC for the Lizard Skinner event that included both an individual and a sprint event. With lot’s of snow and stormy weather in the week leading up to the race, it was bound to be a powdery one.
Peter Knight showed he’s on form and topped the podium above Joel Shehan and Joel Desgreniers. Newcomers, Tyson Smith and Jean-Michel Voyer shook things up skiing with Travis Brown.
Kylee Ohler continued her Canadian scene dominance while Michelle Katchur-Roberts battled with the Montanans Lizzie English and Katie French.

Lori Anne Donald running away with first place in the sprint.
Lori Anne Donald running away with first place in the sprint.
The men’s sprint was competitive with Joel Desgreniers setting the fastest qualifying time but relenting the final title to Peter Knight, with Travis Brown finishing in bronze. Kylee Ohler was notably absent leaving the sprint a wide open affair. Lori Anne Donald took the win and was joined on the podium by Lizzie English and Martha Burley.
> Full results – Individual – 2018-Fernie-Individual-full- results (PDF)
> Full results – Sprint – 2018-Fernie-Sprint-Results (PDF)

Berkshire East Skimo – Berkshire East, MA – Jan 20:

We don’t have a word-by-word recap for you from this race but we do have results.
Men – full course:
1. Edward Warren
2. Jerimy Arnold
3. Josh Flanagan
Women – full course:
1. Jen Downing
2. Natalie Thompson
3. Katie Vadasdi
> Full Results

International Race News

European racing action resumed in Villars, Switzerland this weekend (the location of the 2020 Youth Olympic Games) and was marked by stormy conditions. Unfortunately, after a successful individual event on Saturday, wind and storms brought down trees and power lines preventing the running of the sprint on Sunday.

Skimo Villars World Cup – Villars, SUI – Jan 20:

Four athletes pushed the pace at the start of the men’s race and took control – Michele Boscacci (ITA), Xavier Gachet (FRA), Martin Anthamatten (SUI) and Nadir Maguet (ITA) – with Robert Antonioli (ITA) trailing slightly behind. On the third ascent, Gachet took off and arrived at the top with a small gap. Antonioli and Boscacci chased him to the finish while the other athletes started to fade.
It is worth noting that the top 10 men arrived within 3 minutes behind the first place after almost 2h of racing.

Axelle Mollaret racing to second.
Axelle Mollaret racing to second. ISMF photo.
As usual, Laetitia Roux (FRA) dominated the women’s race with Axelle Mollaret (FRA) in tow. Vicki Kreuzer (SUI) and Alba De Silvestro (ITA) battled to the line with Kreuzer taking the first individual podium of her career.
American athletes John Gaston finished 27th and Rory Kelly finished 42nd.
> Full Results
John Gaston. ISMF photo.
John Gaston. ISMF photo.

Upcoming Events

In the US we have the Loup Loup Rando Race coming up on January 27th. The Loup Loup is a new addition to the domestic calendar and organized in Method Valley by Sam Naney.
In Europe, athletes will transfer over to Andorra for the Font Blanca race. Snow conditions look promising for both the Individual and Vertical events. Expect some of the big names that were shut out of last week’s podium to be looking for revenge. Hopefully the altitude will be to the advantage of Coloradan’s John Gaston and Rory Kelly!