corduroy in May

It was a lovely morning for skate skiing again today at Alta, Utah. When we arrived at 8a, the temp was 19F, the sun was bright, there was no wind and we had fresh corduroy.

There is at least a four foot base on the Alta transfer tow, so snow will be around for a while. The tow is at 8,500 feet, but is only 40 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.

Alta kids walking to school, their book bags in their sled. They go to a charter school in the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge. How many kids in the lower 48 get to pull a sled to school in May?

If you get tired of corduroy, crust cruising options abound. There are a few ruts to watch out for, as Aaron Phillips found.

We skated for 1.5 hours, then Aaron had to head home to pack for a trip to the desert with his wife and dog. This afternoon they will be in 80 degree temps in the San Rafael Swell of Utah, 3 hours south of SLC.

Hi Folks,

Here is the story of my participation in the National 50K Champs on Wednesday March 24:


Well, I finished. Given my lack of fitness, that’s saying something. For the final 5K I looked like a severely inebriated man who in his drunken haze decided it was time to learn to ski. I flopped up the final V1 uphills with every muscle aching. But, I finished. Yes, I was the last finisher. Considering that 7 guys dropped out though I don’t consider it a DFL (Dead Last). If you toe the line with me and quit then I win. (Newell is listed as a DNF, but was a DNS (did not start – he wasn’t supposed to be on the start list at all). I ended up 30th and finished in 2:29. I was very pleased with my time. And I was NOT lapped even though we did five 9.6K laps (after a starting 2K “promenade” lap to get our missing Ks and make a full 50). The announcer was telling the crowd that the winners were coming in two minutes as I went through the stadium to start my last lap, but I was gone before they arrived. Whew.

There had been a few bad surprises in the morning. After scraping last night’s snow, sleet, and freezing rain off my car I drove the sloppy roads to the venue worrying that I was too late to get a good parking spot. Imagine my surprise when the parking lot was almost empty. I saw a friend who told me that the Men’s start had been moved to 11 AM so the Women could race without having to ski through the slower men (i.e. me). Too bad, I had been planning to get a good draft from Kikkan Randall when she sailed by. But kids, if you want to be a ski racer you have to be mentally prepared to handle unexpected changes and roll with it. I chilled in the lodge and watched the start of the Women’s race. Only 30 gals started, but what a field. Several Olympians and many who were close. My other surprise was when I was running over to see the finish and I slipped and fell pretty hard. I never like to be falling on my face before a race.

The Men lined up at 11 in a seeded start of 45 guys (I was bib 40). Some of them were juniors who would be skiing 30K (so far they don’t appear on the results. What’s up with that?). I was the last guy out of the stadium, but with this field there was no need to fight for a good position. I wasn’t going to be stuck behind a slow skier because there weren’t any slow skiers. And on the first uphill the field accordianed and we came to a stop, so I was glad I hadn’t hammered off the start line. I found myself in a little pack of 5 skiers including Matt Zak who was the only other true Master race (although he’s only 36). We let 2 juniors pull us along for the first 30K. The powder snow packed down into a glazed and slippery surface. I focused on being as relaxed as possible, but also alert and balanced. The secret was to not waste energy balancing on the squirrelly surface, but also not to let it pull a ski out from under you and throw you on your face. I was letting the other skiers pull away on the uphills and used my fast skis and better technical skills to catch up on the downhills. I scoffed at those ahead of me for snowplowing on one tricky downhill. On my 4th lap the snowplowers were gone and I had my chance to do it right. With the increased speed things were a little different and I promptly caught a tip and literally face-planted. Oops. Serves me right for being critical and ignoring the warning omen of my pre-race fall. The course was one of those wonderful courses that seemed to have more downhill than uphill with twists and turns that really rewarded good technique and kept the course interesting even with five trips around it. Being such an old-timer just about everyone knows me so I had lots of cheering when I came by the lodge. And I got good feeds from John Dixon, a junior that I had coached at JO’s two weeks ago and to whom I’d been giving feeds in his race. What a great sport when a coach and athlete from different generations can switch roles and experience the other’s perspective.

Here’s the wax story for those who want to know (others may skip this paragraph): I used LF Moly, HF Red and Yellow mixed, ironed on some old Jet Moly Powder, then roto-corked on Jet Yellow. After testing some structure I rolled on a coarse linear rill with the Toko Blue riller blade. My skis were better than a couple of the people I skied with and the same as the others. They seemed a little slow on the climbs, but that was probably just my lack of fitness.

After changing, eating some snacks, and hanging out at the lodge I headed back to Madawaska and a hot shower at my hotel. I then went for one of my very rare trip to McDonalds. After 50K I need fat and salt. Yum. The sign on the door says “On parlez francais ici” and sure enough there was a table of retired people parlezing en francais. And the gas station lists its prices in dollars per gallon AND dollars per liter. Here in the “Most Northeastern town in the U.S.” you are aware of the mélange of American, Canadian, English, and French cultures. As I write this it is snowing hard outside and the temperature is 32 F (0 Celsius). I’m in a different world for sure.

US Ski Mountaineering Championship

The US Ski Mountaineering Championship was held at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on Saturday, March 20. A record field of 82 participants attacked a new, longer course. The resort had not seen much new snow in recent weeks before the race, providing fast, firm, challenging conditions for all the competitors.

The race started under cold, blue skies with a mass start up the first 3100' climb of piste, cattrack and off-piste skinning. Skin selection was a bit difficult as the climb had a bit of everything. Most racers opted for a slightly grippier skin to keep from slipping on the upper, ungroomed section of the course. Toko team member Erich Wilbrecht tried to put his nordic skills and technique to work by kick-waxing his skis for the cattrack. Unfortunately, he had worn most of his wax off during the warm-up and didn't get the kick he wanted on the flatter section. He valiantly persevered but decided that the time lost by taking skins off and on was not worth the time gained with the extra glide on the cattrack. The first descent was rock-hard bumps into Laramie Bowl, followed by another slick skin up a groomer. This ascent saw two drastically different styles depending on skin choice. Skins with superior grip were able to ascend directly while those with less traction were forced to make switchbacks. Neither method proved to be vastly quicker.

The second descent was more north-facing bumps. With fatigue creeping into the racers' legs, the favored technique was to minimize turns by using the high-speed sideslip down the narrow run. Wax choice was not critical! Transitioning onto the third climb saw the field skinning to the top of the Bridger Gondola for the steep bootpack to the top of the Headwall. Ripping skins at the top of Chute 10a was definitely exciting as the chute rolls blindly over between two rock walls. This snow was firm but chalky enough to get an edge into, make a few turns then hit the gliding traverse under the cliffs to start skinning again.

The next climb took racers up Tensleep Bowl to the bootpack/ladder up Corbet's Couloir. The long climbs and high altitude could be seen in the labored steps of all the racers. But the satisfaction of climbing out of the couloir into the sunshine on top of Rendezvous Bowl re-energized almost everyone for the 4100' descent from top to bottom.

After suffering down the long ski to the base of the mountain with ears ringing and teeth hurting from clenching and jarring there was one final skin back up to South Pass Traverse. This climb up the lower face of the resort required mad skills to avoid rocks, bushes and the downside of steep, slick bumps. There was so little snow that these runs were actually closed the next day.

One final bump-riddled descent down Lander Bowl took the racers to the finish line.

Pete Swenson won the men's pro division. He was flanked on the podium by Brandon French and Toko team member Cary Smith.

The women's podium saw Monique Merrill on the top step, with Amy Fulwyler of Team Toko in second and Michela Adrian rounding out the top three.

Vasaloppet Oppet Spar

Sweden's Vasaloppet is considered the largest Nordic race in the world. The big deal is the 90K classic mass start at the end of the week. But there are several races over the week leading up to that, including the world's largest female-only race, a team relay, a half distance classic, a half distance skate and two days of Oppet Spar, or open track. This year's Vasa week will draw more than 57,000 skiers.


The Oppet Spar can be a tour or a race, depending upon your approach. Several U.S. skiers who were in the region for the Masters World Cup stayed a few extra days to experience the Sunday Oppet Spar, along with a little more than 8,000 other skiers.




Skiers can start anytime between 7 A.M. and 8 A.M. There are cutoff times at each feed station. A chip keeps track of your time.





There is endless sport drink, water, blueberry soup, bullion, coffee and bread at the feed stations. Yes, you will get sick of them all.





Crowds? You bet. Many times I headed up the middle or off the side to pass large groups. If you need practice on changing track, the Oppet Spar gives you several hours to perfect it.



I can't imagine a more pleasant long tour of the Swedish countryside. I did the Vasaloppet as a tour, stopping whenever I felt like it to take photos, talk to people or soak in the surroundings. At each feed station I waited for my wife to catch up. Sometimes I would go hard between feed stations. Mostly I didn't.




With the right outlook, there were places that you could revel in the chance to be skiing across Sweden, be overwhelmed by the simple rolling hills, the trees covered with snow, and the celebration of being part of such a group of folks who love to be outside in the winter.



A volunteer handing out bread. The feed stations could be very frustrating if you were hoping to get through them in a hurry. But if that was your goal, you were probably in the wrong place.

The terrain will feel very familiar to anyone who has skied in the glacial morraines of Michigan or Wisconsin.

If you like to classic ski and are up for a bit of a challenge, the Vasaloppet should be on your list.

Waxing for 57,000

Classic technique for 90K, 57,000 registered skiers. Welcome to the 2010 Vasaloppet week.

A lot of folks need wax help. Toko is the wax supplier, providing assistance to anyone who needs it, from the start line through every feed station.

Getting fresh kick wax is not a very fast process, though. Skiers hand over their skis and wait while Toko technicians do the work. Whatever is on the ski is removed and a new layer is heated in. All free, all done right.

These photos were shot during Sunday's Oppet Spar, or Open Track, at the first feed station. Only around 8,000 skiers for this day's event.

The yellow coveralls made for a distinctive team. We will have to work on Ian to get these for the Toko US crew.

ski mountaineering world championship

Hello from Canillo, Andorra.

The US Ski Mountaineering Team is looking forward to tomorrow's rest day in the middle of these championships. The team of 8 men, 5 women and 1 junior has completed the vertical race and the senior individual race.

Each of the 23 countries is allowed 4 entries in each category (senior male, senior female, espoir (under 23) male, espoir female, junior male, junior female) of each race. The first race of the week was the vertical race. This is a hillclimb of 880 meters (490 for the juniors) that took place at Soldeu el Tarter. While a race of this length is not exactly a sprint, you wouldn't know it when you saw the racers jump off the start line vying for position in the pack. The course started fairly steeply then traversed a lower angle cat track before steepening up on the upper ski runs to the summit of just over 2700m.

The women started 30 minutes before the men and a lead group quickly formed, with a chase group trying to close the gap. Monique Merrill, of Breckenridge, CO, moved into this chase group about 5 minutes into the race. She was able to pick off a couple more competitors before topping out at the finish. She finished in 52:52, 4 minutes behind Roberta Pedranzini of France, the winner. Merrill finished in 9th place. Jari Kirkland, of Crested Butte, CO, finished in 61:10. She was followed by Nina Silitch, an American who lives in Chamonix, France, at 63:43. The fourth American was Molly Zurn, a Reno, NV resident competing in her first world championship, crossing the finish line in 68:46.

After cheering the women and getting pumped up by the Euro techno-beat blaring at the start line, the large field of senior and espoir men gave chase to Kilian Jornet Burgada, the Spanish Espoir who led start to finish. His winning time of 39:50 was barely enough to hold off Dennis Brunod. The Frenchman was 6 seconds back, with his teammate, Florent Perrier, another 7 seconds back. The top 6 men were all separated by less than 50 seconds. The US team had their own tight battles, albeit a bit further back in the field. Cary Smith, Jackson, WY, was 9' back, Jared Inouye, SLC, UT, had a great second half of the race to finish 40 seconds behind Cary. Bryan Wickenhouser, Crested Butte, CO, was one minute behind Jared. Ben Parsons, Whitefish, MT, finished just under 2 minutes behind Bryan.

Well, it's 8pm, time for another huge, late, delicious dinner. The team is adjusting to European eating schedules but it's definitely taken a few days.

Olympic TV heaven, almost

A few days ago I was planning to post about how great it was to be following the Olympics from Sweden. We are 7 hours ahead of Vancouver, so everything xc ski race is live in the evening, from around 5 P.M. to 11 P.M. No commercials and complete start-to-finish video feed. Multiple channels, so if an important Swedish curling match is on one channel, the other is free to broadcast more nordic skiing. Could it get any better than this?



Watching skiing at the bar, Hotel Scanic Lugnet, Falun, Sweden.

And then I tried to find the Nordic Combined team relay. Sweden did not field a team. There was no coverage to be found. I have read about the US/Austria battle in the final lap, but have yet to see it.

That aside, it is such a pleasure to watch the nordic races on TV here. After dinner, a large group of masters skiers in Falun for the Masters World Cup gather around the large screen TV in the bar to watch the Olympic racers do their thing. Per Elofsson, a former World Cup sensation from Sweden, provides expert commentary. Before the race, there is a significant amount of time spent discussing what we will see, and who the favorites are. After the race, there is video replay and analysis of crucial moves, missed opportunities and comparison of fast skis, etc. Pretty much like watching a NFL football weekend. But with skiing. And no lite beer commercials. Or any commercials.

Per Elofsson, far left, offers nightly commentary.

At the grocery checkout line Sunday, all the newspapers had front page photos of Swedish nordic ski racers. Think we will ever be able to say that in the US?

Front page coverage in Swedish newspapers of Anna Haag's Silver in the team relay.

At dinner a few nights ago, amidst general praise for the Olympic TV coverage here, one person said that as far as they could tell from watching Swedish TV, there was no longer any ice skating at the Olympics. Just day after day of skiing. To Americans who had come to Sweden to race on skis, that sounded pretty good.