JERRY_SANCHEZ Posted March 18, 2002 Posted March 18, 2002 HELLO EVERYONE DID ANY OF YOU HEARD OF THIS RACE THAT WILL HAPPEND ON MARCH 31, 2002? CHECK THIS OUT... http://www.life-link.com/race.htm ANY OF YOU EVER DONE THIS RACE BEFORE OR HEARD ANYONE WHO HAS? I'VE DONE CROSS-COUNTRY SKI RACES BEFORE BUT A RACE ON RANDONNEE GEAR? SOUNDS PRETTY FUN WITH PRIZE MONEY AND AWARDS. IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN ALPENTAL WITH OVER 5000 ELEVATION GAIN - SOUNDS LIKE A TOUGH RACE. I'M THINKING OF DOING IT. IS ANYONE UP FOR IT? Quote
mikeadam Posted March 18, 2002 Posted March 18, 2002 I'll be there, I hear Mueller will be there. I heard Jam Master J will be there. There are 2 classes. One is the "Get it the hell over with and drink beer class" and the other is "Slog, slog, slog, suffer" category. REI has some info online somewhere or call Pro Ski on Aurora or North Bend Pro Ski. Quote
mtngrrrl Posted March 19, 2002 Posted March 19, 2002 The race was mentioned in Off-Piste Magazine's March issue along with a good report on Team Canada's first participation in the World Ski Mountaineering Championships in France. (See page 4.) We'll probably be hearing more about ski mountaineering races since some organizations are trying to make it an Olympic sport. Quote
JERRY_SANCHEZ Posted March 19, 2002 Author Posted March 19, 2002 i CAN'T IMAGINE THIS BEING AN OLYMPIC SPORT BUT IT WOULD BE COOL TO WATCH. sAY IF I DO THE RACE DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE WISE TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE THE SKINS OFF AND ON WITHOUT TAKING YOUR BOOTS OUT OF THE BINDING? i CAN TAKE THE SKINS OUT BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT IT BACK ON. aNY SUGGESTIONS? Quote
russ Posted March 19, 2002 Posted March 19, 2002 quote: Originally posted by JERRY SANCHEZ: sAY IF I DO THE RACE DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE WISE TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE THE SKINS OFF AND ON WITHOUT TAKING YOUR BOOTS OUT OF THE BINDING? i CAN TAKE THE SKINS OUT BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT IT BACK ON. aNY SUGGESTIONS? If you can figure out how to take your skins off without taking your skis off, surely you can figure out how to turn off the cap lock button! Quote
David_Parker Posted March 19, 2002 Posted March 19, 2002 quote: Originally posted by JERRY SANCHEZ: BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT IT BACK ON. aNY SUGGESTIONS? tRY yOGA! Quote
Dru Posted March 19, 2002 Posted March 19, 2002 quote: Originally posted by JERRY SANCHEZ: i CAN'T IMAGINE THIS BEING AN OLYMPIC SPORT BUT IT WOULD BE COOL TO WATCH. sAY IF I DO THE RACE DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE WISE TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE THE SKINS OFF AND ON WITHOUT TAKING YOUR BOOTS OUT OF THE BINDING? i CAN TAKE THE SKINS OUT BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT IT BACK ON. aNY SUGGESTIONS? Use a partner/buddy system and each of you stands on one leg at a time and attaches or detaches a skin from the other one's ski held out on their outstreched leg. Quote
JERRY_SANCHEZ Posted April 1, 2002 Author Posted April 1, 2002 All I have to say is for once I'm glad that I'm sitting in my desk job and resting after yesterday's Ski Mountaineering Race. The race was brutal and the snow just plain SUCK! But the race was fun and I'm glad that I did it. It started with a stiff climb to Piss Pass and than a short 400 feet ski decent down around a gate. Then it was climb back up to Piss Pass and then ski back down to the start line. Then you climb towards Source Lake and up all the way to Pineapple Pass near The Tooth. Then you drop down and climb back up to Piss Pass and then ski back to the start line. There was also a lot of traversing and the snow conditions went from hard crust to breakable crust and some old avalanche deprives to negotiate. I was in the top 10 at the beginning of the race but I miss one of the gates going down, so I had to climb back up and go around that gate. The top 3 for both men and women won some prizes and cash but there were tons of prizes given out as a raffle. I got an Alpine Bivi Sack. There was also pizza and beer after the race. This is the second race of its kind in the United States and next year they will have another race here but it may be at Steven’s Pass. I will do it again next year but I’m planning to train this time. Quote
rayborbon Posted April 1, 2002 Posted April 1, 2002 Jerry did you come in 3rd place or what? I am interested in the results Quote
Lowell_Skoog Posted April 1, 2002 Posted April 1, 2002 The results haven't been posted yet, but I think this is where they'll go eventually: http://www.life-link.com/raceresults_alpental.htm Andrew McLean (currently living in Salt Lake, but a former Alpental skier) won the racing class. I placed second, and Andreas Schmidt took third. I shadowed Andrew through the first lap and up to Pineapple Pass, but then lost a bit when I skied too low across the Great Scott traverse. (Maybe I should have inspected the course on Saturday instead of doing a tour.) Anyone have results from the other divisions? I don't know if this race will start a trend, but there was some real history up there yesterday. At the finish line I met Ome Daiber's wife Matie and daughter Joanne. If you've never heard of Ome Daiber, think Liberty Ridge, Mountain Rescue, and Sno-Seal. Matie recently received a pin from the mayor of Leavenworth for skiing on her 92nd birthday. Ome was an avid skier too. Quote
savaiusini Posted April 2, 2002 Posted April 2, 2002 Great job yesterday, Lowell! What did you think of skinning up Lower International through all those moguls? Other than that, I thought the course was great although I personally would prefer a completely out-of-bounds site next time. Quote
Lowell_Skoog Posted April 2, 2002 Posted April 2, 2002 Lower International was a good test of skinning and snow reading skills. I worked left into the semi-packed zone, which gave a better grip than the icy hard moguls. I was using some parallel sided skins and I think I'll get some shaped skins if I do another race like this. I thought some of the ungroomed sections in the backcountry were great. Refrozen avalanche debris, breakable crust--classic Cascade conditions. The early leader was a fellow from Europe, I believe. He was clearly pulling ahead on the first climb. But he fell on the descent into Great Scott bowl and may have broken his binding there. So, the descents were as important as the climbs. I came away thinking the race was pretty cool. The challenge in the future will be to retain the backcountry flavor of these races. The more you standardize the course (to make it fair for all competitors) the less it is a test of backcountry ski mountaineering skills. Quote
Kelley Posted April 3, 2002 Posted April 3, 2002 Thanks for participating in the race you guys. It was a great event and was really neat for me to see the Northwest join in on the leading edge of the (possible) boom in this type of sport in the US. The conditions were classic Northwest, and as I drove out of town the next day on a rare bluebird day...I realized what a different race it would have been had we done it a day later.....that's (racing in) the cascades. Great Job to Lowell. Andrew has been living the world class ski mountaineer life...and rumor has it Lowell has been living the Dad and desk life. We hope to put more races of this kind on next year as it is more the getting together of the backcountry ski community than racing...and that was acheived to a degree on Sunday. Here's hoping next year will be even better. Practice getting the skins on and off and your turns with skins on...for next year. Quote
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