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Events & Races

Mezzalama 2019: Italians Win in Mens while French Win the Womens Race, 6th for North American Ladies

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Windy conditions at Mezzalama 2019. Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

Trofeo Mezzalama, being held every second year, is often affected by severe weather conditions as its course takes athletes to high alpine ridges that hover around the altitude of 4000 m. The 2019 edition was no different and due to strong winds the organizers had to be creative, however, they still delivered a challenging and exciting route.

Men’s Race

An amazing battle took place between the top three men’s teams, and only the last climb and descent decided the winner. In the last couple of years, in the World Cup and Grand Course races, the strength of the current Italian team is undeniable and the trio of Michele Boscacci, Robert Antonioli and Matteo Eydallin came on top once again in 4h 45min 30sec.

For Matteo Eydallin, the specialist of long team races, this was the fifth Mezzalama victory as he lost only one edition since 2009!

Second place went to a strong Swiss team – Marti Werner, William Boffelli and Martin Anthamatten – who challenged the Italians almost the whole day. At the end, they lost only 2min 51sec in this almost 5h race.

Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

Kilian Jornet teamed up with an Austrian Jakob Herrmann, his 2018 Pierra Menta partner where they led until the last stage, and Jakob’s countrymen Armin Hoefl. While perhaps not as strong as the top two teams on paper, this trio was hot on the heels of the Swiss and missed on the second place by only 1min at the finish line.

» Men’s race full results

Women’s Race

In the women’s race, a dominant French team – Axelle Mollaret, Alba de Silvestro, Lorna Bonnel – took the win with a big gap.

The race behind them was much more interesting as only 30 seconds were the difference between second and third! Two Italian teams battled all the way to the finish line with Giulia Murada, Ilaria Veronese and Mara Martini prevailing over Elena Nicolini, Bianca Balzarini and Corina Ghirardi.

Alba de Silvestro from the second placed Italian team. Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

The elite category North American women’s team delivered a great performance to place 6th despite racing together for the very first time. Canadian Kylee Ohler teamed up with two US Team members Jessie Young and Sierra Anderson to take on the challenge. Both Kylee and Jessie have lots of experience from big skimo races while Sierra is quickly learning yet has tremendous athletic base from other sports.

» Women’s race full results

Individual Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 12: Antonioli and Mollaret win senior titles

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individual-2019-worlds
After a forced day off due to stormy weather yesterday, the World Ski Mountaineering Championships continued today with Individual race for all categories.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

Men (Senior & Espoir)

Today’s course was very technical and lots of big names dropped out, and it was big for Italy when Robert Antonioli (ITA) added a gold medal to his bronze from the sprint race two days ago! His team-mate Michelle Boscacci was only 35 seconds behind to take silver. This results makes them the top favourites for the Teams race later in the week. Third place went to Xavier Gachet (FRA) only another 40 seconds behind.
The whole top 10 was distributed only among 3 countries – Italy, France and Switzerland – with the Italians had 4 of their athletes there!

Michelle Boscacci leading the pack.
Michelle Boscacci leading the pack.

US and Canadian men:
There were lots of anticipation whether John Gaston (USA) can improve on his 15th place from the Individual race from two years ago. Gaston is known not to be satisfied with himself even when he delivers his absolute best which adds to the pressure. However, he seems to constantly deliver when it matters the most and today was no different as he took a historical 12th place in this event for North America with only less than 5min behind the winner!
Cameron Smith (USA) had a very good race as well to take 33rd, with only 12min off the podium, in his first ever showing in the senior category. Cam definitely has potential in the coming years! Max Taam (USA) was 41st and likely not as satisfied.
The Canadian’s were led home by Peter Knight in 51st place, followed by Tyson Smith and Matt Ruta in 53rd and 54th respectively.
Of note, Mike Foote (USA) suffered an injury in training and likely won’t race at these Worlds at all.

Women (Senior & Espoir)

It might not be Laetitia Roux but the French have a new queen when Axelle Gachet Mollaret took gold with 3.5min ahead of Alba de Silvestro (ITA). Another French lady, Lorna Bonnel, had a great race and took bronze.
Of note is that two Swedish women placed 5th and 6th which is a big result for such a new skimo country!

Kylee Ohler racing to her 25th place.
Kylee Ohler racing to her 25th place.

US and Canadian women:
After delivering her first baby only a couple of months ago, Jessie Young (USA) reached her personal historical maximum with 13th place. Congratulations!
While Sierra Anderson (USA) might be reasonably new to skimo, and participating in her first Worlds, she delivered a great performance to finish in 18th. Nikki Laroche and Kate Zander (both USA) took 26th and 27th respectively.
The best Canadian result came from Kylee Ohler in 25th. Kylee was likely dreaming for a slightly better result (top 20) but we are sure she left everything on the course. Lori Ann Donald missed the top 30 by only one spot.

Juniors & Cadets  – Women and Men

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Jessie Mcauley (CAN) had a great race to place 10th in the men’s junior category. Jacob Dewey was best US athlete in 18th in the same category.
There were no North American women in the junior category.
There were 49 athletes in the men’s cadet category! The best NA results went to Caden Klein (USA) with his team-mates following closely behind, while Canadians didn’t participate.
In the cadet women’s category, among 24 athletes, Team US did very well as Grace Staberg and Elsa Bates took 6th and 8th respectively. Canadian athlete Ema Chlepkova had a satisfactory performance to finish in 18th.
» For full results visit this page. 

Sprint Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 10: Arno Lietha and Galicia Cotrina win senior titles

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The 2019 Skimo Worlds were off to a windy start when strong gusts caused couple of issues to organizers. At the end, everything worked out and the first medals have been distributed to the fastest athletes.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

ISMF photo
ISMF photo

Sprint Race – Men (Senior & Espoir)

After a big disappointment at the 2017 sprint race,  Robert Antonioli (ITA) the 2015 Sprint World Champ, made it back to the podium to capture a bronze medal. He was out sprinted by a pair charging Swiss athletes Arno Lietha who took gold and Iwan Arnold silver.

Max Taam (USA) during the qualifying round.
Max Taam (USA) during the qualifying round. ISMF photo

US and Canadian men:
Today was not as successful for the North American men as 2 years ago when Eric Carter made it in the top 20. The best performance came from Cam Smith (USA) who made it into the quarter-finals and ultimately placed 27th.
Jason Dorais was the second best from Team USA while Tyson Smith was the best Canadian in 44th.

Sprint Race – Women (Senior & Espoir)

The women’s gold medal was decided quite early on as Claudia Galicia Cotrina (ESP) took the lead from the start. Silver medal went to Marianna Jagercikova (SVK) and bronze to Deborah Chiarello (SUI).
US and Canadian women:
Strong performances came from Sierra Anderson (USA) and Kylee Ohler (CAN) as they made it into quarter-finals and placed 20th and 24th respectively. Nikki Larochelle (USA) was the continent’s third best woman and placing 31st overall.

Sprint Race – Men and Women (Junior & Cadet)

Among Juniors the Italian Giovanni Rossi and the Russian Ekaterina Osichkina have perfectly opened the world week in the Canton of Vaud, while among Cadets Caroline Ulrich (SUI) and Robin Bussard (SUI) got the top stage of the podium.
» For full results visit this page.

Ema Chlepkova (CAN) in her first ever Skimo Worlds race. She is one of the top junior biathletes in Canada.
Ema Chlepkova (CAN) in her first ever Skimo Worlds race. She is one of the top junior biathletes in Canada. Eric Carter photo.

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Two years ago, Quinn Simmons earned a historical silver medal for USA in the sprint race in cadet category.
While North American’s didn’t come out with a medal Grace’s Staberg 9th place in the women’s cadet category is a big success.
Best placed cadet men was Rush Peterson in 24th place. A biathlete specialist trying her luck in skimo, Ema Chlepkova (CAN), placed 19th.
In the junior category, top honours for North Americans went to Finnegan Remias for USA and Noah Schuh for Canada while there were no NA women on the start line in this category.

Overview: 2019 Skimo World Championships + Team USA and Team Canada Athletes

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Two years went by very fast since the last World Ski Mountaineering Championships!
On Sunday, March 10 athletes will line up for the first event of the 2019 Skimo Worlds in Villars, Switzerland.
We have prepared the following overview – including names on the US and Canadian Teams – to make it easier for you to follow events every day… and a little bit of controversy too.
2019-skimo-world-champs-overview

Events

World Ski Mountaineering Championships take place every second year and usually take over a region or a valley somewhere in Europe for 6-7 days.
Here is the events schedule for 2019 Skimo Worlds:

  • March 10 – Sprint Race – All categories
  • March 11 – Individual Race – Junior & Cadet
  • March 12 – Individual Race – Senior & Espoir
  • March 13 – Vertical Race – All categories
  • March 14 – Day Off
  • March 15 – Teams Race – Senior
  • March 16 – Relay Race – All categories

Controversy: Pierra Menta dates clashing with World Championships

Over the years, there have been many issues regarding collaboration between the ISMF (International Ski Mountaineering Federation) and the Grand Course races (big traditional team races) such as Pierra Menta.
This year, the two biggest skimo events, the World Championshisp and Pierra Menta, take place in the same week – Pierra Menta goes from March 13 to 16.
While both sides tried to work this out to some degree it shows that skimo as a sport is still very small that no one has the luxury to move the dates infinitely.

Team USA

The following athletes were named to the US National Team after qualifying races in February, however, there could be last minute changes due to athletes’ abilities to fund themselves to participate.
This is the largest US Skimo Team ever with 20 athletes being less than 21 years old!
Athlete Demographics by State:

  • Colorado – 28
  • Utah – 7
  • Montana – 3
  • New Mexico – 2
  • Washington – 1

Senior Men:

  • Jon Brown – Crested Butte, CO
  • Jason Dorais – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Mike Foote – Missoula, MT
  • John Gaston – Aspen, CO
  • Tom Goth – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Rory Kelly – Boulder, CO
  • Jack Linehan – Aspen, CO
  • Cam Smith – Gunnison, CO
  • Max Taam – Aspen, CO

Senior Women:

  • Michela Adrian – Bozeman, MT
  • Sierra Anderson – Breckenridge, CO
  • Jamie Brede – Breckenridge, CO
  • Sarah Cookler – Silver Fork, UT
  • Annamae Flynn* – Marble, CO
  • Sara Kadlec* – Boulder, CO
  • Nikki Larochelle – Breckenridge, CO
  • Chelsee Pummel – Bozeman, MT
  • Jesse Young – Aspen, CO
  • Kate Zander – Breckenridge, CO

Espoir Men:

  • Peter Butler – Port Angeles, WA
  • Jeshurun Small – Gunnison, CO

Junior Men:

  • Max Bonenberger – Breckenridge, CO
  • Jacob Dewey – Gunnison, CO
  • Peter Hajdo – Gunnison, CO
  • Henry Hanes – Albuquerque, NM
  • Finnegan Remias – Breckenridge, CO
  • Sam Wescott – Silverthorne, CO

Junior Women:

  • Morgan Fortin – Albuquerque, NM
  • Victoria Olson – Salt Lake City, UT

Cadet men:

  • Connor Albin – Breckenridge, CO
  • George Beck – Woody Creek, CO
  • Sam Burke – Dillon, CO
  • Paul Hans – Breckenridge, CO
  • Mark Jardim – Breckenridge, CO
  • Caden Klein – Aspen, CO
  • Rush Peterson – Silver Fork, UT
  • Jeremiah Vaille – Dillon, CO

Cadet Women:

  • Elsa Bates – Breckenridge, CO
  • Ada Fendler – Silver Fork, UT
  • Samantha Paisley – Silver Fork, UT
  • Grace Staberg – Silverthorne, CO

Team Canada

We have not received an official press release from the Canadian Skimo federation neither the World Champs team is announced on their website but these should be the athletes representing Canada this year.
Men’s Team – All categories:

  • Matt Ruta
  • Tyson Smith
  • Peter Knight
  • Scott Semple
  • Noah Schuh

Women’s Team – All categories:

  • Kylee Ohler Toth
  • Lori-Ann Donald
  • Ema Chlepkova
  • Courtney Post
  • Katarina Kuba
  • Caroline Reid

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

Skimo News – Jan 10: Colorado cancels again, Stormy race in Vermont, Sprint and Individual at Castle Mountain in Canada…

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Racing action continued in North America on the East Coast and in Alberta, Canada while the Western US continues to struggle with low or no snow conditions.

USA and Canada Race News

Unfortunately the Grand Mesa Challenge, CO was cancelled. On the other side of the country, East Coast athletes were getting slammed with deep snow and cold, stormy conditions.

Magic Mountain Skimo Race, VT – Jan 6, 2018:

Our New England skimo correspondent Jonathan Shefftz checked in with the following race recap:
Fortunately, after some negotiating  ski resort management grudgingly acceded to requests, and thus on January 6 the NE Rando Race Series returned for its ninth time since 2009 to Magic Mountain VT, for the first USSMA-sanctioned race of the season in the East.
The temperature was negative 5F yet winds were light and the sun was shining. Patrol then informed us that the summit temperature was negative 20F and the winds up there were something other than light. The start procedure was modified to minimize time outside: all racers assembled inside the lodge, then once everyone was 100% ready to race, a quick trot to just above the base area led into a ten-second countdown.

Due to strong winds, athletes had to wear face protection even on the climbs.
Due to strong winds, athletes had to wear face protection even on the climbs.
The high winds were fortunately never directly in racers’ faces during the perfectly graded groomed skin track. The descent route briefly turned directly into the highest winds on the mountain, where the windchill was probably around negative 50F. Fortunately the core of the descent after that was relatively protected from the wind, allowing racers to concentrate on a mix of frozen moguls, stiff deep windslab, rocks, roots, cliffs, and convexities. A steep boot-pack of nearly 300’ vertical led back into the steepest section of the descent, which was therefore skied six times.
For Open men, Milan Kubala (of the MountainOps Skimo Race Team), in only his second season of skimo racing crushed the field by a large margin, completing the course in just under an hour and a half. Chris Labosky took second in his first race ever on skimo race gear. Third was a tight race between long-time Series veterans and Team Hagan members Josh Flanagan and Jerimy Arnold, with Josh eventually pulling away when Jerimy slowed down to don an extra layer.
For Open women, Jennifer Downing took the win despite being enrolled full-time at Harvard Business School. Colorado transplant Hannah Lippe took second. For 45+, newcomer Cameron Chalmers took the win, followed by Race Director and Team Hagan Member Jonathan Shefftz, then ski resort race liaison Mike Owens. Asa Chalmers was the U17 winner for a first-ever father-son duo in the NE Rando Race Series.
Looking ahead, Northeastern skimo weekend racing takes a break for the Martin Luther King holiday, except for the continuing Tuesday evening race series at Bolton Valley VT. The tenth annual Berkshire East race is then on January 20 in Western Massachusetts, talking advantage of the resort’s expansion this season to debut a new “touring”-style course that will incorporate elements from prior years.
» Full Results – Magic Mountain Skimo Race 2018
» Race course info

Castle Mountain Skimo Race, AB – Jan 5-6, 2018:

Meanwhile in Canada, temperatures were a tropical -2C for the start of both Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s individual.
Rock hard conditions made for difficult preparations in the sprint course but organizers persevered and put on an excellent sprint event. Athletes completed a full qualifying sprint and three additional elimination heats for the top group. Kylee Ohler showed her dominance in the Canadian scene with Michelle Roberts and Lori-Ann Donald chasing.
The men’s sprint final was contested between Eric Carter, Mike Foote, Joel Desgraniers, and Peter Knight, finishing in that order. Joel had a smart, tactical start to the race but was overtaken by Carter and Foote in the diamonds and transitions.

Kylee Ohler in the boot-pack atop the first climb.
Kylee Ohler in the boot-pack atop the first climb in the individual race.
Sunday’s individual event saw a skiff of fresh snow and high ridge winds filling in the skin track. The leading athletes found themselves breaking trail on the first big climb. Rockies wind, blasting into the face of athletes booting across the summit made for a somewhat serious ambiance. Snow conditions were better than the previous five editions of the race and both descents provided excellent skiing.
Carter and Foote finished the first climb together with Knight and Desgraniers chasing close behind. Carter opened a gap on the first big descent and held on to ~40sec gap through to the finish. Kylee Ohler led the women’s race from start to finish with Michelle Roberts taking second and Katarina Kuba moving into third near the top of the first climb and consolidating her podium position with fast descents.
Racers were all thinking of fellow athlete Ben Parsons who died tragically in an avalanche one year before. Ben was a frequent competitor on the Canadian Cup and at Castle and is greatly missed.
» Full Results – Castle Ski Mountaineering Race 2018 (we are still waiting for results from the organizers)

Upcoming Events

The COSMIC series is scheduled to continue with the Heathen Challenge but registration has yet to be announced due to snow conditions. Stay tuned to the COSMIC page for more information.
Canadian racing continues in Quebec at Stoneham. The recent storm could provide excellent skiing and an interesting SkimoEast event!
Berkshire East race is coming on January 20.
World Cup racing moves to the classic Font Blanca venue in Andorra where the top athletes will contest a vertical and individual event. No North American athletes are scheduled to attend.

New Race On The Block: Steep Dreams at Panorama Mountain Resort on Feb 4-5

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panorama-steep-dreams-title-image
We would like to point your attention to a new ski mountaineering event on the Canadian scene. Not just because it’s a first time event but also because the format of some its events is new to ski mountaineering racing world.
Steep Dreams will take place on February 4-5 at Panorama Mountain Resort, located deep in British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains, about 30min drive west from Radium Hot Springs (major tourist attraction).

Events

Traditional style ski mountaineering individual race, as part of the Canadian Skimo Cup, will start at 8.30am on Saturday (Feb 4). There will be a long (about 1500m of climbing) and a short course (700m) to choose from spread over multiple climbs.
The unique addition to the individual race on both courses will be a “Skiduro” event for which only the downhill portions of the race will be timed.
Sunday will see a traditional vertical race consisting of a single ascent, from the base of the resort to about 3/4 up the mountain for a total of 800m. Later in the day everyone will have a chance to participate in a slopestyle competition showcasing your descent skills!

Courses and more details

Below are maps of the proposed courses and they look quite exciting to us!
Green lines are skins-on ascents, red lines show descents, and yellow are boot-packs.
» For full details about Steep Dreams and to register please visit the event’s website.
See you in Panorama!

The long course of the individual race on Saturday. Click image to enlarge.
The long course of the individual race on Saturday. Click image to enlarge.

Sunday’s vertical race course. Click image to enlarge.
Sunday vertical race course. Click image to enlarge.

Skimo News Jan 7/8: Canadian Team Trials, COSMIC Racing, and National Championships in Italy, Switzerland, and Catalonia

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Wolf Creek Men's Podium
Wolf Creek Men’s Podium
With a break from racing over the Christmas holiday, action resumed in all the usual places over the weekend of January 7th and 8th. The current storm hitting much of the West Coast, Utah and parts of Colorado are certainly going to make things look nice for next weekend’s racing!
While not exactly racing news, many of us are aware of the tragic death of Ben Parsons in an avalanche. Please consider donating to the Go Fund Me campaign set up to support his young family: Go Fund Me

USA Race News

Wolf Creek Skimo Race – Jan 7

First we go to the US where the COSMIC series continued at Wolf Creek Ski Area. Paul Hamilton topped the podium with 2015 National Team members Scott Simmons and Billy Laird. The women’s race was not well attended but attracted the highly talented mountain runner Najeeby Quinn who took the win over Madeleine Carey of Santa Fe.
Results

Canada Race News

Castle Mountain/Canadian National Team Trials – Jan 7/8

The fourth annual Castle Mountain Skimo Race – also serving as the Canadian National Team Trials – was held over the weekend in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Castle always attracts a decent crowd with it’s proximity to Calgary and small-town hill feel.
Saturday’s sprint was held adhering as close to the World Cup format as possible with a qualifying round and then quarter, semi, and final rounds contested in heats of four. Essentially serving as a practice event for athletes competing at the upcoming World Championships, it was a good reminder of some of the basics with a few exciting heats! Eric Carter stayed ahead of the men’s field while Kylee Ohler absolutely dominated the women’s. Special mention should go to Tom Stephens, a junior athlete, who managed to snag a spot in the men’s finals!

Castle Mtn. Individual Start
Castle Mtn. Individual Start (Glenda Zamzow Photo)
Despite dire weather predictions, a skiff of new snow and reasonable temperatures with low wind made Sunday’s individual race very reasonable. Racers tackled two big climbs through the ski area with excellent side-country descents. Nick Elson and Eric Carter took turns breaking trail on the first ascent before turing up the speed on the second groomed ascent where Carter broke away for the win with Travis Brown and Peter Knight rounding out third and fourth place. In the women’s race, Kylee Toth Ohler continued to ski well ahead of Michelle Katchur-Roberts and Lori-Anne Donald. A notable new face was Gary Robbins, Coastal ultra-runner and race organizer who placed a very respectable fifth in his first serious stab at skimo racing.
Glenda Zamzow Photos
Results

Snow Trail Vertical – Dec 17/Jan 7

Skimo East Photo
Skimo East Photo
The first two of three Vertical races organized in preparation for the Orford Snow Trail event held on March 18th in Quebec. These races feature a unique format allowing athletes to use whatever mode of human powered travel they prefer to compete to the top including by foot, snowshoe, or ski. The first even was well attended by youth athletes including two 11-year old ladies. The women’s event was won by local MTB legend Isabelle Bernier and the men’s by Mathieu Ladouceur.
The second event featured a well groomed course and despite cold temperatures, was well attended. The men’s category was won by Roger Girard while the women’s race was upset by local skimo champ, Lyne Bessette.
The winners overall of the series of 3 races will win a free registration for the Snow Trail 2017. The organization team of the Snow Trail will have a value of more than 6,000$ in prized to give to the participants during the winter. At the cost of 20$ (including a beer for after the race), there is no good reason not to take part of the preparatory series and enjoy the mountain! For more details, please visit the Endurance Aventure Website.

International Race News

Early January is designated by the ISMF as the period for National Championships to be held so throughout Europe, athletes were racing for their respective countries titles.
In Switzerland, the Individual and Sprint National Championships were held with Werner Marti and Maude Mathys (recently returning from an anti-doping violation and subsequent ban) taking the respective wins in the Individual. Super-espoir Remi Bonnet finished fifth. The Swiss king-sprinter Yannick Eccour only managed fifth in the sprint event with Iwan Arnold and Deborah Chiarello leading the podium.
Over in Italy, Roberto Antonioli and Katy Neve won the Individual National Championships with Alba De Silvestro moving into the senior Women’s ranking and taking a respectable podium position. Michelle Boscocci was the only name notably absent from the men’s race but is sure to be on top form for worlds.
Over in the Pyrenees, power-couple Emelie Forsberg and Kilian Jornet dominated the Catalonian National Champs with Mark Pinch and Claudia Galicia Cortina comfortably taking second position.
The next bout of European racing comes on January 21st and 22nd when the World Cup commences at the wonderful Font Blanca venue in Andorra!

Italian Championships
Italian Championships

Upcoming Races

The skimo season is back in full swing in North America with races throughout the US and Canada on both sides of the divide. Find your closest event and get after it! Likely the biggest turnout will be at the Sunlight Heathen Challenge where US athletes will be competing for spots on the World Championships Team. The Sprint and Team’s race  teams will be determined but also up in the air is the coveted fourth and final spot for both the men’s and women’s individual event.
Cosmic Series – Powderhorn Grand Mesa Grind – Jan 14
Cosmic Series – Sunlight Mountain Heathen Challenge – Jan 14/15
Skimo East Series – Trail de nuit de Stoneham – Jan 14
North East Rando Series – Berkshire East – Jan 21
Canadian Cup – Fernie Lizard Skinner Skimo Race – Jan 21

Want to contribute to SkinTrack?

We are looking for brief race report submissions from Colorado and Utah athletes, and from the East Coast as well.
Also, we would be very happy to provide more exposure to women’s races and so we are asking you ladies to submit your race reports.
Get in touch via email or comments below!

New Skimo Race & US Team Qualifier on Dec 16-17th: Northwest Passage in McCall, Idaho

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NW Passage posterWith the upcoming 2017 World Ski Mountaineering Championships to be held in Transcavallo region of Italy, the US Ski Mountaineering Association has designated two team selection races for athletes to test themselves and qualify for the big event. The first one is to be held at a new race called the Northwest Passage. The venue is Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho.
While this is the first year of the event, the organizers at Brundage are clearly excited to be putting on a high level race. The weekend of December 16th and 17th will feature a vertical race (Friday evening) and a multi-division individual race on Saturday. Both of which are qualifiers for the US National Team.

Brundage Course - Front Side
Brundage Course – Front Side
The Vertical event starts at the base lodge and climbs the blue-square pistes called 45-Parallel and Engen, to the top of the Bluebird Express for a total vertical gain of 520 meters.
The Individual event does include a recreational category (11.75km with 1180m+) but all those wishing to qualify for the national team will enter the elite category with 20.75km distance and 1950m+ over five climbs and descents! This is certainly on the lengthy end compared to the event for which athletes are competing to attend but will serve as an excellent challenge for potential team members!
Examining the route on the course map and Google Earth, we are struck by the amount of side-country terrain being utilized. While the race starts and finishes with on-piste terrain, four of the five descents appear to be off-piste – good news for those athletes who want to showcase their skiing prowess rather than pure speed skiing on groomers! Brundage gets ~760-890cm of snowfall per year though with the early season timing, expect some lean conditions!
Brundage Course - Backside
Brundage Course – Backside
Another interesting note is the max elevation (topping out the last several climbs on Sargent’s Mountain) for the race is only 2380 meters! This is a dramatic difference from the typical Colorado races that routinely climb above 3000m and will hopefully encourage competition from sea-level athletes!
At the moment, much of the Western US is hurting for snow. Colorado and Utah both seem to be pretty bare except at the highest elevations and where it is possible to blow snow.
Standard USSMA race equipment will be required, as well as a headlamp for vertical racers. Note that if you wish to receive USSMA points, you must compete in both events.
Race accommodation can found at inidaho.com which will have special event rates! Boise is the closest large airport and car rental area.
In addition to the Northwest Passage Race, the McCall Winter Sports Club and the Winter Wildlands Alliance will be hosting the Backcountry Film Festival on Saturday evening. All racers receive one ticket for admission with their registration and the awards ceremony for the weekend will be held at the festival intermission.

IMG_4404Schedule of Events:

Friday: 4:00pm – Vertical Race
Friday: 5:30pm – Mandatory Individual Race information meeting (Brundage Base Lodge)
Saturday: 7:30am – Individual Race start
Saturday: Evening – Backcountry Film Festival (details TBA)
EVENT INFO HERE
REGISTER HERE
RACE TOPO HERE
In case you are curious about the race name or poster, check out the 1940 film Northwest Passage, shot in the mountains of McCall, telling the story of Roger’s Rangers in the mid-18th century, French and Indian War.

2016 Fall Skimo SkinTrack Training Camp

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skimo-camp-teaser-2016

The 4th edition of our training camp will be based around the beautiful small town of Lake Louise, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies and the Banff National Park!
As usual, the camp will partly serve as a fall training camp for some Canadian National Skimo Team athletes but it will be open to other fit skimo and mountain running enthusiasts as well.
IMPORTANT: To attend, you must fill out the sign-up form further down on this page and be fully ready to participate in all activities. (See bottom of this page for more hints on self-assessment if you have doubts based on the camp’s itinerary.)

Quick overview

  • Dates are September 23-25, 2016.
  • All training sessions will be based within 30 min drive from Lake Louise.
  • It will be mainly a trail & mountain running focused camp.
  • Admission is free and additional costs will be kept to minimum – we are fully volunteering our time as well.
  • This is not a “guided” training camp in the sense that there will be no official mountain or hiking guides present. We will make all safety decisions together as a group.

Itinerary

The camp will officially begin Friday at 5pm but we understand that work schedules may prevent some from joining us then. Feel free to join us later on Friday night or early on Saturday morning.
NOTE: This itinerary could change due to changing weather and mountain conditions, otherwise, we will most likely proceed as follows:
Friday – Sep 23:

  • 5-5.30pm – meet at the hostel
  • 5.30pm – easy run and stretching (1h altogether)
    – this is not a mandatory session but is good to loosen your legs after the drive
  • 6.30-8.30pm – dinner, introductions and discussing next day
    – see further below for more details about meals (section on Accommodation and meals)

Saturday – Sep 24:

  • 8am – depart and drive to trail-head (I will present 2 options to choose from on Friday)
  • 9am – start a long mountain run/hike & scramble which hopefully be a loop or A-to-B run
    – this will be a 5-6h session
  • 6-8pm – dinner and skimo related Q & A, discuss next day

Sunday – Sep 25:

  • 8am – bootcamp-style strength workout (1h)
  • 10am – depart and drive to trail-head
  • 10.30am – start a 2-4h trail/mountain run
  • 3-4pm – we can all start driving home

Accommodation and meals

  • Hi-Hostel at Lake Louise will be our ‘official’ accommodation and cooking place for the camp.
  • Every participant is responsible for their own accommodation (unless you are one of the people that I already booked it for).
  • Everyone is responsible for cooking or buying their own meals – the hostel has a great kitchen and a small restaurant as well.

Gear to bring

Here is a basic gear list we would like you to bring:

  • Mountain or trail running shoes in good condition (La Sportiva or Salomon have the best models many of which MEC or REI carries)
  • Training clothing – sweat wicking base layers, shorts, long sleeve and pants
  • Water proof clothing – jacket and pants
  • Cold weather clothing – bring a down jacket, hat and gloves for sure  as we could easily have snow during the camp
  • Headlamp
  • Survival emergency blanket (like this or similar)
  • Sandals and post workout clothing
  • Ski poles or running specific poles
  • Running vest or a suitable pack that can carry all your gear on Saturday (Ultimate Direction makes great running vests but your skimo race pack will do the trick as well)
  • Food and snacks for fuel during workouts
  • Helmet for protection against light rock fall
  • Personal first aid kit – to treat blisters and stop minor bleeding
  • Mountain or road bike (optional)

Registration and Updates sign-up form

Everyone that wishes to participate (although is still unsure) must fill out the form below. Thank you.
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Can I handle the camp?

If you are unsure if you should attend based on the below then send us an email via the form above.
Three things to consider when deciding:

  1. If you are currently not able to complete 8-10h of trail and mountain running spread over 3 days then this camp might be too much for you at the moment.
  2. The runs on Saturday and Sunday will include about 20-30% of extended periods of hiking so they won’t be as intense as they may sound.
  3. We expect you to show up well rested, injury free and with a positive attitude to participate.

» Report from the 2015 training camp based around Whistler.
» Here is how the the first Canadian Team summer training camp in Squamish went two year’s ago.
» Here is how a Canadian Team summer training camp looked like in Revelstoke in 2012.
To improve your training in the meantime checkout these: