Events & Races

Get your early bird entry into this year’s ROAM Randonnee Rally ski mountaineering race!
The event is part of the annual Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest and is only of festivities taking place during the Feb 22-24 weekend.
The whole festival starts on Friday and goes on until Sunday.
As always, there will be many things going on – clinics, demos, comps and partying on the slopes of Nelson’s Whitewater Ski Resort.

Randonnee Rally need to knows:

• Race Meeting: Friday, February 22 – 5:00 PM – ROAM Shop – 639 Baker Street Nelson, BC.
• Sign-on: Saturday, February 23 – 8:00 am Whitewater Ski Resort
• Start time: Saturday, February 23 – 9:00 am by the bag piper at Whitewater Ski Resort

Two race courses: Open course (about 4500 ft of climbing) and Rec course (about 2000 ft of climbing)
Categories: Men, Women, Vet 50+ can choose to race as Race, Recreational and Splitboard Rec
Entry fee: $25 early bird (or $35 there)
» More info and registration: online or on site
» First timers check out this article: 6 tips to get you ready for your first skimo race, and get faster with 10 Quick Tips to Improve Your Skimo Racing

2012 race report

» Here you can read last year’s race report – 2012 Cold Smoke skimo race
And as shown here, these were the conditions in which we raced in a year ago, minus the big airs and plus some big climbs 😉

Traditionally, the last day of competitions at Skimo World Championships features team relays. This is always a great spectacle and fun, followed by a big party later in the evening.
Four person teams for men and three person teams for women compete against each other to make their nations proud. Each racer skis over a course of about 150m in elevation gain (2 x climbs) that takes about 10min to complete.
» Daily coverage archive

Women relays

French has been dominating these World Champs and they stamped their authority also on this final event. Their women, lead by a superb Laetitia Roux, claimed gold with a minute to spare. Italian girls managed to take silver by about 35sec ahead of Switzerland.
Canadian girls – Melanie Bernier, Carla McKirdy, Martha Burley – have done very well and came in at 6th, leaving four more nations behind.
Team USA –  Kim Young, Meredith Edwards, Stevie Kremer – gave a chance to gain more experience to their new team members and finished 8th.
Full results – women (PDF):
http://ismf-ski.org/intranet/uploaded/PDF_output/2013-02-15-227-Ranking-RelayRace-Women.pdf

Men relays

An amazing fight went down between the Swiss, Italians and French. At the end, only by a half a second, the Swiss boys took gold ahead of the Italians. The home French team was about 40sec back to claim bronze. Behind these three there was a 2min gap to fourth!
Repeating from two years ago, Canadian boys managed to get the best of the US Team:
Canadians came 9th – Reiner Thoni, Brad Schalles, Andrew McNab, Peter Knight
The US men came 11th – Scott Simmons, Greg Ruckman, Marshall Thomson, John Gaston.
Full results – men (PDF):
http://ismf-ski.org/intranet/uploaded/PDF_output/2013-02-15-226-Ranking-RelayRace-Men.pdf

Today’s vertical race at the 2013 Skimo World Champs confirmed the dominance of some top athletes but also revealed some new names to watch for in the future.
» Daily coverage archive

Women Top 3 Overall

The women’s vertical race brought a surprise in making. Not well known in the skimo world an accomplished long distance trail runner, Emelie Forsberg (SWE), raced to third place once again!
Emelie’s best placings (two bronze medals) came from the two shortest skimo disciplines – sprint and vertical. She also did well in yesterday’s individual race where she came sixth, but only 2min behind third place. Give her couple of weeks of downhill practice and she might become a top 3 regular.
The rest went according to the script – Laetitia Roux (FRA) crushed the field again (after winning teams and individual) with Spain’s Mireia Miro taking second, 22sec behind. Both are great friends and race lots of team competitions together.

1. Laetitia Roux (FRA) – 30:28
2. Mireia Miro (ESP) – 30:50
3. Emelie Forsberg (SWE) – 31:20

Men Top 3 Overall

No surprise here as Kilian Jornet (ESP) confirmed his climbing superiority again, however, he had to keep his chasers in check all the time.
At the end, Kilian safely arrived 12sec ahead of a very explosive Martin Anthamatten (SWI) who regularly performs very well in sprints and verticals.
Third place went to a vertical specialist Damiano Lenzi (ITA) but only after a great battle with Matheo Jacquemound (FRA). Matheo was leading him but surrendered to the Italian’s final sprint.

1. Kilian Jornet (ESP) – 25:33
2. Martin Anthamatten (SWI) – 25:45
3. Damiano Lenzi (ITA) – 26:01

Video in French

Video in Italian

North American athletes

Women:
Janelle Smiley (USA) put in a very solid performance to finish in 34:19 at 13^th place, repeating her 13th from the individual. Second best North American was Stevie Kremer (USA) finishing at 15^th, about 20sec behind Janelle. Canada’s Melanie Bernier was next at 18th, about further minute behind.
Rest of the NA girls finished like this:
20) Kim Young (USA) – 36:06
22) McKenna Douglas (USA) – 36:22
28) Nina Silitch (USA) – 39:03
35) Martha Burley (CAN) – 41:41
38) Carla McKirdy (CAN) – 43:37
Men:
Some of the US and Canadian boys were perhaps hoping for a better showing today but the competition is as high as ever.
Top NA racer and somewhat of a vertical specialist was Greg Ruckman (USA) at 26^th with a time of 28:51. Greg was closely followed home by Scott Simmons (USA) at 29^th, in 28:57. Third fastest was Reiner Thoni (CAN) who had a great individual race yesterday. Reiner finished the vertical at 42^nd, in 30:01.
The rest of the NA pack:
43) Andrew McNab (CAN) – 30:06
46) Luke Nelson (USA) – 30:39
48) Brad Schalles (CAN) – 30:51
50) Andy Dorais (USA) – 31:06
71) Steve Sellers (CAN) – 34:36
73) Mateusz Burgunder (USA) – 36:36 [competing in Espoir category, under 23] Full results: http://ismf-ski.org/www/index.php?q=node/45&page=ListRaceRankingsAction&type=view&id_parent=224&id_parent2=&id_parent_parent=88sdf
Photos from the USA team: http://www.ussma.org/blog/brackec/world-skimo-championships-vertical-race

Today’s individual race at Skimo World Champs in Pelvoux, France  featured a mass start event over 1645 vertical meters for men and 1385 m for women. The race was hotly contested but France came out on top, dominating the podium in both categories.
Today’s recap was written by Eric Carter and edited by Stano.
» Daily coverage archive

Top 3 Overall

Men

After a fast start, Spaniard Kilian Jornet led throughout the race with a 35 second lead at the midpoint.
By the finish, however, William Bon Mardion (FRA) had taken the lead, distancing the chase group by 30 seconds in the final downhill, and posted a winning time of 1h 22min 36 sec.
Jornet and only 22-year old Matheo Jacquemoud (FRA) came tight to the line with Jacquemoud placing second and Jornet rounding out the podium.
Boots fact:

• Bon Mardion races on La Sportiva Stratos Cube boots
• Jacquemoud on Scarpa Alien 1.0
• Jornet on Pierre Gignoux newest model

Women
Laetitia Roux (FRA) quickly established a significant lead over her competitors, almost 5 minutes at the first summit.
Mireia Miro (ESP), Gloriana Pellissier (IT), and Axelle Mollaret (FRA) were all in contention for the podium but the French skier, Mollaret, managed to come from fourth to finish just 2 seconds before the Italian, Pellissier.
Roux’s gold medal time was 1h 20min 3 sec.
Boots fact: Roux and Pellissier race on Pierre Gignoux and La Sportivas respectively. Mollaret is likely on Scarpa Aliens.

Video in French

North American athletes

Of 23 nations represented at this years World Championships event, USA began the day ranked 9th and Canada in 13th. Both teams started with high hopes to score some points and continue to bring up their rankings.
Men
Reiner Thoni (CAN) was the top North American male finishing in 26th – approximately 14 min behind the leaders. Thoni hit a deep compression in the final descent and lost a ski. This likely cost him couple of places since the three racers in front  of him finished only within 1 min ahead of him.
US National Champion John Gaston finished in 31st place, only about 30 sec from top 30, and about 1:30 behind Thoni.
The rest of the men clustered close behind around 40th place:
36) Max Taam (US)
38) Tom Goth (US)
39) Andrew McNab (CAN)
40) Marshall Thompson (US)
42) Peter Knight (CAN)
43) Brad Schalles (CAN)
65) Mateusz Burgunder (US)
Women
Janelle Smiley (USA) and Melanie Bernier (CAN) led the North American women finishing within 30 sec of each other, in 13th and 14th. Stevie Kremer (USA) was just shortly behind in 17th, about 2 min later.
The rest of the girls placed like this:
25) Nina Silitch (US)
28) Martha Burley (CAN)
30) McKenna Douglas (US)
31) Meredith Edwards (US)
33) Carla McKirdy (CAN)

More details + Photos

Official gallery – http://www.ismfskievents.com/news/2013/0-post/56-pelvoux_2013_-_photo_gallery_individual_race
Results: http://ismf-ski.org/www/index.php?q=node/45&register=&page=ListRacesAction&id=223&id_parent=88
More details on US racers: http://www.ussma.org/blog/brackec/world-skimo-championships-seniorespoir-individual

Today’s summary from 2013 Skimo World Champs was written by Eric Carter who is also a passionate skimo racer and xc skier.
February 11^th – Racers from North America went head to head with the best of Europe in the Sprint event at the 2013 Ski Mountaineering World Championships in Pelvoux, France.

While the Swiss team dominated, the day culminated with American Nina Silitch winning a silver medal, outsprinting Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg in the finals.
This marks the first ever North American medal at Ski Mountaineering World Championships!
The men and women raced on the same course in Pelvoux Village, featuring about 80 meters of climbing with a bootpack section in the middle followed by a descent to the finish.
Racers were taking around three minutes to complete the course with tight times among finishers.
» Daily coverage archive

Top 3 Overall

Men
In the men’s race, Josef Rottmoser of Germany grabbed the win after posting a blistering qualifying time of 2 min and 35 sec, edging out Marcel Marti representing team Switzerland. Yannick Ecoeur, also from Switzerland who qualified 13 seconds slower, rounded out the podium.

1. Josef Rottmoser (Germany)
2. Marcel Marti (Switzerland)
3. Yannick Ecoeur (Switzerland)

Women
Mireille Richard from Switzerland came out on top in the women’s race, besting Nina Silitch (USA) and Emelie Forsberg (Sweden). The final round results were actually a complete reversal of qualifying times.  Emelie’s qualifying time of 3:24 was the fastest of the day for the women.

1. Mireille Richard (Switzerland)
2. Nina Silitch (USA)
3. Emelie Forsberg (Sweden)

North Americans

Canada fielded four male and one female racers while the USA had three male and two female racers in the sprint competition.
Melanie Bernier and Andrew McNab each took the top Canadian place (9^th and 12^th respectively).  Melanie qualified only 10 seconds back from the leader. Peter Knight and Brad Schalles came in tight in 36^th and 37^th place, just missing out on points. Steve Sellers rounded out Team Canada, finishing in 52^nd.
Meredith Edwards of Team USA finished 28^th and last year’s US National Champion Luke Nelson finished just ahead of Max Taam in 32^nd and 33^rd.
NA women:
2) Nina Silitch (USA)
9) Melanie Bernier (CAN) *10 secs back
28) Meredith Edwards (USA)
NA men:
12) Andrew McNab (CAN) *33 secs back
32) Luke Nelson (USA)
33) Max Taam (USA)
36) Peter Knight (CAN)
37) Brad Schalles (CAN)
47) Mateusz Burgunder (USA)
52) Steve Sellers (CAN)
For more info on US team performances check out these blog posts:
Officially from USSMA – http://www.ussma.org/blog/brackec/world-skimo-championships-sprint-race-recap
First hand account from Andy Dorais – http://slcsherpa.blogspot.ca/2013/02/ismf-world-championships-sprint-race.html

Full Results

Full results for all categories can be found here: http://ismf-ski.org/www/index.php?q=content/races-result&register=&page=ListRaceRankingsAction&id_parent=219

Every day, around 5pm, a recap of that day’s race will be published on Skintrack.
To be notified follow Skintrack on:

• Twitter
• and Facebook

Coverage:

Preview: What, who, when: US and Canadian athletes at 2013 Ski Mountaineering World Championships
Feb 10  – Teams race: Great day for US and Canadian teams on day 1 of 2013 Skimo World Champs: Teams race summary
Feb 11 – Sprint race: Nina Silitch grabs silver, Andrew McNab 12th in a sprint race: North Americans on day 2 at 2013 Skimo World Champs
Feb 13 – Individual race: Individual race recap – Reiner Thoni 26th, Janelle Smiley 13th – 2013 Skimo World Champs in France
Feb 14 – Vertical race: Vertical race summary – Janelle Smiley 13th again – 2013 World Ski Mountaineering Champs
Feb 15 – Relay race: Relays race – Canada (6th and 9th), USA (8th and 11th) – 2013 Ski Mountaineering World Championships

Here we go again! Two years went by incredibly fast since the 2011 Skimo World Champs in Claut, Italy.
This year’s prestigious event will take place around the area of Pelvoux, France between February 9th and 15th.
» Pelvoux on Google maps
» Pelvoux on Wikipedia

History: World Champs only every two years

When the first ski mountaineering World Championships were conceived (back in 2002) the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) decided they would take place every even calendar year, with the European Championships falling on the odd years.
However, in the summer of 2010, ISMF decided to switch the World Championships to odd years as it became very clear that skimo was lacking media coverage due to conflicting scheduling with the Winter Olympics. Therefore, 2011 saw World Champs take place again to start the new schedule.

Teams race – Sunday, Feb 10th

Each nation can enter up to four two-person teams.
Course details – http://www.ski-ecrins.com/parcours.php?page=equipe

Men – 2260m

Canada (2 teams):
Reiner Thoni, the 2012 North American Skimo Champ, will be teaming up with Andrew McNab once again. In 2011, they were able to score 16th place in this race.
Second team will combine a World Champs novice, Peter Knight, and a seasoned racer, Steve Sellers. Peter is the stronger one, but Steve’s experience will come very handy.
Brad Schalles will sit out and focus on individual races.
(I have decided to stay back in Canada this time as other plans are calling.)
US (4 teams):
The US Team will likely line up all four teams since it’s bringing 8 men racers to Europe:

1. John Gaston
2. Max Taam
3. Marshall Thomson
4. Tom Goth
5. Scott Simmons
6. Greg Ruckman
7. Andy Dorias – recent interview with Andy
8. Luke Nelson – recent interview with Luke

My speculation is that:

• Gaston will race with Taam
• Nelson + Goth
• Dorais + Ruckman
• Thomson + Simmons

Women – 2160m

Canada (1 team):
Two Word Champs novices should be lining up together to gain experience, Martha Burley with Carla McKirdy.
Melanie Bernier is way too strong to pair up with any other Canadian skimo girl so she will likely rest for her individual races.
US (? teams):
There should be 6 women representing US throughout the week:

1. Janelle Smiley – interview with Janelle
2. Stevie Kremer
3. Meredith Edwards
4. Nina Silitch – older interview with Nina
5. Kim Young
6. McKenna Douglas

Smiley is likely to team up with Kremer. Nina Silitch will probably sit out to focus on Monday’s sprint. The other 3 girls will have to play old fashioned rock-paper-scissors.

Sprint race – Monday, Feb 11th

Each nation can enter up to four athletes.
Course details – http://www.ski-ecrins.com/parcours.php?page=sprint

Men – 80m

Canada (4 athletes):

• Reiner Thoni
• Andrew McNab
• Brad Schalles
• Peter Knight

US (4 athletes):
Likely these four:

• Max Taam
• Luke Nelson
• Tom Goth
• Andy Dorais

Women – 80m

Canada will likely line up all 3 athletes – Melanie Bernier will be shooting for the stars while McKirdy and Burley will be gaining more experience.
US (4 athletes):
Likely these four:

• Nina Silitch – will try to go for a medal at least!
• Meredith Edwards
• ?
• ?

Individual race – Wednesday, Feb 13th

Each nation can enter up to four athletes.
Course details – http://www.ski-ecrins.com/parcours.php?page=senior

Men – 1645m

Canada (4 athletes):

• Reiner Thoni
• Andrew McNab
• Brad Schalles
• Peter Knight

US (4 athletes):
Likely these four:

• John Gaston
• Max Taam
• Tom Goth
• Marshall Thomson

Women – 1385m

Canada will line up all 3 athletes – Melanie Bernier aiming high, other girls gaining experience.
US (4 athletes):
Maybe these four:

• Nina Silitch
• Janelle Smiley
• Stevie Kremer
• Meredith Edwards

Vertical race – Thursday, Feb 14th

Each nation can enter up to four athletes.
Course details – http://www.ski-ecrins.com/parcours.php?page=vr

Men – 610m

Canada (4 athletes):

• Reiner Thoni
• Andrew McNab
• Brad Schalles
• ?

US (4 athletes):
Likely these:

• Greg Ruckman
• Luke Nelson
• Scott Simmons
• Andy Dorais

Women – 610m

Canada will line up all 3 athletes – Melanie Bernier aiming high, other girls gaining experience.
US will likely enter 4 athletes:

• Janelle Smiley
• Stevie Kremer
• Kim Young
• Meredith Edwards

Relay race – Friday, Feb 15th

Each nation can enter one team consisting of four athletes.
Course details – http://www.ski-ecrins.com/parcours.php?page=relais

Men – 160m

Over the years, the relay race shaped up a fierce rivalry between the US and the Canadian men’s teams, with US winning the bragging contest in 2010 and Canadians in 2011.
Canada (1 team), likely:

• Reiner Thoni
• Andrew McNab
• Brad Schalles
• Peter Knight

US (1 team):
The decision will likely come at a dinner table the night before. Those “pretending” to be still fresh have the best chance 😉 Or maybe these four:

• John Gaston
• Marshall Thomson
• Scott Simmons
• Greg Ruckman

Women – 160m

According to ISMF rules, women should be allowed to enter a team of only four racers.
Canada will enter Melanie Bernier, Martha Burley, and Carla McKirdy.
US should be these three:

• Stevie Kremer
• McKenna Douglas
• Kim Young

On January 12th, Castle Mountain Resort in the SW corner of Alberta will host its first ever ski mountaineering race. (Google map)

Courses and Categories

Proposed route for the competitive category totals 5100 feet of climbing (1550m) over about 14kms.
The rec category course is planned to climb only slightly more than 4000 feet (1200m) over about 10kms.
Both courses will pretty much navigate the resort’s boundary in counter clockwise direction.

Fixed rope section

Organizers did a fine job and included a fixed rope section for both categories. Therefore, at least a light ski mountaineering harness and a lanyard (sling and a carabiner) will be required in your race kit on top of the usual (helmet, beacon, shovel, probe, survival blanket…)
There will be a couple of these available to borrow from the race organizer but if you want your own then something like this should do:
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Climbing/SlingsWebbing/PRD~5015-866/beal-dynaconnexion.jsp

More details and Registration

More will be known soon but start time should be at 10am on Saturday, January 12, 2013 with possible late registration at 8am at Castle Mountain.
Online registration will be ready in the first week of January via the Alpine Club of Canada:
http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/skimo/index

Accommodation

Accommodations are available on hill and in surrounding communities. You can call 403.627.5121 or email  info@castlerental.ca for more info.