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Reports & Results

Skimo News Dec 1-19: US Worlds Team Qualifier Races, French Vertical Champs, and more

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The last two weeks have seen big storms dumping snow all over North America and kicking the skimo race season into a full swing.
The first North American event of the year was the Vert 180 at the Calgary Olympic Park, part of the Canadian series. Local race series at Aspen, A-Basin, and Brighton already held their first uphill events and have also started up for the season.

USA Race News

COSMIC Eldora Rando Return – Dec 3

With the popularity of racing in Colorado, and specifically in Denver/Boulder area, it was only a matter of time when a race would be born closer to the Front Range. Eldora resort opened their doors and put on a classic Colorado style event with steep up-tracks and fast groomer skiing!
Max Taam and Rory Kelly battled since the start, with Max maintaining a half a minute lead at the finish. Meanwhile, Jessie Young dominated the women’s race, more than five minutes ahead of Annie Gonzalez in second.
Photos: http://www.cosmicski.com/race-photos/eldorarandoreturn16
Results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=87912

COSMIC Irwin Guides Race – Dec 10

Irwin is one of the more unique races – situated above the town of Crested Butte, the race starts at and climbs above 3000 meters (10,000 ft), giving much to complain about even for the most acclimatized racers. Irwin also stands alone, entirely outside of a ski area boundary but within the Irwin Guides tenure and is one of very few true backcountry races in North America. Racers are required to arrive at the start line by a snowcat or a sled!

Photo by Kevin Krill & Eleven Experience.
Max Taam leading a pack of chasers. Photo by Kevin Krill & Eleven Experience.
John Gaston showed up for his first domestic win of the season while Crested Butte veteran Brian Smith battled to a tight finish for second just ahead of Max Taam, and about a minute and a half behind Gaston. The top two positions on the women’s podium remained unchanged from the previous weekend with Jessie Young and Annie Gonzales taking first and second but the third spot was taken by Breckenridge’s Nicki Larochelle.
Photos: http://www.cosmicski.com/race-photos/irwin2016
Results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=88408

USSMA Northwest Passage – US Team Qualifier – Dec 17-18

The first of two weekends used as US Team Trials for the upcoming 2017 World Championships, the Northwest Passage Race in McCall, Idaho was shaping up to be very competitive. Despite being a first time event, and dealing with a foot of new snow the day before and extreme cold on race day, the races went off with barely a hitch.
Friday featured a vertical event over a 500 vertical metres course. The new snow meant the race went up an ungroomed ski run that both the organizers and USSMA leadership desperately tried to maintain a skin track on. Soft conditions and lots of kick turns favoured technically strong athletes.  The top four finishers would qualify for the US Worlds Team in a vertical race.
John Gaston took an early lead and put on a clinic on uphill skiing while Mike Foote, Tom Goth, and SkinTrack’s Eric Carter swapped for the next three qualifying spots and ultimately finishing in that order. A major note is U23 racer Cam Smith from Gunnison who finished barely a minute off the lead group. Expect big things from this guy competing against his peers at Worlds!
Janelle Smiley made her fantastic return to racing following a multi-year break due to a hip injury and dethroned Jessie Young. Veronika Mayerhoffer, an Austrian XC skier attending university in Utah, finished 3rd, with the final two US Team qualifying spots going to the athletes in 4th and 5th – Kristi Knecht and Jaime Brede.
» Vertical results – Northwest_Passage_Vertical-Results-2016
Saturday’s individual event was looking grim with extremely cold temps in the forecast. Luckily, things were a bit warmer (only about -15 deg F) and with no wind making it quite bearable. A Le mans style running start was a fun way to warm up followed by a single climb on a groomed run, after which the race was entirely out of the ski area boundary until the final descent to the finish. The race featured great fall-line skiing on powder slopes and nice, low-angle skin tracks (that were doubled!) with plenty of kick turns. The cold made for difficult skins management and some racers struggled with blown skins.

Janelle Smiley racing to first place. Photo by Eric Hoff.
Janelle Smiley racing to first place. Photo by Eric Hoff.
The men’s race was very competitive, the only notable name missing was Jason Dorais. John Gaston took the lead early in the race and stayed away from his chasers. Eric Carter maintained second place throughout while Mike Foote and Tom Goth battled hard for third place (top three finishers would qualify for Worlds Team while the 4th will be determined at the upcoming Sunlight Race). Mike and Tom hit the final skins-off transition together and raced down the final descent to the finish before Tom broke a pole and lost ground with Mike taking the qualifying spot.
Janelle Smiley skied away from Jessie Young early in the race and maintained a solid gap throughout. Nikki Larochelle again showed her strength as a legitimate contender, finishing third with Meredith Edwards in fourth!
» Individual race results – Northwest_Passage_Individual-Results-2016
Photos: Gallery 1, Gallery 2

Europe Race News

French Vertical Champs in Tignes – Dec 17:

Women:

  1. Axelle Mollaret
  2. Laetitia Roux
  3. Mireia Miro (Spain)
  4. Lorna Bonnel

Men:

  1. Xavier Gachet
  2. Remi Bonnet (Swiss)
  3. Matheo Jacquemoud
  4. Alexis Sevennec

» All categories results here

Upcoming Events

COSMIC Wolf Creek Rando Race – Jan 7

One last tune up for the Colorado athletes before the following weekend’s US Team qualifying race, Wolf Creek provides a great course and venue!
Event Page

SMCC Castle Mountain Canadian Team Qualifiers – Jan 7/8

The sprint and individual races at Castle Mountain are part of the selection process that will determine the Canadian World Championship Team.
Expect Nick Elson to be going for the top position while several others will be competing for the podium spots including Peter Knight, Joel Desgraniers, Matt Reid and Travis Brown. Long distance runner Rob Krar is expected to attend in order to try to qualify for the Canadian Worlds Team as well. On the women’s side, Kylee Ohler is a favourite while her training partner Michelle Katchur Roberts will surely be going strong as well.
Event Page

COSMIC Grand Mesa Powderhorn – Jan 14

The day before the Heathen Challenge, this race may see lower turnout due to the draw of the US Team Qualifier. Who has the guts to race all three days? Teague Holmes?
Event Page

COSMIC/USSMA Sunlight Heathen Challenge – Jan 15/16

The second US Team qualifying event, expect some serious competition. First, the sprint race will be a chance for athletes to compete for four spots on the US Worlds Team. It’s possible that some of the individual race contenders may sit this one out to save their energy, leaving places open to other athletes.
The big show, however, will be at 7:30am on Sunday morning when racers will compete for eight spots for the Teams Event at Worlds and, most importantly, for the fourth and final Individual spot on the team. Expect Tom Goth to be back with a vengeance but Max Taam will have a home field advantage. Hopefully we will also see Jason Dorais jump back into the mix as well.
On the women’s side, Meredith Edwards appears to have the fourth spot in her grasp but it is difficult to predict!
There are also 10-12 guys who all pose a legitimate threat for the top eight team spots. In addition to those above, we expect to see World’s veterans Teague Holmes, Rory Kelly, and Jon Brown in the mix!
Event Page

Race Recap: Vert180 Night Skimo Race in Calgary

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The Canadian Skimo Cup kicked off with its first race of the season at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary last Saturday.
With its unusual format – start at 6pm to do as many laps as you can in 3 hours – and working within the venue’s terrain (135m climb) it provides great opportunity to practice skimo transitions and to have fun with friends in a relay team or going solo. There were over 70 athletes participating.

This was the lap layout of the race course. In the foreground you can see a relay exchange in the bottom transition area.
This was the lap layout of the race course. In the foreground you can see a relay exchange in the bottom transition area.

Race Recap and Most Notable

Before you study results in detail below I would like to point out that the juniors were racing for 1.5h instead of 3h and within that time only a 14-year old Tom Stevens managed to clock in 9 laps just like the top men were doing! That is 1215m in 1.5h including 9 bootpack and skins-off transitions, plus 8 skins-on transitions at the bottom. If Tom keeps at it then Canada might have a medal contender for World Championships in cadet and junior categories in the years to come!
vert180-start
Men’s race:
Another notable moment came when Travis Brown, a leader mid-way, had to drop out of the race from first place due to stomach problems that were impairing him the days leading up to the event.
After that the race for first was a close battle between Peter Knight (18 laps) and Joel Desgreniers (17 laps) with Peter coming out on top. Matt Reid (17 laps) secured the final step on the podium.
Women’s race:
Once again, Kylee Ohler, pulled of a great performance the whole day – organizing the event itself and then racing – to come up with a solid win and collecting 17 laps for a total of 2300m. Michelle Roberts was racing well and trying to stay close but eventually lost about by 1 lap (10-12min) to take second. Marg Fedyna took third with 14.

Results

There were also 2 and 4 person relay teams lapping the course and having great time.
» Full results are here: 2016-Vert180-results
 

Final 2015/16 Canadian Skimo Racing Rankings

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skimo-canada-cup-rankings
With the conclusion of skimo racing in Western Canada last weekend in Lake Louise, our governing body Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada (SMCC) has released the final rankings for this season. We will take a look at how the rankings are compiled and what it means.

Rankings and How they work

Canadian Cup Rankings:

This season’s Canadian Cup consisted of the six races (at five venues) that were sanctioned by the SMCC – those that conform with the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) and SMCC rules. For the first time ever, one of these races was a sprint event. No vertical races were held this year and so the other five were individual events.

Kylee Ohler on racing to her win.
Kylee Ohler racing on to her win at Canadian Nationals.
The Canadian Cup ranking list seeks to reward performance within these Cup events. Rankings are determined using the ISMF World Ranking system. Athletes of all nationalities are included as well as anyone who competed in any of the events – racing the long/elite events. Points are assigned to each place in the race results (1st = 100pts, 2nd = 80pts, 3rd = 60pts, etc…). Overall placement on the ranking list is the sum of the athlete’s best four results.
Top 3 Men:

  1. Eric Carter (USA) – 380 pts
  2. Travis Brown (CAN) – 330 pts
  3. Peter Knight (CAN) – 280 pts

Top 3 Women:

  1. Kylee Ohler (CAN) – 360 pts
  2. Michelle Katchur-Roberts (CAN) – 320 pts
  3. Melanie Bernier (CAN) – 300 pts

» Canada Cup Overall Rankings (PDF)

Canadian National Rankings:

The Canadian National Rankings are made up of a so called “Points List” that is designed to accurately rank athletes in comparison one to another using any possible race results for the purposes of aiding (not finalizing) in national team selection for next season.
The Points List results were compiled from all Canadian Cup races, US nationally sanctioned races (e.g. US Nationals or Powder Keg Continental Championships), and World Cup or ISMF events.
The points system was derived from that used by the Canadian Nordic Ski Team. Athletes are assigned points that represent the percentage of time they finished behind the leader. Points are handicapped by the ranking of the race winner – this means athletes who finish near the front of a highly competitive field will be rewarded with better points than finishing near the front of a weak field. For example, finishing within 20% of the winner (say Kilian Jornet) at a World Cup would be worth more points than finishing within 20% of the winner at a Canadian Cup race. The average of an athletes top three points is taken to be their overall ranking. If the athlete has only one or two races, a slight penalty is applied to their average (see notes in the below PDF sheet).
Top 3 Canadian Men:

  1. Nick Elson – 0.8803
  2. Rob Krar – 0.8383
  3. Peter Knight – 0.8080

Top 3 Canadian Women:

  1. Melanie Bernier – 0.8847
  2. Kylee Ohler – 0.8601
  3. Michelle Katchur-Roberts – 0.7828

» Canada National Points List Final (PDF)

What does it mean?

Canadian Cup:

The Canadian Cup does not seek to identify the absolute fastest Canadian skier, but rather any skier with the best and most consistent results within the Cup races. A good example of this is seen in the women’s ranking with Melanie Bernier winning every race she entered (3) but finishing ranked third because of her missing a fourth result. Had she raced one more and finished at least 3rd, she would have won the Cup.
The Vert180 appears to be a good place to get points. Only 2 of the top 8 attended. Similarly, Fernie and Nelson were less well attended than Castle or Lake Louise. It is interesting that Castle was so well attended as it is far away from almost everyone (but it’s closer for the Montana athletes). This suggests that the double race weekend – holding the sprint and individual race – is very attractive to many. Absolute ideal would be to see a minimum of two events at every race weekend in the Canadian Cup. Holding a vertical or a sprint, along an individual, does not add too much extra work for the organizers while greatly increasing attractiveness for racers from further away to attend.
Special mention should go to the very few athletes who attended every Canadian Cup race – by our count, this is only Michelle Katchur-Roberts, Travis Brown, and Peter Knight (forgive us if we missed anyone).

National Points List:

The current points list can be skewed in the event of a race like what happened at Nelson. With new snow and no set tracks, a large group of racers skied together, finishing much closer to the leader than shown in other races, thus, gaining more points than if there were well established skin tracks. This underlines the need for properly set courses and forerunners in the case of new snow. In our experience, as race organizers and athletes, we believe that a forerunner should be a must. Setting out about 1.5-2h before a race starts it gives this person plenty of time to refresh the tracks set day before and to repair any course markings that perhaps got buried or blown away overnight.
However, the points list provides valid information to the SMCC for national team selection purposes. A good example of this is Rob Krar (an accomplished ultra-runner) who is presumably hoping to race for Canada at the 2017 World Championships. With only one race in Canada (though a strong 2nd among Canadians at Nationals last week), his US results support his ranking of second fastest Canadian.

Mar 15-28 Skimo Racing News Shorts: World Cup, Grand Traverse, Canadian Nationals

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Canadian Rockies showing all their beauty during the Canadian Nationals. Photo by Osmosis Photography.
Canadian Rockies showing all their beauty during the Canadian Nationals. Photo by Osmosis Photography.
The past two weeks were full of skimo racing in North America and Europe! Here is our recap of what happened in the skin tracks.
» For previous weekend’s racing news see here.

USA West

Elk Mountain Grand Traverse – March 26, 2016

To a mix of both disappointment and relief, the race organizers made a last-minute decision to modify the 2016 Grand Traverse into an out and back course from Crested Butte rather than continuing to Aspen. A risk of skiing in high country during early spring, as large storm had deposited significant amounts of snow, was causing major concerns for the organizers and athletes.
As expected, John Gaston and Max Taam continued their team winning streak and comfortably won ahead of Rob Krar and Marshall Thompson who crossed the line 10min behind. One of the most impressive performances was of Ben and Nils Koons, who took third using Nordic ski gear!
Another noteworthy performance came from Lindsay Plant and Jessie Young who won the women’s event and finished 7th overall, however, only 3 min behind was another ladies duo of Larochelle – Hagen at 8th overall!
» Full results are HERE
Want to see more coverage of women’s racing? We need a female correspondent! Send us an email if you’d like to contribute!

8e9db461-0ecd-40e8-b569-c009c6ba4284Upcoming:

Next up on the COSMIC schedule is Cody’s Challenge in Steamboat Springs, CO on April 2nd.
Also make sure to save the date on April 9th for the Big Sky Shedhorn Skimo race. This promises to be an exciting one, with crampons, ice axe and whippet on the mandatory gear list! Check out their Facebook Page for more info and updates as well as registration.

USA East

Bolton 24 Hour, Sugarbush, Pico

Whoops, all three of these Vermont venues were cancelled in their inaugural season in this “historical” New England ski season. The Bolton Valley 24 race lost all the backcountry snow required for its daytime ascent route. Sugarbush still claimed an impressive trail count but unfortunately continued its prior attitude toward skimo from when it co-hosted a race with neighbor Mad River Glen. Pico would have been closed for two weeks by the time of the scheduled race date yet retained plenty of snow cover: the outside organizer was still 100% all set to go, but resort management wouldn’t allow the race to be held. 🙁

Bromley VT – March 19, 2016

All three cancellations further north left Bromley in southern Vermont as the last traditional race of the season on March 19. The upper mountain had been closed during the week but reopened for one final weekend after a major snow moving effort by the resort groomers on Friday. Jerimy Arnold took the win despite a hundred-foot slide on one descent past about half as many visiting ski patrollers for a training event. Brian MacIlvain finished only several seconds behind, slowed down somewhat by responsibly checking that Jerimy was somehow still okay. Alex Nichols eventually broke free from what was initially a tight pack of six racers to claim his first skimo podium.
» Results and Photos HERE

Bolton Citizen Skimo Series & Stowe Topsy Turvy Derby

As mentioned in previous news round-ups, this season the Catamount Trail Association (“CTA”) debuted a weeknight citizen series of hour-long crit-style races at Bolton Valley, VT. Attendance was strong for most of the season with participation averaging around 40 racers per night, peaking at over 80. Each week of “winter” brought new challenges in piecing together sections of skinable and skiable terrain into a race course layout that resort management would approve. Not once did participants compete on the courses originally planned by organizers at the onset of the series! But the CTA and Bolton always came up with something, and the really fun – albeit short – courses provided a lot of transition practice.
Then on March 26, the CTA closed out the Eastern U.S. skimo season with the evening Topsy Turvy Derby, the first time any skimo event has ever been held at Stowe, VT. Conditions were challenging on the 700’ vertical criterium-style course with icy moguls and refrozen corn. QT2 Systems triathlon coach John Spinney won with five laps commenced within the 55-minute cut-off.

2017 Preview:

Perhaps eager to forget the 2015-16 “winter” even as it still sputters to a close, several race directors have already started hashing out a schedule for the 2016-17 season. The Catamount Trail Association will continue the Bolton weeknight criterium-style races, and also hopes to offer several Saturday night races at both Sugarbush and Stowe. Discussions are already underway with potentially promising venues in both VT and NH. Check back at the link above (clicking through to future months in the Google calendar) for updates on other races as we move closer to the 2016-17 season and as the forgettable 2015-16 season is hopefully forgotten.
Submitted by Eastern correspondents Jonathan Shefftz (NE Rando Race Series) and Greg Maino (Catamount Trail Association)

Canada

Ken Jones Classic and Canadian Skimo National Championships – March 19, 2016:

Held at Lake Louise Ski Area, this year’s edition of KJC was one of the most competitive Canadian skimo events in recent history!
Organizers prepared a great race course with the race starting up a groomer climb to the top of the ski area before descending to the back wilder side. There awaited one beautiful switchbacks climb and one long and steep boot-pack climb, both followed by steeper couloir descents. From here, racers sped down a groomer for the final long climb and a big descent to the resort base with a long skating second section.
After an initial sprint off the line by Peter Knight, Nick Elson took the lead and set a strong pace up the 1st climb with Eric Carter in tow while Rob Krar, the ultra-runner, was chasing close behind. Nick and Eric skied together most of the race until a bottom section on the final climb where Eric pulled away for the win. Rob Krar took third with Ben Parsons chasing hard but missing out on the podium at the very end.
On the women’s side, Kylee Toth-Ohler easily skied away from the field, winning handily with Michelle Katchur-Roberts in second and Katarina Kuba in third.
Nick Elson and Kylee Toth-Ohler were named National Champions and Canadian-only podiums were presented in addition to overall race podiums. This wraps up the Canadian race calendar for 2016!
» Full results are HERE
Thanks to OsmosisPhotography.com for great images from the race:

Europe

Mondole Ski Alp World Cup – March 18-20, 2016:

At risk of sounding like a broken record, Kilian Jornet again dominated the World Cup Vertical and Individual races at the Prato Nevoso ski area in Italy. Laetitia Roux was the first to cross the line in both races as well but was given a 15min penalty in the individual race due to skis that did not meet the ISMF weight requirement so the victory was awarded to Swiss Jennifer Fiechter. In the sprint race, Robert Antonioli and Roux won, clinching their season sprint titles.
USA had one athlete competing in Mondole – Rory Kelly from Colorado raced to 27th in the vertical race, 28th in the individual, and 35th in the sprint.
» All results can be found here
All photos by ISMF:

Upcoming:

All that remains are Long Distance World Cup races. The next to come is the bi-annual Tour du Rutor in Italy at the beginning of April followed by the Patrouille De Glaciers on April 22-23rd.
ISMF Racing News
Check out our big 2015/16 skimo calendar for upcoming events this week and into the future.

March 1-14 Skimo Racing News Shorts: Powder Keg, Five Peaks, Pierra Menta, Skimo East

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It was a busy two weeks of racing in North America and Europe! Read on to if you have missed anything.
» For previous weekend’s racing news see here.

USA West

Wasatch Powder Keg – March 4-6, 2016

The Wasatch Powder Keg and North American Ski Mountaineering Championships held at Brighton Ski Resort brought together some stiff competition for the racers and big challenges for the race organization.
The Friday night sprint race was a big success with Tom Goth from Salt Lake City and Kylee Toth Ohler of Calgary taking home the North American Sprint Championship titles. The sprint race course was a 107 meter (353 feet) climb with a flat start, several switch backs, a boot-pack, and another short climb followed by an 8 downhill gates descent. The fastest men’s time for any lap was Tom Goth’s 3:18 winning lap. The fastest women’s time was a tie between Kylee’s winning lap and Gemma Arro’s qualification lap in 4:08.

The individual race was held on Saturday in beautiful spring conditions. Tom Goth again took the North American Individual Championship title while Stevie Kremer of Crested Butte drove late into the night to race and win the Women’s title. The winning times were 2h 13min for Tom and 2h 35min for Stevie.
The 2016 Powder Keg individual race was held on a new course that utilized less in-bounds terrain and was enjoyed by all racers. The course conditions were challenging with a hard refreeze on Friday night leading to some very hard and icy climbs early in the day. We were excited to have our largest junior showing to date with 6 male and 3 female athletes ranging in age from 9 to 16.

Why the teams race was cancelled!
Why the teams race was cancelled!
The race organization had been watching the weather closely all week and were anticipating a Sunday morning storm. Contingency course plans were set in motion on Saturday afternoon, however, Sunday morning brought a much stronger storm than expected. The organizers and volunteers headed out on the course and 5 minutes prior to the race start made a difficult decision to cancel the event. Snow was falling at more than an inch per hour, ridge top winds were sustained at over 35 mph and gusting to 75 mph, making snow-pack stability quickly deteriorating. While disappointed, all racers were supportive of the decision and most made the best of it with their own in-bounds team vertical to the top of the Millicent Express Lift.
Results HERE
Thanks to Mike Foote, Chad Brackelsberg and Nick Francis for their contribution!

The Five Peaks – March 12, 2016:

Breckenridge Resort held the annual Five Peaks teams race despite somewhat sparse snow conditions. Marshall Thomson and Rory Kelly went relatively unchallenged on the men’s side while Stevie Kremer and Lindsay Plant stayed almost 10min ahead of Jessie Young and Jari Hiatt.
The Five Peaks RESULTS
The Five Peaks Photos

Jessie Young and Photo: Climbbetty.com
Jessie Young and Jari Hiatt on one of the boot-packs. Photo: Climbbetty.com
Want to see more coverage of women’s racing? We need a female correspondent! Send us an email if you’d like to contribute!

8e9db461-0ecd-40e8-b569-c009c6ba4284Upcoming:

Next up on the COSMIC schedule is Cody’s Challenge in Steamboat Springs, CO.
Also make sure to save the date on April 9th for the Big Sky Shedhorn Skimo race. This promises to be an exciting one, with crampons, ice axe and whippet on the mandatory gear list (!?). Check out their Facebook Page for more info and updates as well as registration.

USA East

Jay Peak – March 5, 2016:

Photo: Stephenie Cote
Photo: Stephenie Cote
The longest-running skimo venue in New England since 2005, the Jay Peak race was totally revamped two seasons ago by Quebec Dynafit rep Jeff Rivest, now co-director of Skimo East. Although entirely in-bounds, racers were appropriately challenged by difficult boot-packs and steep descents, sometimes even in tight glades. And unlike the rest of New England during this “historic” “winter” season, Jay Peak actually had lots of snow! Long-time Quebec champion and former professional cyclist, George Visser took the win, followed by Northern NH trail runner Andrew Drummond in his skimo season debut, and Boston-area Brian MacIlvain in his first major podium. Skimo East co-director and former Canadian Olympic cyclist Lyne Bessette was the top woman and also finished fifth overall, only several seconds off the podium.

Owl’s Head – March 6, 2016:

Although various Presidential candidates might object that Owl’s Head is on the other side of any pending border wall, this Quebec stop in the Skimo East series the following day was combined with Jay Peak for the weekend standings. George Visser and Andrew Drummond once again took the top two spots, but Northern NH famed mountain man Tristan Williams made the podium in only his third skimo race. Lyne Bessette dominated the female field as always, placed fifth overall in only a little over a minute off the podium, and took third overall for the combined weekend results. In the combined weekend’s highly unofficial Nations Cup, the United States avenged its split decision against Canada over a month earlier at Burke by winning on all four conceivable measures.
Photos by David Moore

Magic Mountain – March 12, 2016:

Although the nation moved the clocks ahead a mere hour on the weekend, New England seemed to skip a month ahead with the final weekend of operations for many ski resorts. Fortunately, Magic in Southern VT had just enough remaining snow for long efficient skin tracks and some decent skiing. As for the boot-pack, who needs snow for that, right? Jerimy Arnold took the win followed by Josh Flanagan, with QT2 Systems triathlon coach John Spinney on his first podium in his skimo season debut.
Skimo East Results HERE

Photo: Stephenie Cote
Photo: Stephenie Cote

Upcoming:

Pending ski resort closures and dwindling terrain options have led to a game of musical chairs for the remaining races. The disappearance of the Northern VT backcountry snowpack has cancelled the Bolton Valley 24-hour race and the Sugarbush traditional race, so the Southern VT Bromley race has been moved ahead to March 19 to take advantage of the resulting opportunity in the schedule and the remaining snow. The Northern VT Stowe evening crit-style race on still on for March 26, as is the Central VT Pico race for March 27 even though the resort will have been closed for two weeks by then.
Thanks to our Skimo East SkinTrack.com correspondent Jonathan Shefftz for the write-up!

Canada

No racing took place in Western Canada since our last update (good for the Coastal guys who have been enjoying lots of powder lately) but we are looking forward to Canadian National Championships – the Ken Jones Classic in Lake Louise, AB. This is shaping up to be potentially one of the most competitive skimo races in Western Canada in recent history. A strong contingent of skiers from the Coast will be looking to challenge the Rockies locals but registrations are coming in from the US as well.
Nick Elson will be trying to take his second and consecutive National Championship title but will have a couple of serious challengers. There are the usual suspects like Peter Knight, Travis Brown, Stano Faban… but Rob Krar, an ultra-running champion, will be looking to see where he stacks up among the Canadians if he plans to make a National Team bid for next season. On the women’s side, Kylee Toth Ohler is skiing very strong at the moment but with Melanie Bernier back on this side of the Atlantic, the two will most likely fight it out.
If you are looking for a reason to visit the gem of Rockies, book a ticket to Calgary, come race at Lake Louise and then shred pow in Rogers Pass the rest of the week!
Registration is LIVE

Europe

Photo: Pierra Menta Facebook Page
The classic ridge climb to the summit of the Grand Mont. Photo: Pierra Menta Facebook Page

Pierra Menta – March 9-12, 2016:

It’s the mythical Pierra Menta – four days of racing in beautiful Areches-Beaufort, France. We would have written separate articles for each stage if we had a correspondent in attendance (like last year) but here’s a quick summary:
Killian Jornet and Matheo Jacquemond dominated by winning three of the four stage and by 10 min lead over 10 hours of racing. The Italian favourites (last year’s champions) dropped out with an ear infection while the other Italian team – Michelle Boscacci and Robert Antonioli – skied to a strong 3rd place overall finish. They were bested to second place by the French team and hometown favourite cheese maker William Bon Mardion and Xavier Gachet.
For the women, the ‘Queen’ of skimo Laetitia Roux paired with her young French phenom teammate Axelle Mollaret and really dominated the race, winning the overall by 50 min over 13 hours of racing!  This must have been a bit of a pill to swallow for Roux’s long time Pierra Menta teammate Mireia Miro who was competing with her Spanish teammate Claudia Galicia and finishing in second. The Italian team of Katia Tomatis and Martina Valmassoi rounded out the podium.

Pierra Menta 2016 Champions. I just don't understand how that is not the skin suit of the Canadian National Team - flannel and jeans!?
Pierra Menta 2016 Champions. We don’t understand how that is not the official skin suit of the Canadian National Team, flannel and jeans, eh? 🙂
While the Canadians didn’t field any teams this year, USA sent the Colorado dream team of John Gaston and Max Taam as well as Scott Simmons and Paul Hamilton (making his debut on the European skimo circuit). Gaston and Taam raced well the entire week, maintaining a steady position, and finished in 15th, tying the previous best men’s North American finish. Simmons and Hamilton went very well the first three days but botched the last day. Yet they still finished with a very respectable 41st place.
Videos and Results HERE

Upcoming:

The ISMF calendar continues with a vertical, individual, and sprint event in Mondole, Italy at the Prato Nevoso ski area. Hurting badly for snow earlier in the year, Prato Nevoso is looking good to go. Don’t expect Kilian Jornet to slow down and Laetitia Roux will likely continue to dominate with the loss of several top women to injury.
The next Grande Course race to come is the bi-annual Tour du Rutor in Italy at the beginning of April.
ISMF Racing News
Check out our big 2015/16 skimo calendar for upcoming events this week and into the future. Still lots of racing left this season!
 

Jan 16-17 News Shorts: John Gaston races a World Cup while others battle back home, Kilian Jornet wins twice

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Max Taam leads the 2016 COSMIC Sunlight Dynafit Heathen Challenge. Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Max Taam leads the 2016 COSMIC Sunlight Dynafit Heathen Challenge. Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Another full weekend of racing in the US and Europe while the Canadian Series takes a break. Read on for more news from last week in skimo!

USA

Heathen Challenge
Racers convened at Sunlight Resort in Colorado for the Dynafit Heathen Challenge. The race featured beautiful weather and a full course with 4500+ feet of climbing. Max Taam put together a solid performance throughout with a small group of chasers to push the pace. Paul Hamilton, Teague Holmes, and Brian Smith all fought to round out the podium with Hamilton and Holmes edging out Smith.
Jessie Young continued her domination of the women’s scene finishing one minute ahead of Lindsay Plant and two minutes ahead of Sari Anderson!
» See full results HERE
Whitefish Whiteout

Peter Knight skiing to victory at the Whitefish Whiteout. Peter Knight Instagram.
Peter Knight skiing to victory at the Whitefish Whiteout. Peter Knight Instagram.
The Whiteout’s eight edition, traditionally held at Whitefish Resort in Montana, delivered deep powder as it usually does! A large contingent of Canadians traveled south for the race to take on a strong group of Montanans. Peter Knight (CAN) took off hard from the line with his eyes on the the hill climb prime. After waiting for the chase pack, the group stayed close together before the fresh snow started to take its toll on racers and their skins. Several athletes blew skins before arriving at the final cat track climb to the finish. Knight attacked Mike Foote, an accomplished distance runner, for the win with a local legend Ben Parsons coming from behind to take 3rd place.
Women’s race recap from Ben Parsons: “Adrian from Bozeman took it. Najeeby, an ultra-runner from Alaska, was hot to the top for the climb prime but missed a critical turn on the third descent and lost positions. Michelle Roberts (CAN) was a solid second and Katie French brought home third for locals glory!
» See full results HERE

Canada

Racing resumes next week in both the East and Western series. The next race in Western Canada is the new Lizard Skinner event in Fernie, BC on Jan 23rd. The next Skimo East event will be at Berkshire East on Jan 23.

Europe

Men's Font Blanca Individual World Cup Podium. ISMF Photo
Men’s Font Blanca Individual World Cup Podium. ISMF Photo
The World Cup circuit met for the first time this season at Font Blanca in Andorra for an individual and a vertical race. Last year, the race was plagued by severe weather causing chaos for the organizers to decide on a course in touchy avalanche conditions. This time around, despite a lack of snow in the alps, the Pyrenees were again hit with a major winter storm. The organizers were under immense pressure to put on a well run event and by all accounts seem to have succeeded. The individual was shortened to about 1300m and its start was delayed several hours due to severe weather and ran on a smaller circuit on-piste.
In the individual, to no-ones surprise, Kilian Jornet (SPA) took the win, however, a young Michelle Boscacci (ITA) finished close behind, pushing Jornet throughout the whole race. Werner Marti (SWI) also surprised with a podium position as he is known more for his vertical race abilities. The rest of the Italian team seems to have had a difficult race, finishing lower on the results sheet. The lack of off-piste descents may have played in favour of the less technically skilled descenders in the field while the usual downhill rockets were kept at bay – William Bon Mardion (FRA) and Robert Antonioli (ITA).
While there were only 25 senior women competing in the individual race the sharp end of the field was very strong. Emelie Forsberg (SWE) won only by 20 seconds in front of Spaniards Claudia Galicia and Laura Orgue (previously only considered a threat in vertical events) who rounded out the podium. The previously super-dominant Laetitia Roux finished fifth, one of her lowest results in recent memory, while she is still recovering from a surgery couple of months ago.
In the vertical race, Jornet repeated his win, with a Swiss Espoir Remi Bonnet upsetting the rest of the field to place second, and Michele Boscacci taking third. The women’s race (39 took to the start line) was handily won by Laura Orgue as was mostly expected since she has a strong nordic skiing history. Second went to Emelie Forsberg and third to Victoria Kreuzer of Switzelrand.
The lone North American competitor, John Gaston (USA) finished 30th in the individual and 32nd in the vertical. John had this to say about the races:

Andorra went pretty well.
Like everyone, I was bummed to see Saturday’s individual course changed. The 4 lap alternate was about as far out of my warehouse as it could have been. Loads of long flat skinning sections that put a premium on glide and technique, and zero technical or hard skiing to make back some time. Still, I felt pretty good and finished strong, so that’s all I could have asked for.
Sunday’s vertical was exact same as last year – I tried to go out harder and stick with their pace for longer – a strategy I knew in advance wasn’t totally smart. Still, these Euros have such amazing speed compared to anything we see in NA, so you’ve got to give it a go. I actually made up a few spots in the last half of the race which was a good confidence boost, but got crushed trying to sprint past that Spanish dude Marc Pinsach at the finish, and as a result got beaten on the line by some sneaky German kid lurking behind me, ready to pounce after I tried my move on Mr. Spanish. Haha, good times. Definitely the highest avg HR I’ve ever maintained in any race/sport, ever.
Kilian was incredible to watch and he’s obviously incredibly fit right now. He was just so patient at the starts and so calculated when and how he’d make his attacks. His vertical was ridiculous – like 30s faster than last year or something. He literally started jogging on that long straight upper part (not usually something Euros do, since they glide so well). He looked so casual about it.

» See full results HERE
ISMF Individual Race Video:

ISMF Vertical Race Video:

Thanks to Peter Knight and Ben Parsons for words, and Myke Hermsmeyer and ISMF Skimo for photos.
 

Jan 10-11 News Shorts: Skimo racing weekend all over the World

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This past weekend was the first big racing weekend of the season with events happening all over North America and several National Championships in Europe.

The field takes off at Outdoor Retailer skimo event. Myke Hermsmeyer photo.
The field takes off at Outdoor Retailer skimo event. Myke Hermsmeyer photo.

USA

On Thursday, part of the huge Outdoor Retailer event in Salt Lake City (stay tuned for new gear news tomorrow), there was a skimo demo event held at Solitude Resort, Utah. Racers completed four laps for a total ascent of just over 700m. Tom Goth pulled away early and held on for the win. Marshall Thompson and Pete Swenson rounded out the podium. The women’s event looks to have been won by Janelle Smiley with Jax Koudele on the podium (though we are waiting for result confirmation!).
Western US racers will reconvene next at Sunlight Resort for the Heathen Challenge.

Canada

Canadian Team women ready for sprint finals!
Canadian Team women ready for sprint finals!
In Canada, the Western contingent met at Castle Mountain Resort in Alberta for a double header. Saturday was the first ever sprint event held in Canada. Despite a relatively small turnout, the event was fast paced and featured a fun course. Racers had three rounds of sprinting and the Men’s event was won by Eric Carter (SkinTrack.com) with Travis Brown and Matt Reid rounding out the podium. With just three women racing, the ladies had a great chance to practice sprinting against each other. In the finals, Mel Bernier won handily with Kylee Ohler putting on a good fight to keep Bernier honest, with Michell Roberts completing the podium.
Sunday’s individual event featured two big climbs covering 1500m of vertical ascent. The race began with a very technical skin track to the very top of the resort where it followed a ridge that became more and more exposed to blasting winds as the race continued. The first descent of an in-bounds 700m chute was in good shape and made for a fast descent. The second climb began on groomed runs before turning out of the resort boundary and up a steep cat skiing road that made skinning very difficult. However, we were rewarded with an excellent descent down untouched cat ski terrain in nice powder to the finish line.
Men's Semi-Finals at Castle Mountain sprint race. Marc Gallup photo.
Men’s Semi-Finals at Castle Mountain sprint race. Marc Gallup photo.
Peter Knight took off hard from the gun but was quickly stripped of the lead by Nick Elson, clearly on a mission for redemption after falling in a semi-final heat and missing the chance for a top spot in the sprint. Elson took off up the technical skinning section and showed his skinning abilities, holding his lead over Eric Carter and Knight for the remainder of the race. The women mixed in with the men and spread out a bit, but kept the same finish order as the previous day – Bernier, Ohler, Roberts.
» 2016 Castle Mountain complete race results (PDF)
Western Canadian racers will be heading next weekend south of the border to race the Whitefish Whiteout before returning to the southern Canadian Rockies for the new Lizard Skinner event in Fernie, BC.
Meanwhile, at Mont Tremblant, the quickly growing Skimo East series contingent met for their first race of the season. Athletes had two hours to complete as many laps as possible of the course. Each loop featured 500m vertical gain and two booters with the leaders completing three. George Visser was challenged by newcomer Joel Desgreniers with Patrick Lussier rounding out the podium. Lyne Bessette the only female to complete three laps with Carmen Labbe and Isabelle Marcotte finishing 2nd and 3rd with two laps each. The next Skimo East event will be at Berkshire East on Jan 23.

Europe

While much of Europe has been in a drought for snow, several countries held their national championship events. The usual suspects took the majority of the top places though a surprise did come with Emelie Forsberg beating Latetia Roux in the French Champs at Maribel.
National Champions:

  • Switzerland: Martin Anthamatten & Jennifer Flichter
  • Austria: Christian Hoffman & ?
  • France: William Bon Mardion & Laetitia Roux
  • Italy: Michelle Boscacci & Roberta Pedranzini

Racers are now making their way towards Andorra for the first World Cup of the season:

Race Recap: Vert180 Skimo Race

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“Oh great, now I get to be beaten by two people wearing tutu’s...” - Peter Knight
“Oh great, now I get to be beaten by two people wearing tutu’s…” – Peter Knight
The Vert180 is the annual season opener for the Canadian Skimo Calendar. While the setting may not be spectacular alpine peaks, there is no shortage of energy that descends on Calgary Olympic Park the first weekend in December.
Eighty-five racers toed the line at Winsport in Calgary on Saturday in three categories: solo, 2 person teams, and 4 person teams. Racers had 180 minutes to complete as many of the 150m ascent and descent laps as possible. The course was slightly different this year, climbing with skins almost to the top, then a bootpack to the top of the chairlift followed by a descent to the start/ finish area. As always the race involved less technical elements but a lot of mental strength as you lap again and again for three hours.
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Great to see some new faces making the transition into skimo!
Prior to the start of the race, National Team members held a clinic that started with a presentation by Melanie Bernier on the history of skimo racing, what the sport is all about and the race scene in Europe. The 10 athletes and their instructors then headed outside and practiced transitions; tips for race transitions but also useful tips for the backcountry. Strides and movement efficiency were discussed and kick-turns were demo’d and practiced.
As expected, National Team members Travis Brown and Peter Knight started the race hard with Melanie Bernier and Steve Sellers giving a strong chase. The laps took their toll, however, no-one could quite match Travis’ 18 total laps. Peter and Steve both finished with 17 laps (Steve placing well despite a ski lost into the trees during botched top-transition).
Hot dog!
Hot dog!
On the women’s side there was no surprise to see Melanie Bernier in good form, giving the boys a run for their money spinning 17 laps. The race for second and third was a bit more spread out with Kylee Ohler completing 16 laps and Michelle Roberts finishing with 15. Many impressive results by recreational back country skiers trying the sport for the first time. In addition to the elite spandex racer crew, there were 3 split boarders, tutu clad competitors, someone dressed as a giant hot dog, competitive rivalries between MEC teams, competitors from age 16-60, lots of high fives and laughter.
On the junior front, Marcus Zamzow got in 6 laps in 1.5 hours. A dramatic improvement over his race effort last year. No one pushed him for the victory. There were some other good efforts on pretty heavy gear!
Results HERE
The stoke is high as the snow is falling and people are getting geared up for the next four races on the Canadian circuit! Next up in Canada is the Castle Mountain Ski Mountaineering Race on Jan 9/10. This weekend, racing continues in Crested Butte with the Irwin Guides race cancelled due to lack of snow. Instead a vertical and ‘make-up’ individual race will take place at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
12347884_10153246900160233_671854468609854052_nIMG_2433Thanks for Steve Sellers, Kylee Toth, and Melanie Bernier for contributing words and photos.
 

2015 Wolf Creek Classic Race Recap

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Scott Simmons and Marshall Thompson leading the charge at the 2015 Wolf Creek Classic. Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Scott Simmons and Marshall Thompson leading the charge at the 2015 Wolf Creek Classic. Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Carnage at Wolf Creek! Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Carnage at Wolf Creek! Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
This weekend marked the opening skimo race of the 2015-2016 North American calendar. Held at Wolf Creek, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, 75 racers turned out (including a strong contingent from the U.S. Army and National Guard) for a lung burner of a race.
The course featured almost entirely skin track ascents with technical switchbacks, a couloir, skiing along a knife edge ridge, and five ascents to sufficiently challenge the competitors.
Temps were hovering around 1 deg F (-17 C) at the start line. As usual, the race started aggressively with Scott Simmons and Marshall Thompson leading the charge. A chase group, including Teague Holmes and Jon Brown, formed and applied pressure but could not close the gap while the leaders battled hard and stayed tight.
A smaller women’s field was still strong. Sara Kadlec, Catherine Richmond, and Stevie Kremer traded around for the top three spots with Kremer suffering a dramatic crash mid-race, accompanied by skin issues.
During the late stages of the race, Simmons pulled away from Thompson to finish with almost a minute lead and Holmes rounded out the men’s podium. On the women’s side, Kadlec took the win with a significant lead over Richmond and Kremer.
Stevie Kremer booting with failing skins at the Wolf Creek Classic. Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Stevie Kremer booting with failing skins at the Wolf Creek Classic. Myke Hermsmeyer Photo.
Of great note is the 7th place finisher, 14-years old Quinn Simmons, racing on his dad’s retired gear. It is safe to say we can expect big things from this athlete in the next few years!
Check out the next COSMIC Race at Irwin Backcountry Lodge on Dec 12th and the first event on the Canadian calendar coming up Dec 5th at Calgary Olympic Park and as always stay tuned to SkinTrack.com for updates and recaps!
Thanks to Joe Risi, Teague Holmes, and Myke Hermsmeyer for the info on how it all went down and be sure to check out Myke (on his website or Instagram) who graciously provided the excellent photos.

‘Crossing the line to familiar, and many new smiles, I remembered why I toe in to the line and pin it. This sport is a total blast with damn rad folks!’ – Teague Holmes

Results: HERE

Report: 3rd Annual SkinTrack Summer Training Camp

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Over the last weekend (Sep 4-6, 2015), we hosted the 3rd annual SkinTrack Summer Skimo Training Camp, with activities based around Whistler BC.

As close to revealing himself as it gets.
Trevor as close to revealing himself as it gets.
The camped kicked off at Escape Route, a local outdoor store in Squamish, with a presentation by a local steep skier and Dynafit athlete Trevor Hunt (@coaststeepskier on Instagram).
Forty skiers turned up while Trevor gave an exciting presentation where he highlighted five local steep descents including the North Face of Atwell and the Ledge.
His presentation sparked some interesting discussion and questions ranging from gear (he uses Dynafit TLT6 boots on Denali skis with Expedition Bindings) to how he copes with fear.

Saturday

Eric Carter leading just before cramps got best of him 20 seconds from the line.
Eric leading just before cramps got best of him 20 seconds from the line.
The core training camp group met in Whistler Village where a few of us competed in the first ever edition of the Whistler Valley to Peak running race. The race was 20km with 1800m of elevation gain climbing from the village, up mountain bike trails and service roads, to finish at the peak of Whistler via the beautiful High Note trail.
Eric Carter came second but was very close to winning until cramps got best of him just metres from the line.
Those not racing opted for a slightly less gruelling option of running the Signing Pass trail to High Note to cheer for the racers. After lunch on the deck in Whistler, we returned for some recovery time in Squamish and a BBQ dinner with the group.
skimo_camp_2015_3
Couple of non-racers enjoying the beautiful views and weather.

Sunday

Despite a dreary weather forecast for Sunday, we opted to head into the alpine and hope for the best. Parking at the Rainbow Lake trail-head in Whistler, we headed up the trail with an ambitious plan of a high alpine traverse over Rainbow Peak to connect two valleys and form a perfect loop.

We crossed two glaciers in the process.
We crossed two glaciers in the process. Second and fourth here are Adam Campbell and Nick Elson, arguably the two fastest 50-150km runners in Canada.
Luckily for us, the weather held. We jogged the trail to the beautiful Rainbow Lake and then started climbing scree slopes and rock slabs to reach the Rainbow Glacier. Snow fall from several days prior had covered the glacier ice giving it a nice clean coat.
Part of our group marveling over nature's ability to create mysterious creations.
Part of our group marveling over nature’s ability to create mysterious creations.
By descending the NE side of the peak and shoulder, we linked up with the recently completed beautiful Skywalk Trail – a new addition built by the Alpine Club of Canada Whistler Section. Skywalk led us down Nineteen Mile Creek and after 6 hours, 30km and 1800m of vert we were back to our cars!

Thank You

We’d like to say thank you to Trevor Hunt, Escape Route, Dynafit and as well the athletes who attended the training camp. We can’t wait to do it again next year!