Headlamp Racing is Back!

Headlamp racing's guiding light Brent Turner is starting the new season off with a new schedule, a new contest, and some reminders.  The schedule is posted over to the left; the rest of the details are here:

New Things: photo contest!  Send me your headlamp racing photos, and the best one will win a prize at the season-ending barbecue.  Another new thing: the skiathlon continuous pursuit: one lap classic, one lap skate; good practice for the Kongsberger skiathlon the following weekend!

Awards: attendance award -- all you have to do is show up every week! -- and age group winners, weighted by the number of people in that age group.

Guidelines: The self-recording time sheet will be in the cabin, on the honor system.  Please sign in even if you don't want to put down a time so we can impress our sponsors with how many people are coming.

If you're skiing on trails other than the race course, go with a friend; cougars, owls, and hypothermia are out there.

It's best to use a headlamp with at least 100 lumens (you can get one for $50-$100).

Masters race two laps of the Berg loop and the PK loop; juniors one lap.  However, safety or trail conditions may dictate changing the course on any given race night.

Participants are welcome to use the waxing shed for waxing and the cabin for eating dinner, changing clothes, and telling stories -- be sure to pack out your own garbage, because there is no garbage pickup there.

Groomed snow-park permits are required to park at Cabin Creek, and car-pooling is encouraged.

This event is non-sanctioned.  It's just a bunch of skiers, skiing around in the dark with their headlamps, and it is totally fun and the best thing you can do with your Wednesday night.

See you next month!

Getting Closer!

Headlamp skiers, are you as excited as I am for winter to finally be here?

Brent and Jon have promised me a race schedule next week, and I'll post it as soon as I get it.  Keep training, and charge up your headlamp batteries!

Saturday, October 6

Hello, headlamp skiers!  It's been a while; do you miss the trails at Cabin Creek?  Do you want to see what they look on a nice crisp fall day, without the snow, without the beam of your headlamp narrowing your perspective?  This Saturday is the big trail work party of the season, and if you ski at Cabin Creek, you are invited to join in the fun, making the trails better, gettng some good clean mountain air in your lungs, and building some new muscles.

Details here.  See you there!

http://xcskigirl04.blogspot.com/2012/10/trail-work-for-baby.html

Looking Ahead to Next Year!

Peter Boveng sends some exciting information about next year's headlamp race season, just to make sure we stay focused over the summer!

The local sales rep for Petzl is interested in doing some sponsorship of the Wednesday night races next winter. He would like to do some headlamp demos and provide some prizes. Perhaps he could also arrange some attractive pricing through our steadfast local ski shop sponsors. Anyway, just thought folks would like to know that some thought is already being given to making the Wednesday night series a 'hoot' again next year. Speaking of which, anyone seen or heard our old owl friend this year?

End of the Season

I can't believe headlamp racing is already over for another year ... so sad.  Many many thanks to Sharon Chen, whose awesome reports all winter have allowed me to vicariously enjoy headlamp skiing while I'm trapped at work.  Next year I will be there, but until then, enjoy Sharon's final report and pictures.  And have a great summer of training ... next winter will be here before you know it, and we'll be charging up our headlamps and heading to the trails for another mid-week blast of fresh air.  I've missed all of you and can't wait to see you again!

After a perfectly timed departure from our carpool spot, and deftly missing avy-control work on an eastbound I-90 Gold Creek exit closure, John, Dan, and I found the Cabin Creek parking lot blanketed in an 8" layer of snow -- perfect for snowshoeing, making snow angels, doing snow somersaults -- and also light, fluffy, and deep enough for a challenging skate…again.

Tonight is relay night and potluck night.  For the relay, I'll skate, and John S from SNC is my classic ski teammate -- thanks John!  Dan, John, and I drop off our food in the Cabin, and warm up in the PK loop.  Others are warming up as well, on the Berg and on the Road, making first tracks for us through the thick ungroomed snow, and are now beginning to gather by the map at the bottom of the sledding hill.  Jon F tactfully guides us as altered relay routes are suggested by our small crowd, then eventually and collectively we agree to ski the standard Berg course with PK loop.  We'll each start on our own, self-time for two freestyle loops, and add our team's times together, skiing almost in parallel with our teammate instead of alternating sequentially as in typical relay fashion.  We form teams, then take some pics of tonight's adventurous dual role headlamp relayers/trail groomers.

Highlights from the relay for me: playing with techniques for skiing in thick snow, encountering a blue but mostly white Na'vi-like form (not me this time), and realizing I now want to learn the classic technique (but only for uphills on a deep snow-covered trail).

As was my goal for the night, I checked with a couple of the Olympics-bound regulars on tricks for skiing in thick snow, and experimented with those techniques on my skating relay.  Although my time was about the same as last relay's slog, tonight's gliding overall required less effort and energy expenditure, though included 4 (fun) face plants and falls!  Double-poling in the tracks (Jon F technique) is the way to go if one has a strong upper body.  Eventually tiring and realizing my situation is the reverse, I experimented with 'floating' on top of the snow (John S technique), committing to each ski, single poling (Joy technique), and holding the glide as long as I can.  The floating part was quite fun when I could do it! : )

At one point during my double-poling-in-the-tracks experiment, deep in the dark woods of the Berg, a very long lean white form launched past me.  I knew someone from behind was approaching because of his light.  All I saw was what might have been a white Lycra body suit or long top, with a bit of blue on the back, skate powerfully by, then I believe he popped back in the tracks.  I think we might have nearly collided in the skate lane as I got out of the left-sided tracks, but the white form agilely whizzed by further to the right.  The speed, power, and super long glides of some of these Na'vi-like guys is utterly amazing, even in thick snow and uphill!  Awesome to watch, but often one has only a split second to see them flash by, then they disappear over the hill, around the curve, or into the horizon.  Carefully studying the pre-relay and post-relay Cabin pictures, I see no one in a white Lycra body suit; however, I've observed a high propensity for frequent outfit changes among this crowd.  By the physical shape of the skier, I suspect this was either Jon or Jason, (or a real Nordic Na'vi!), but somehow forgot to confirm back in the Cabin if either donned white for the relay. 

For those who know me, the unimaginable has happened (though probably germinated and has been percolating since mid-January):  I want to learn the classic technique!  Mostly, I want to sprint up a hill covered in deep snow like I see the classic skiers do with no worries about traction or slippage.  Then I want to be back on my skate skis.

Post relay (or trudging for Dan and his snow-adhering-philic skis), we all gathered in the Cabin to feast on yummy pan-roasted chicken and pork sausages, a spread of Mexican, Greek, and Chinese dishes, and desserts, all fit for protein-starved or vegetarian-oriented hungry headlamp relayers, trail groomers, and snowshoers with sticky snow-clumping skis.

We ate, we won prizes, and we drew prizes for each other.  Many of us walked out with a black Helly Hansen performance base layer top with cool mini zebra-striped swooshes (I believe swooshes have been proven to greatly assist with speed) around the left arm and right shoulder -- thanks much Brent, and HH!   We met and talked with each other, took more pics, and made some new ski friends.

Overall, a very enjoyable and unique evening relaying, experimenting with thick snow techniques in skate skis, eating post relay, winning prizes, meeting new ski friends, and a memorable way to close out our headlamp season.  Our night's headlamp pics added to the season's headlamp set.

Mar 7, Classic

I love Sharon's reports; they get better and better each week!

Arrived at Cabin Creek on a light and bright evening atypical of headlamp nights, in a parking lot of frothy meringue with frozen ruts, peaks, dips, and tarns.  Joining our adventurous crew this day were fun (and funny) and fine folks from Marmot, Mountaineers, meetup, Alabama, and Canada.  Bill classic skied the Berg for an official race time.  Linda and Allan cleared the Road tracks, while Diana, Eric, and I skate skied the fast, sometimes smooth, sometimes slick icy Road.  While we glided along, a few constellations popped out, along with Jupiter and Venus, the luminous planet-pair gracing our night sky these past few weeks.  After snapping some group pics, we meandered to the Cabin to officially record our names, hang out, and chat with Birkie participants, a Madshus rep, and a few Kongsberger Lycra-clad regulars.  As we walked back outside, a beautiful moon, just one night shy of being full, cast a warm expansive glow down the Road.  Another fun headlamp night.

Classic 5k

Jon Fewster, 41, 14:41
Peter Boveng, 53, 14:54
Brent Turner, 58, 15:32
Christopher Fast, 45, 16:48 (all double poling)
Jeff Clark, 58, 20:53
Ian Whyte, 49, 23:10
Bill Lawrence, 62, 33:30

Just Skiin'

Jason Paur
Joy Cordell
Diana Yuen
Linda Caputo
Allan Walsh
Sharon Chen
Eric Roose
Brian Palm

This week, aleady, is the last week of headlamp skiing!  Skate/classic relay (non-gender specific), or just ski, and potluck dinner with awards and draw prizes in the cabin afterward.  Say goodbye to headlamp skiing and all your headlamp skiing friends for another season ...

Feb 29, Leap Day Relay RESULTS

Just catching up here, with the results from Leap Day Relay night.  It looks like there was one official relay team, and then a nice variety of ski-it-as-you-find-it events going on.  Sounds like fun!

Relay

Sharon Chen and Bill Lawrence, 80:00

Skating 5k

Jon Fewster, 18:56
Eric Kamila, 25:10

Classic 5k

Christopher Fast, 22:10
Max Limb (snowshoeing on sticky skis), 28:50
Jeff Clark, 30:07

Just Skiin'

Jim Cahill
Joy Cordell

Just Stayin' at the Cabin

Jim, Annika, and Anders

Feb 29, Leap Day Relay or Skate

Many thanks -- again! -- to the unstoppable Sharon Chen, for doing the relay and sending me this report.  "Half a foot of fresh fluffiness" -- love it!  Anyone else?  Is there a sign-in sheet floating around, waiting for me?

Compact snow over the pass, and half a foot of fresh fluffiness in the parking lot at Cabin Creek!  A beautiful winter wonderland with large snowflakes falling all evening, though a bit challenging skating in half a foot of snow post earlier morning (~9 am) grooming.   

Bill L and I did the official Leap Day Relay! : )  Bill classic skied in the tracks, and I attempted to skate (actually slog my way) through the deep skate lane, utilizing the tracks whenever I could.  We did two laps each on The Berg with the PK Loop.  This is maybe the first time I've wished to be a classic skier (though I can see picking up this technique some time in my future, maybe.)  Unsure Bill L will be up for partnering again on a relay given my super-epic time, though it was a challenging and good workout.  Still, I think we might have been the only boy/girl classic/skate relay team out on this beautiful snowy night!

Leap Day Relay Update

I love Jeremy's fun idea for a co-ed Leap Day Relay this week, but let's face it: the ratio of men to women on Wednesdays nights is at least 20 to 1, and we're not likely to be able to field many teams!  So here's the plan: if you can put together a team, then great, put down a relay time.   But if you don't have a team, don't let that stop you from coming up and skiing -- we'll do a regular 5k skating race also.

Once again, I expect to be working late, so if anyone can pick up the sign-in sheet for me, that would be so helpful.  Hope to see all of you at least once before the season is over!

Feb 23, Classic

Thank goodness for Sharon -- she and her friends made it up to Cabin Creek on Wednesday night when almost no one else did (is everyone at the Birkie?), and she sends us this report.  Thanks, Sharon!

Rick, Eric, and I skated through fast, but sometimes 'suctiony', and thick, heavy snow on a night with grauple (those little pellets of supercooled water-covered snowflake balls) falling heavily all evening. 

In contrast to last week's hordes of headlampers, this was an unusual almost eerie evening with our group of three running into only one other skier one time on The Road, and only two others leaving the mushy parking lot when we arrived ~6:15 pm.  The Cabin did not radiate its customary warm glow, and appeared mostly dark with only a dim light visible from the sledding hill.  We did not venture up this dark lonely night to officially record our names under the 'Just Skiing' headlampers heading.   

Out on the Road, ~8:15 pm, we were startled by a loud booming thunder -- I was very happy to be with Rick and Eric, and not in the deep dark bowels of the Berg loop by myself, at this time!  Turned out to be avy control work near Gold Creek, and temporarily blocked eastbound traffic.  

An atypical headlamp evening, but still an excellent workout and fun mid-week outing skating on this snow and grauple-filled night, and with a new headlamper, Eric Roose!  

Just Skiin'

Rick Eineigl
Eric Roose
Sharon Chen

A Little Help

Looks like a lovely night for headlamp skiing!  I'm chained to my desk and won't be able to make it again tonight, so if anyone could pick up the results and send them to me, you would be my BFF!

Feb 15, Skating

This week I owe thanks to Peter Boveng, for picking up the race results and sending me an awesome report on race conditions, which I present here in its entirety:

Icy.  Stars.

Masters 5k Skating

Brad Bauer, 38, 11:36 (fresh off his big win at Langlauf last weekend; read all about it here: http://www.xcskigirl04.blogspot.com/2012/02/bauer-power-at-langlauf.html)
Jon Fewster, 41, 12:25
Peter Boveng, 53, 13:05
Jonathan Loeffler, 25, 13:16
Richard McClung, 46, 13:53
Brent Turner, 57, 13:57
Jordan Goldwag, 30, 14:08
Jim Cahill, 49, 14:19
Rob Lehtinen, 31, 14:56
Jim Wood, 29, 15:08
Jeff McGrew, 52, 15:17
Spider Burbank, 57, 15:31
Max Limb, 66, 15:34
Egor Klevak, 27, 15:43
Eric Kamila, 38, 16:20
Sam McVeed, 25, 17:35
Jeff Clark, 58, 17:40
Dale Bohm, 53, 17:57
Jason Cross, 40, 18:17
Peter Turcan, 54, 19:02
Ian Whyte, 49, 19:50
Heidi Wood, 26, 19:50
Joy Cordell, 56, 21:26
Scott Sell, 55, 22:01

Juniors 2.5k Skating

Jordan Guzak, 17, 7:20
Oliver Isik, 16, 7:59
Finley Teutin, 15, 8:10
Dylan Forbes, 17, 8:21
Duncan McFadden, 16, 8:50
Brayden Buchanan, 12, 12:00 (West Ellensburg ski team)
Isaac Korry, 11, 13:00 (West E'burg)
Ingemar Sonnerup, 12, 14:00 (West E'burg)

Just Skiin'

Jason Paur and five Bush School kids
Carrie Hennen
Ellen Welcker
Rick Eineigl
Sharon Chen
Diana Yuen
Brian Palm

Feb 8, Classic

Many thanks to Brian for this report and for picking up the results for me, while I slaved away over a hot computer.

Variable snow night.  Zeros started out good, got slippery as the tracks were skied in.  Had to know where to ski on the ups later in the evening.  Klister was also problematic as the snow change as it cooled…a bit of spitting snow/rain around 5:30, but all in all a nice evening!

Masters, Classic, 5k

Brad Bauer, 14:55
Brian Dumais, 15:50
Chris Fast, 17:01
Gareth Hardwick, 17:13
Jon Fewster, 17:30 (check out his Konig Ludwig Lauf report at http://www.xcskigirl04.blogspot.com/2012/02/konig-ludwig-lauf-jons-report.html!)
Richard McClung, 18:17
Robert Hardwick, 19:21
Max Limb, 20:06
Jim Cahill, 20:32
Dale Bohm, 21:00
Elise Stacy, 21:34
Jeff Clark, 21:58
Ian Whyte, 26:50
John Stacy, 27:32

Just Skiin'

Jason Paur
Three Bush Kids
Jon Loeffler
Eric Kamila
Sharon Chen
Dan Gilchrist
Karel Bauer
John Garibaldi

Next week: skating!

Feb 8, Preview

Conditions report from Jon, who is there right now:

Right at freezing, alternating snow and drizzle, ~1" new over groomed, tracks skied in. Should be a good day for zero's. Ozzie skied earlier with 50 over klister, but suggests klister now.  Should be fast and fun!

Feb 1, Skating

What a lovely night to be out on the trails!  And having not been there yet this winter, I was blown away by the amount of snowfall we've had.  The temperature hovered around freezing and the parking lot was slushy, but the snow was firm and fast and deep, a coy moon flirted behind the clouds, and snow dust tickled our faces.  I noticed we're getting some nice variety, too, with paddlers and bike racers as well as skiers enjoying the mid-week blast of fresh air and endorphins.  If you're been thinking about coming, stop thinking and get up here -- winter will be over way too soon!

Masters, 5k Skate

Brad Bauer, 38, 12:15
Peter Boveng, 53, 13:54
Doug Reed, 44, 14:10
Christopher Fast, 45, 14:34
Jeremy Littell, 38, 15:04
Jim Cahill, 49, 15:59
Rob Lehtinen, 31, 16:22
Jim Wood, 29, 16:48
Egor Klevak, 27, 18:00
Jeff Clark, 58, 18:46
Rolf 2, 46, 19:00
correction: Will Greene, 16, 19:16 (Seattle Academy)
Jason Cross, 40, 20:35
Jim Slyfield, 54, 20:37
Peter Turcan, 54, 20:55
Elise Stacey. J2, 21:10
John Garibaldi, 53, 21:25
Karel Bauer, 51, 21:25
Ian Whyte, 49, 21:30
Heidi Wood, 26, 22:03
Joy Cordell, 56, 22:12
Scott Sell, 55, 24:12

Juniors, 2.5k Skate

Oliver Isik, 8:53 (Bush School)
Finley Tevlin, 9:06 (Bush School)
Griffin Hurlbut, 10:05 (Bush School)
Jillian Gerke, 10:35 (Bush School)
Sean Brown, 15, 10:46 (Seattle Academy)
Isabel Jamerson, 11:24 (Bush School)
Anika Bull, J3, 11:30
Amelia Keyser-Gibson, 11:40 (Bush School)
Ingemar Sonnerup, 12, 13:25
Claire Fahlman, 13:30 (Bush School)
Theo Ramels, 11, 14:15
Isaac Korry, 11, 16:00
Sam Greene, 13, 16:13 (Seattle Academy)

Just Skiin'

Doug Holtan
Steve Bull
Jason Paur
Jon Loeffler
Michelle Ma
Brian Palm
Debbie Kolp (so happy to be just skiin' again!)

Next week: classic.  Good luck to everyone going to the Bavarian Cup, the Spokane JOQ, and the Konig Ludwig Lauf!

Jan 25, Update

I found the sign-in sheet, and people were skiing after all!  I heard that quite a bit of snow fell after Robert had groomed, so most people decided to bag the relay and just ski.  Herewith, the results:

Mini-Relay

Jeff Clark and Max Limb

Just Skiin'

Sharon Chen
Rick Eineigl
Bill Lawrence
David Thurman
Anne Johansen
Nils Melbourne
Magnus Melbourne
Tim Melbourne
Sven Koehler
Ian Whyte
Christopher "Sometimes" Fast
Jason Paur and nine Bush School kids

Jan 25, the Relay That Wasn't?

What happened to the relay?  Evidently, without Brian and Brent to take control, we fall apart.  Kudoes to Sharon and her friends anyway, for heading up there and trying to relay race, and many thanks to Sharon for another excellent report.  If anyone else made it up there, let me know and I'll add you to the list.

Bill, Rick, David, and I drove out to Cabin Creek with huge snowflakes flying towards our car, engulfing us like we were inside some mesmerizing video game. The parking lot was a thick mashup of snow-slush. Long easy glides on trails in some areas, and intermittent unexpected mid-glide suctioning in other areas. A lot of heavy thick snow on the trails -- much had fallen since the morning's grooming. The section of the Berg course near the Cabin and paralleling the Road looked ungroomed, and was difficult to maneuver in, let alone ski in, with all that fresh heavy thick and untracked snow.


Our two teams -- Rick & David, and Bill & Sharon -- were all psyched for the relay, strategizing ways to beat each other, on the car ride up. However, we did not see anyone near the sledding hill, where I thought the relay might start, at 6:30. We ended up just skiing the Road and the Berg a couple of times on this beautiful snowy eve. In the cabin, we found a sheet and recorded our names under 'Just Skiing'. Rick wanted to put down 'Fast' for his team's time, and Bill wanted to put down 'Faster' for our relay team's time. No relay, but a fantastic workout on a warm evening, and another fun and exhilarating mid-week break in the snow.

Just Skiin'
 
Rick Eineigl
Bill Lawrence
David Thurman
Sharon Chen
 
Next week: skating.  See you there!

Headlamp Skiing, Locavore Edition

Why fight your way up to Snoqualmie Pass when we have multiple inches of beautiful soft powder right here in downtown Seattle?  I heard about headlamp skiers at Green Lake, Woodland Park, Seward Park, Kubota Garden, and even Sunset View Park in Ballard.  Here is a Green Lake report from Max Sevareid:

Greenlake was good skate and classic skiing last night.  Around 8PM, there were 3-4 skaters plus a few classic skiers.  While a little icy and choppy, the ground was groomed by foot traffic on the inside loop of greenlake.  It is likely still pretty good this morning.

And a shout-out to the downhill skiers on Dravus:

http://vimeo.com/35396468

Next week, we'll hope for more drivable conditions at the pass for the first relay of the season.  The relay starts at 6:30, one skater, one classic, three sprint laps for each.  It's fun!

Let It Snow

From the KOMO website this afternoon:

Avalanche Danger Extreme in Cascades


The Cascades are forecast to get anywhere from 18-36 inches of new snow Wednesday into Wednesday night. Avalanche warnings are up and conditions couldn't be more extreme. Expect frequent and lengthy delays trying to get over the passes for avalanche control.

I'm still not able to ski (can you spell "bummer"?), and my usual helpers are out of town this week.  If anyone can pick up the results on Wednesday night and send them to me, I'll post them to the blog and keep everyone updated.

Thanks, and have fun up there!

Jan 11, Classic

In a word, icy.  So icy, in fact, that Robert couldn't even set a track on the upper part of the Berg loop, so the first part of the race was re-routed to the road.  Here is a report from the always-poetic Sharon Chen: 

We arrived at the Cabin Creek parking lot under a crisp, cool, Big Dipper star studded evening sky, and lumpy ice sheet underfoot. I shuffled slowly across the slick surface with skis in one hand, poles in the other, for stabilization.  Surprisingly, lots of skiers out this icy night -- high school groups, Lycra People, Snow Dancers, and a brief appearance from a Na'vi [that was Sharon, backlit by someone else's powerful headlamp!].  The Road was icy, and loud (ice), and cold (low 20s probably).

Our faithful Wednesday crew spent a good part of the day chopping up the ice around the cabin and clearing down trees away from the path to the outhouses.  Thanks, Wednesday guys -- what would we do without you!

Good news: all the forecasters are starting to feel pretty confident about the potential for Snowmageddon this weekend, which would make Sunday's Gunnar Hagen its usual interesting challenging event.  Scrape off the klister and get ready to race, and don't forget to pre-register!

Classic, 5k, two laps

Evan Turner, 19, 13:37
Brian Dumais, 54, 14:45
Peter Boveng, 53, 14:58
Brent Turner, 57, 15:36 (I always like to see these 50-something guys at the top of the list; you guys rock!)
Alex Horner-Devine, 39, 16:15
Nikolay Nachev, 34, 16:25
Jeremy Littell, 38, 17:14
Jim Cahill, 49, 18:03
Max Limb, 66, 18:13
Gunde Svensson, 16, 20:22
Rob Lehtinen, 31, 21:00
Mona Deprey, 45, 21:10
Dale Bohm, 53, 22:00
Jeff Clark, 58, 26:00
Robin Pederson, 58, 29:21
Joy Cordell, 56, 30:02
Ellen Welcker, 34, 30:55
Carrie Hennen, 36, 31:28
Ashley Svensson, 8, 40:00 (you go, girl!)

Nonconformists

Ian Whyte, 49, one lap, 13:30
Max Sevareid, 38, skating, 17:28

Just Skiin'

Sharon Chen, 47
Rick Eineigl, 53
Jason Paur, Jon Loeffler, and 17 Bush School skiers

Next week, skating.

Jan 4, Skating

Many thanks to Peter for sending me the race report, and kudos to all of you for scoffing at the monsoonish weather forecast and heading up there!

Temp ~40F, light to moderate rain, wet snow (DUH).

And more detail from Sharon (thanks, Sharon!):

Snow was surprisingly quite skiable and not too mushy or wet, though perhaps slightly heavy.  

The drive up to the Pass was pouring rain, changed to lighter rain on the east side of the Pass, then changed again to a continuous 'dry' rain (unnoticeable when you're having fun) at Cabin Creek.  Parking lot was a landscape of interconnected mini-puddles with a tiny patch of ice just outside Diana's door.  Dry rain, good snow, no winds, a little bit of parking lot swimming -- all made for a fantastic evening!

Skate, 5k, two laps

Brad Bauer, 37, 13:39 (clearly roller skiing with 75 pounds of twins is not slowing you down!)
Peter Boveng, 53, 14:28
Scott Shinneman, 34, 15:43
Jeremy Littell, 38, 16:16
Christopher Fast, 45, 16:23
Alex Horner-Devine, 39, 16:55
Owen Burbank, 22, 18:30
Spider Burbank, 57, 19:19
Peter Turcan, 54, 23:45

Nonconformists (2.5k, one lap)

Sharon Chen, 47, 15:12
Rick Eineigl, 53, 15:12
Diana Yuen, 29, 15:12

Juniors

Jason Paur and 14 Bush School kids

Next week: classic -- a chance to get some specific training in before the Gunnar Hagen.  And don't forget to do your favorite snow dance!

Headlamp Racing Starts This Wednesday!

Check list: skis, boots, poles, HEADLAMP, watch, dry clothes, dinner.  Links to Robert's grooming Tweets, Chris's pass condition reports, and the WOW weather forecast are shown over on the left.

I'm going to have to miss the first several weeks of racing, so I'll be counting on you, faithful skiers, to keep me posted on race results and condition reports for the blog.

Special bonus: we are working on being able to offer headlamp race series t-shirts, in roller ski-ready, brightly colored technical fabric, courtesy of our sponsor Helly Hansen.  More details to come!