2011 Race Schedule

The 2011 race schedule is up. See you in January ... keep training!

Trail Work Time!

Remember how much fun you had skiing at Cabin Creek last winter?
Please come and help us get those trails ready for next winter!

Sunday, September 19, 9:00, or whenever you can get there

We’ll barbecue hamburgers and bake a cake for everyone. If you can come, please bring your own drinks and a potluck dish to share.

Ozzie, the trail master, will have trail work projects to assign. Please bring any yard work tools you own, but if you don’t have any, don’t worry—we have some to share, and there will be plenty of important projects that don’t require tools (or gardening expertise!).

Your kids are very welcome, of course, and so are your friends!
Please RSVP to Debbie Kolp at xcskigirl04@yahoo.com or 206-784-6296.

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

Cabin Creek Sno-Park, exit 63 on I-90

future trail work dates: October 9, 10, 30, and 31
(October 10 is Global Work Party Day; www.350.org)

Mar 17, Relay and Party

Daylight! Sunshine! Soft temps and fast snow and enough of it to allow us one last sprint relay, out the road to the intersection and back. The last headlamp race of the season is always bittersweet: I hate to see the season end, but the relay and post-relay party are always so much fun. As is our tradition, we mixed people up to create just-for-fun relay teams, so we had fast skiers paired with slower, and kids paired with parents (and even grandparents!). There was even room for late-comers to jump in for a lap or two. We finished just as it grew dark, and headed into the cabin for dinner (including Brian's barbecuing of the largest piece of meat ever seen that isn't still mooing), socializing, and fabulous draw prizes. Thanks to the generosity of Brent (Mr Helle Hansen and Mr Mila) and Jon (Mr Madshus), everyone in the cabin went home with something new and fun.

So that's it for the year, and it's time to spread some thanks around. Thank you, Brent, for continuing to be the guiding force behind this popular race series. Thank you, Brian, for taking on race director responsibilities when Brent had to travel for work (and for picking up race results and grooming trails and doing anything else that needed doing!) Thank you, Robert and Ozzie, for grooming the course for us every Wednesday. Thank you, Jeff and Carey and Tim and Jason, for bringing teams of kids up to the races, instilling in them a sense of adventure and a love for the sport. And thanks especially to all the racers and just skiin' folks, the skiers who continue week after week to make the trek up to the pass after work on a Wednesday night for the privilege of skiing around in the dark with your headlamps! Without you, there would be no race series, no cars in the parking lot, no lights twinkling through the trees, no happy conversation and laughter in the cabin afterward.

Check the Kongsberger website later this summer for our fall trail work schedule (www.kongsbergers.org); we'd love to have you join us in our efforts to get the trails in tip-top condition for next winter. And check back to this blog in December for next year's headlamp racing schedule.

In the meantime, have a great summer and, as US Ski Team coach Pete Vordenberg suggests, "Train. Train well, train a lot, train hard, balance it with rest. Train."

Goodbye until next year!

Season Age Group Winners
Women 20-29 (two skiers)
Linnea Rooke and Jo Smith (tie)

Women 30-39 (three skiers)
Ann Grodnik

Women 40-49 (four skiers)
Mona Deprey and Elizabeth Bailey (tie)

Women 50-59 (three skiers)
xcskigirl

Junior Boys (eight skiers)
Jordan Guzak

Junior Girls (two skiers)
Nathalie Cushing

Tiny Juniors (two skiers)
Magnus Melbourne

Men 20-29 (five skiers)
Rob Lehtinen

Men 30-39 (13 skiers)
Jon Fewster

Men 40-49 (11 skiers)
Rune Harkestad

Men 50-59 (12 skiers, old guys with nothing better to do on a Wednesday night)
Brian Dumais

Men 60-69 (2 skiers)
Max Limb

Mar 17, Preview

It's hard to believe, but headlamp racing is almost over for the season! This Wednesday, March 17, is the last race of the year. Here is the schedule, although with the time change you won't need a headlamp.

6:30 pick teams
6:45 Sprint Relays (skate & classic, up & down the road to the trail crossing)
7:15 BBQ Pot luck dinner. Grills available.
8:00 prizes

Everyone who raced this winter will be in the pool for draw prizes. We hope to see you there!

Mar 10, Classic

Snow conditions and end-of-the-season weariness may be conspiring to reduce our numbers, but still some people were out there racing and just skiin'. Thank you, Brian, for picking up the results list while I was on the last leg of my trip.

Next week: last race of the season, a two-person sprint relay, mass start at 6:30. After the race, a BBQ and party in the cabin, with prizes from our sponsor, Helle Hansen! See you there ...

Masters, Viking loop
Jon Fewster, 17:48
Brian Dumais, 17:55
Dale Bohm, 25:27

Just Skiin'
Jeff McGrew
Jakub Kosta
Chris Queitzsch
Eric Kamila
Kyle Nagle

Mar 3, Skate

I was on vacation in the Land of Snow for the last two weeks, so I'm trying to catch up with all of you headlampers. Brent sent me a report from last week; it looks like racers did a variety of courses, which will make it interesting for him to figure out the age group winners!

Here is his report on conditions:

We had wet snow which froze up later in the evening under clear skies. Due to the increasingly thin snow in some places, a variety of courses was skied. Most opted for down the road, around Berg, around Pk x2. Unless more snow/less snow happens, that will be the course for next week, too.

Next week, March 17, is the last week of this year's headlamp race season, so save the date. It's hard to believe this rainy winter is over already, but now it's time to celebrate. We'll do two-person pick-your-own-partner sprint relays starting at 6:30 (no variable starts this time) and a big party in the cabin afterward, possibly with prizes from our sponsors. (I haven't checked with Brent yet, so maybe I'm dreaming this part.) Don't miss it!

Masters, ???k
Option A: two laps of Berg plus PK
Jim Slyfield, 17:32
Dale Bohm, 18:45

Option B: two laps out the road to Berg and PK
Brian Dumais, 14:24
Christopher Fast, 14:25
Brent Turner, 14:47
Jeremy Littell, 15:36
Rob Lehtiner, 16:40
Jim Wood, 17:28
Jessica Kleiss, 18:01
Eric Kamila, 18:37
Carey Gazis, 20:30

Option C: two laps out the road to Berg with no PK
Jon Fewster, 12:10
Brad Kaesch, 13:36
Mona Deprey, 15:50

Just Skiin'
Ozzie Nordheim (also setting the tracks; thanks, Ozzie!)
Frank Harris
Rob Corkran
Kent Murdoch
Roberto Carcelen (Peru's Olympic team; yay, Roberto!)
Jason Paur
Catherina C.
Donna
Kyle Nagle (cooling down after the American Birkebeiner)
Dan Gilchrist
Kevin Wood,
Sharon Chen
US Census Lady (huh?)

Feb 24, Classic

Slyfield's inspirational words greeted us when we arrived: "Embrace the suck!" You really had to love skiing to head up to the pass this week, what with the temps in the upper 30's, heavy heavy rain, and areas of standing water on the freeway. But sure enough, there was a handful of cars in the parking lot, a smattering of headlamps on the trails, and the cabin, warm and glowing in the trees, drawing us in after our race for dry clothes and Olympics talk, along with some spicy German beer Jon discovered in Munich and gooey brownies someone left for us.

Robert, glass half full, summed it up: "The snow is surprisingly not that bad!" Most of the course had been groomed for skating, leaving a firm wet platform, so we set our own tracks, and it was a fine exercise in balance and technique. Jon and Brian declared it perfect conditions for zeros and fluoros, while Chris's colorful mix of klisters gave him neither kick nor glide. A great time was had by all; thanks, guys, for a fun evening!

Bonus points for the drive up: in between downpours, a symphony, Variations on a Rainbow. Bonus points for the drive home: the moon, peeking out and turning the billowy clouds silver.

Next week: skating -- ski it while we have it! Good luck to everyone headed to the American Birkebeiner!

Masters, 5k
Jon Fewster, 16:44
Brian Dumais, 17:20
Chris Fast, 21:22
Dale Bohm, 23:14
Jim Slyfield, 27:52
Debbie Kolp, 29:00

Just Skiin'
Frank Harris
Gunnar Unneland
Jim Lindsey
Robert Hardwick
Kevin Wood
Sharon Chen
Dan Gilchrist
Eric Kamila

Feb 24, Conditions Preview

Finally! Snow overnight, mixed rain and snow right now. Ozzie is in Falun and not able to give me any news, so here is last night's report from Robert, the groomer:

I am currently grooming at cabin creek, it is snowing lightly, but the trails are very icy and difficult to groom, expect bad conditions tomorrow unless we get some accumulation for which I will be back out there tomorrow afternoon. A classic track is virtually impossible to set right now, because of how hard the snow is. The skate lane is satisfactory on the road. Around the viking skating would be very difficult because of the ice balls, brought up from my groomer. Sorry for this and I will have them ready for the weekend.

Sounds a little bleak, but hey, tough conditions create strong skiers!

PS. I will be delivering hot new Seattle Nordic ski suits for those of you who ordered them -- they look awesome!

Feb 17, Skate

Thanks to Tim, Maria and Ann for updating me on race conditions. It sounds like it was a great night for skiing: a little slushy earlier in the afternoon, but firm and fast after Robert groomed and the temperature dropped, and millions of stars! There were fewer people than normal, due to midwinter break for kids, but those that were there enjoyed the evening. Only four more weeks of headlamp skiing left, so TiVo the Olympics, grab your friends, and come on up!

Masters, 5k
Brent Turner, 55, 13:44
Chris Fast, 43, 14:13
Jeremy Littell, 36, 14:15
Kyle Nagle, 36, 14:25
Tim Melbourne, 41, 14:29
Rob Lehtinen, 29, 15:46
Dale Bohm, 51, 16:27
Mona Deprey, 43, 16:38
Jim Wood, 27, 16:44
Eric Kamila, 36, 17:18
Ann Grodnik, 34, 18:16
Maria Balsamo, 45, 20:44
Elizabeth Bailey, 49, 21:13

Tiny Juniors, 1.5k
Nils Melbourne, 8, 6:10
Magnus Melbourne, 10, 6:19

Just Skiin'
Brian Palm
Jeff Hashimoto
Carey Gazis
13 Ellensburg kids

Feb 10, Classic

Snow, beautiful snow, falling falling from the deep dark sky, cuddling the tree branches and tickling our eyelashes and raising everyone's spirits. Winter isn't over yet; perhaps the east coast's Snow-mageddon is sending its extra snowflakes our way.

It seems like almost every week there is a real disparity in conditions between the early starters and the later ones: sometimes the early skiers get the fast conditions, sometimes they get the slow ones, but never has it been more true than this week. Ozzie reported icy fast conditions in the early afternoon, before the snowstorm hit, while Peter, one of the last skiers, in the midst of the snowstorm, had to stride down the hills, his klister icing in the heavy wet snow. That's what makes Wednesday night headlamp skiing so interesting, and comparing times with your arch-rival so challenging!

Next week: skating. Good luck to everyone going to the Jente Loppet and the Spokane Langlauf ... and the Olympics! Go, Roberto! Go, Holly!

Masters, 5k
Rune Harkestad, 45, 14:11
Jeremy Littell, 36, 16:27
Tim Melbourne, 41, 16:48
Brent Turner, 55, 16:54
Brian Dumais, 52, 17:04
Brian Palm, 50, 17:55
Robert Hardwick, 51, 18:19
Kyle Nagle, 36, 18:45
Jason Paur, 39, 18:57
Jim Slyfield, 52, 19:03
Dale Bohm, 51, 19:45
Peter Boveng, 51, 19:47
Rolf Sunnerup, 44, 20:55
Steve Eastwood, 52, 21:21
Rob Lehtinen, 29, 21:30
Jim Cahill, 49, 21:41
Eric Kamila, 36, 22:22
Jim Wood, 27, 25:48
Debbie Kolp, 56, 26:40
Ann Grodnik, 34, 27:02
Will Scales, 33, 27:44
Elizabeth Bailey, 49, 28:53
Jakub Koška, ??, 28:00
Jo Smith, ??, 33:12
Tomáš Koška, ??, 38:00

Tiny Juniors, 2k
Nils Melbourne, 8, 8:37

Just Skiin'
Ozzie Nordheim
Maria Balsamo
Joy Cordell
Per Johnsen
Frank Harris
Bert Larsson
Paul Kaald
Kare Gjolmesli
Inge Scheve
Zac Altencey
Brad Bauer
Keith Ritland
Jeff Hashimoto
Carey Gazis
15 Ellensburg kids
Ingemar Sunnerup
Finn Sunnerup
13 Bush kids
Greg Jacobson
Peter Turcan
Chris Moore

Feb 10, Conditions Preview

Okay, headlamp skiers, Ozzie just checked in with a report on conditions at Cabin Creek. As of 12:15, he reports that the tracks are in excellent shape and very fast (first he used the word "icy"), and the skiing is fantastic. He recommends a very thin layer of purple or blue klister. He said there were a couple of snowflakes drifting down, but he didn't think they'd amount to much.

See you up there!

Feb 3, Skate

What delicious skiing we had this week! A misty little rain sparkled in our headlamps, mild temps hovered in the mid-30's, and the snow was friendly and forgiving and freshly groomed. It was gorgeous spring skiing, except, of course, that it was dark ... and February. Early February. Never mind; I could have skied all night, but hunger and the reminder that tomorrow is a work day drove me back into the cabin. Even so, when we left at 9:30, there was one more skier still out on the course, the glow from the headlamp flitting through the dark branches. O mystery skier, tell me your name and I'll add it to the list!

Several people expressed interest in seeing weather and condition reports before the races, so I'll ask Ozzie to check in when he's up there early on Wednesdays. Of course, anyone who knows Ozzie knows that every day of skiing is FANTASTIC!

Next week: classic. Good luck to everyone heading to the Boulder Mountain Tour and the JOQs in Bend!

Masters, 5k
Rune Harkestad, 45, 14:08
Jon Fewster, 39, 14:17
Brian Dumais, 52, 14:18
Jeff Hashimoto, 39 (happy birthday!), 14:53
Brent Turner, 55, 15:08
Peter Boveng, 51, 15:23
Max Limb, 64, 15:42
Chris Fast, 43, 16:05
Jeremy Littell, 36, 16:10
Robert Hardwick, 51, 16:23
Brian Palm, 50, 16:23
Tim Melbourne, 41, 16:28
Jason Paur, 39, 16:42
Jim Cahill, 47, 16:49
Rolf Sunnerup, 44, 17:10
Rob Lehtinen, 29, 17:24
Steve Eastwood, 51, 17:29
Dale Bohm, 51, 17:59
Jeff Compton, 38, 18:20
Jim Wood, 27, 18:44
Greg Jacobson, ??, 19:15
Sven Koehler, 39, 19:48
Eric Kamila, 36, 20:15
Jim Slyfield, 52, 20:25
Ann Grodnik, 34, 20:30
Max Sevareid, 36, 20:50
Maria Balsamo, 45, 21:18
Clark Youmans, 41, 21:36
Ann Eastwood, 52, 22:41
Peter Turcan, 52, 22:45
Ian White, 47, 23:09
Elizabeth Bailey, 49, 23:44
Debbie Kolp, 56, 26:05 (classic)
Jeff Posakany, 42, 26:20

Juniors, 2.5k
Jordan Guzak, 15, 8:22
Ryan Davis, 15, 8:35
Nick Manning, 16, 10:12
Ritvik Miskin, 15, 10:13

Tiny Juniors, 2k
Magnus Melbourne, 10, 6:23
Nils Melbourne, 8, 6:26

Just Skiin'
Brad Bauer
Kyle Nagle
Ozzie Nordheim
Kare Gjolmesli
Paul Kaald
Roberto Carcelen (check out the Seattle Times article on Feb 4!)
Kent Murdoch
Bert Larsson

Jan 27, Relay

Thanks to JeffnJoy for picking up the results for me while I was freezing nearly to death at Craftsbury!

Results shown are skating first, classic second.

Masters, each person 3x2.5k
Brad/Kyle, 44:32
Chris/Linnea, 47:46
Jeff/Max, 55:28
Elizabeth/Brian, 57:20
Jakob/Eric, 59:49
Jim/Rob, 1:01:09
Ann/Mona, 1:00:50
Sven/Ryan, 1:14:00

Jan 27, Relay Preview

This Wednesday night will be the first relay of the 2010 headlamp race season. Find a partner and form your own team, one skating and one classic-ing. Each person does three laps of the Berg loop, alternating with his or her partner, starting and ending in front of the timing shed. It's a mass start at 6:30, but you're still self-timed. That's all there is to it -- it's lots of fun!

I'll be out of town this week, so results will be posted next week. Good luck to everyone going to Craftsbury (where David Lindahl is reporting more than two inches of rain) or the Marcialonga this weekend!

Jan 20, Skate

Totally dark headlamp skiing in this year of El Nino is fast becoming an exercise in adaptability. This week we enjoyed a refreshing rain, balmy
mid-30's temps, and a gentle breeze ruffling the tree branches. The snow was wet and fast, with fine coverage, and most of the die-hards were out there, getting in another workout before this weekend's Gunnar Hagen and sampling Jon Fewster's enormous bag of prototype boots and skis.

Good luck to everyone heading to the Gunnar Hagen (online registration closes at midnight tonight) and the Dolomitenlauf!

Masters 5k
Chris Clark, 27, 13:27
Jon Fewster, 39, 13:39
Chris Fast, 43, 14:40
Jeff Hashimoto, 38, 15:00
Tim Melbourne, 41, 15:18
Max Limb, 64, 16:02
Kyle Nagle, 36, 16:11
Brian Palm, 50, 16:12
Jason Paur, 39, 16:27
Jeff McGrew, 50, 16:29
Rolf Sunnerup, 44, 16:40
Linnea Rooke, 23, 17:01
Dale Bohm, 51, 17:03
Jim Slyfield, 52, 18:54
Mona Deprey, 43, 19:02
Jeff Clark, 56, 20:15
Stephanie Kays, 30-39, 20:45
Elizabeth Bailey, 49, 24:02
Debbie Kolp, 56, 25:12 (classic)

Juniors 2.5k
Jimmy Davis, 7:49
Nathalie Cushing, 8:53
Jordan Guzak, 8:53
Ben Corwin, 8:56 (classic)
Sam Hopkins, 10:24
Duncan Foster, 10:31
Griffin Foster, 10:41
Galen Voorhees, 10:58
Nick Manning, 11:05
Dylan Forbes, 11:58
Jillian Gerke, 12:48

Tiny Juniors 2k
Magnus Melbourne, 10, 6:39

Jan 13, classic

Last week we were ice skating; this week we were water skiing. Cabin Creek has something for everyone, including monsoon-like conditions for the drive up and back, with 35-degree temps, heavy heavy rain blowing sideways, and standing lakes of water on the freeway. But still the parking lot was full of cars and buses, and the trails were full of headlamps glowing warmly through the rain. Jon brought his gigantor bag of prototype boots, and lots of people had a chance to test them and give him comments.

Conditions varied widely over the course of the evening: Rune was probably the first racer there, at 3:00, and reported heavy rain, no grooming, and wax frustration, as nothing, not even silver klister, gave him grip. I was probably the last racer to start, at 7:00, and I found heavy rain but great grooming on firm, wet snow, and no-wax skis were just the ticket. In between, people found a little bit of everything, and everyone who showed up deserves a two-minute credit on their next marathon!

Just for fun, here are the conditions in other areas we care about: Winthrop, 33 and mixed rain/snow; Silver Star, 0C and snowing; Cable, Wisconsin, 26 and foggy; Whistler, 36 and raining; Craftsbury, Vermont, 26 and cloudy; Anchorage, 20 and snowing; and Martin reporting from Umeå, 4.50 pm: -16C, clear sky (well, pitch dark, of course).

Here are the masters' results. A large and enthusiastic group of high school skiers showed up also for the first of a three-race series, so I'll post those results as soon as I get them.

Good luck to everyone going to Winthrop for the SuperTour!

Masters 5k
Rune Harkestad, 45, 14:02
Brad Bauer, 36 (happy birthday!), 14:41
Brent Turner, 55, 16:40
Brian Dumais, 52, 16:43
Jon Fewster, 39, 16:43
Chris Clark, 27, 18:09
Robert Hardwick, 51, 18:10
Kyle Nagle, 18:25
Brian Palm, 50, 18:42
Rolf Sunnerup, 44, 18:52
Nikolay Nachev, 19:49
Chris Fast, 43, 19:55
Paul Karas, 66, 20:26
Greg Jacobson, age?, 20:32
Max Limb, 64, 21:30
Eric Kamila, 36, 23:47
Dale Bohm, 51, 23:50
Jeff Clark, 56, 25:00
Ann Grodnik, 34, 25:34
Jessica Kleiss, 32, 26:23
Jim Slyfield, 52, 26:25
Debbie Kolp, 56, 26:30

Lost and ... Lost

By now, some people have probably figured out that they brought the wrong ski bag home, or left the right ski bag behind. Someone took my blue ski bag, with the Christmas tree hanging from the zipper pull and the Kongsberger ski ties inside, and I really want it back. Plus, someone took a black Lakeside Nordic ski bag with skis inside, and Marla really wants that back. Plus, someone left behind a brand new Fischer ski bag, with price tag still attached, and a Bush School person picked it up and gave it to me. All the bags want to go back to their real owners, so if any of this sounds familiar to you, PLEASE let me know (xcskigirl04@yahoo.com, or leave a comment) and let's get this sorted out.

Thanks!

Jan 6, Skate

The first headlamp race of the season, and it was as dark and cold and icy as the inside of the freezer, or, as Elizabeth so delicately put it, "hard as rocks and cold as snot." Even so, it was really fun to come up to Cabin Creek for the evening and see the parking lot full of cars, the trails full of headlamps, and the dark dark sky full of stars. Inside the cabin, it was cheery and bright, and we warmed up with the scrumptious chocolate cake Jim made for ... someone's birthday.

Come on up and join us next week -- there is no better way to shake off the dust of your office!

Masters, 5k
Brad Bauer, 36, 11:31
Rune Harkestad, 45, 12:07
Chris Clark, 27, 12:43
Jon Fewster, 39, 12:58
Arnie Liati, 40, 13:30
Brian Dumais, 52, 13:58
Jeremy Littell, 35, 14:00
Sergei Ivanov, 28, 14:06
Tim Melbourne, 41, 14:06
Kyle Nagle, 35 (36 on Saturday!), 14:10
Peter Boveng, 51, 14:16
Robert Hardwick, 51, 14:40
Jeff McGrew, 50, 15:11
Nikolay Nachev, how old are you?, 15:20
Brian Palm, 50, 15:24
Max Limb,64, 16:02
Dale Bohm, 51. 16:11
Rolf Sunnerup, 44, 16:20
Jessica Kleiss, 32, 17:42
Eric Kamila, 36, 18:29
Ann Grodnik, 34, 19:47
Elizabeth Bailey, 49, 23:17

Juniors, 2.5k
Gareth Hardwick, 14, 7:14

Tiny Juniors, 2k
Magnus Melbourne, 10, 6:09
Nils Melbourne, 8, 6:14

plus Jason Paur, Catherine Centanni, and 18 Bush School kids

plus Marla Husnik, Tim, a parent, and 12 Lakeside School kids

Alternate workout: the Lonely Classic Skier found the course too icy to be fun and did 25x55-second double pole intervals on the road instead.

If I got your name or time wrong, please post a comment -- I took off the comment restrictions, so it should be open to everyone.

See you next week!

Headlamp Race Season Kick-Off

Here you go, headlamp skiers -- a blog that's going to show the schedule, results, and race reports!