We're Back!

Sharon Chen photo

It's headlamp racing season again!  Put down the remote, step away from the elliptical, tell your boss you're coming down with the flu, and get yourself up to Cabin Creek, exit 63, for another round of Wednesday night Totally Dark Cross Country Ski Racing.

The rules, such as they are, are pretty simple: the course is two laps around the Berg loop for masters (there is a map inside the cabin if you're not sure of the Berg loop), one lap around for juniors.  Start any time between 5:00 and 8:00; record your own time on the sign-in sheet in the cabin.  Race against your training partner or your car-pool buddy, race against your own best time, or just enjoy the pure sensual pleasure of skiing fast in the dark, listening to the rustle of small animals, drinking in the fragrance of a cold dark winter night, with nothing but your own headlamp and the other headlamps twinkling in the forest for light.  It's magical, and totally worth the bleariness of Thursday morning back at work.

The schedule is posted over there on the left side-bar, and race organizer Brent Turner sends us some tips:

• If you're skiing trails other than the race loop, ski with a friend.  Cougars, owls, and hypothermia are lurking in the dark.
• The best headlamps for this kind of activity are 100 lumens or more, and can be had for about $50 to $100.  Notice that our series sponsors are headlamp purveyors Petzl and Mila.  Just sayin'.
•  Safety and course conditions may dictate a change in the course on any given night, but we'll try to keep you up to date on this blog.
• All racers are welcome in the Kongsberger cabin and waxing shed for prepping skis, changing clothes and eating dinner, but be sure to carry out your own trash.
• Snow-park permits with a groomed trails sticker are required; car-pooling is a good idea.
• This is a non-sanctioned, unofficial, off-the-grid event, so don't be expecting course marshals and  marked intersections and feed stations and a lit course.  Be the light.

At the end of the season in mid-March, we'll have an awards party.  The attendance award goes to the person who showed up and raced the most times in the season; you have to put down a time on the sign-in sheet to be eligible.  Awesome prizes from Helly-Hansen will also go to age group placers up to the top five, with weighted results: first in class with five people racing that night gets five points; first in class with two racing gets two points.  Get  it?  Go!

Let's Build Trails Together!

Did you miss the last trail work party?  No worries; there is one more, and it's this Saturday, 9:00 at the cabin, Cabin Creek, exit 63, potluck lunch.  See you there?

http://xcskigirl04.blogspot.com/2013/10/lets-build-some-trails-together.html

LAST-MINUTE CHANGE:  no potluck; bring your own lunch.  Come anyway!

An Invitation

This is coming ... can you feel it in the air?  In the darkness?  In the damp and chill?  It's coming!

Sharon Chen photo

But first, an invitation to get your hands dirty and your back tired and your muscles worked.

http://xcskigirl04.blogspot.com

End of the Season ...

The temps haven't dipped below freezing since last weekend, and it's been raining like crazy; only the die-hards would want to headlamp ski in those conditions, and that's exactly who showed up for the end-of-season relay and party!  And as it always turns out, the conditions at Cabin Creek were much better than the pass report would have you believe:  mild temperatures, light misty rain, plenty of snow, and even daylight.

Peter designed a fun alternative sprint course: classic skiers started first, a mass start on the road, then took the cutoff up Amabilis Road, turned right on the Berg and headed in reverse around the loop, then around the PK loop in reverse, and back to the road to tag off to your partner.  Skiing a course in reverse makes it a whole new day, and we took advantage of the fact that there were no non-racers to bang into.  After the race, most of us headed out for another cruise around the trails, reveling in the soft gray dusk, rich with the fragrance of a new-born spring, before going up to the cabin for dinner and prizes.

Relay results:

         Men-only teams
             Loren Hanson (44)/Mark Hanson (40):  15:57    
             Max Limb (67)/Peter Boveng (54):  17:43
             Jordan (ageless)/Purple Cow (ageless):  17:53      
             Chris Fast (46)/Ian Whyte (50):  19:05
             Jeff McGrew (53)/Dale Bohm (54):  20:39

         Co-ed teams
              Jeff Clark (59)/Joy Cordell (58):  21:48
               Jim Slyfield (55)/Elizabeth Bailey (52):  22:44

          Women-only teams
                Alma Fast (7)/Debbie Kolp (59):  fast like rockets

Many many thanks to Brent Turner, who sent us two boxes of great Helly Hansen wear to hand out, and to Peter, who convinced Petzl to loan us some snazzy headlamps to try out all winter and then handed out a new one as a prize.  Almost everyone went home with something new, and a great time was had by all.

Here are the season-total age group winners, men and women:

             juniors:  Anthony Evans, Camille Moore
             20-29: Jonathan Loeffler, Heidi Wood
             30-39: Brad Bauer, Diana Yuen
             40-49: Chris Fast, tie between Kirsten Wysen and Gina Jackson
             50-59: Peter Boveng, Joy Cordell
             60-69: Max Limb

And that's it for another year!  A thousand thank yous to every one of you who broke out of the routine to make the trip up to Cabin Creek on Wednesday nights, in the rain and the dark and the snow, to the parking lot that was alternately flooded or icy, to race (or just ski) on trails with a wide range of grooming conditions, to follow the glow of your headlamps through the trees and up and down the hills, to meet up in the cabin afterward to eat and share funny stories.  It was so much fun, and I will miss all of you this summer.  I'll look for you out on the running trails and the roller skiing roads, and we'll do this all again next year!

Train hard, have fun!

March 6, Skate

Better late than never?  I found the results, and I hear there was rain.  Note that these results do not change the season total age group winners.

Two Laps
Jeff McGrew	53	16.37
Jim Slyfield	55	17.25
Dale Bohm	54	17.53
Ian Whyte	50	19.20
Jeff Clark	59	21.02
Joy Cordell	58	24.13
Just Skiin'
Ozzie Nordheim
Per Johnsen
Elizabeth
Gene
Pat
Paul
Gunnar
Kare
Beatrice

Last Race of the Season!

I know, I can hardly believe the headlamp race season is over either!   But it is, and that means this Wednesday is the end-of-season relay and party.  It's going to be raining up there, but don't let that stop you; the air will be fresh and clean in your lungs, the cabin will be warm and dry after your race, and you won't need your headlamps!

The relay: one person classic, one person skating, alternating for three laps each.  The lap is the sprint course: head out the upper Berg loop like you always do, but when you get to the intersection with the road, just come on back down the road and do the little PK loop before coming back to the start, where your partner is waiting for the tag.  Results don't count for anything, so it's nice and friendly if faster skiers pair up with slower ones.  Start time is 6:30, with classic skiers going first.  It is a VERY fun race, and kids are welcome!  I've already got dibs on Alma Fast as my partner.

After the race, and after your cool-down ski around the course (unless it's pouring rain), head on up to the cabin for dinner and prizes.  I don't think anyone is bringing a grill this year, so just bring whatever you want to eat -- the microwave, stove, and oven will be available, as well as the wood stove.  Mr Helly Hansen has set aside a box of prizes for us; I don't know what's in there, but we'll do some kind of prize drawing after we eat.

And that will be it for another year.  So sad it's over; so happy to get one more chance to ski with all of you.  See you there!

Feb 27, Classic

Many thanks to Peter Boveng, for picking up the race results and forwarding this awesome report of snow conditions:

"Soggy, semi-fresh snow that seemed like it was groomed by trolls."

Two Laps
Peter Boveng	54	16.25
Chris Fast	46	18.04
Jim Slyfield	55	20.03
Jim Cahill	50	20.05
Max Limb	67	20.10
Jim West	44	21.00
Jeff Clark	59	22.03
Joy Cordell	58	28.50
Elizabeth Bailey	52	29.46
Gina Jackson	43	36.24
Dee Gardner	48	36.57
Kim Saganski	51	41.04
Tom Flynn	50	41.02
One Lap
Cooper Jackson	11	17.43
Delaney Jackson	7	18.49
Just Skiin'
Jon Fewster
Ozzie Nordheim
Pat Kaald
Paul Kaald
Gene
Grete
Jonathan Loeffler
Oliver Isik
Galen Voorhees
Jason Paur

Next week: skating!  Only two more weeks of headlamp skiing, so if you've been thinking about coming, get your self up there before it's too late and you spend the whole summer wishing you had given it a try.  Good luck to everyone doing Vasaloppet this weekend!

Feb 20, Skate

Many thanks to Chris Fast for picking up the results last week while I was busy exploring the backwoods of northern Wisconsin between Cable and Hayward with 7,000 new friends.  Here is his report on the conditions:

Conditions were very firm and a bit icy, so very fast skating, provided you could stay out of the center classic grooves left over from Sunday's race that had not been completely groomed under.  I managed to crash twice in the downhill straight section between the road and the Berk-Viking fork (i.e., the easiest part of the course).

Two Laps
James Evans		13.02
Chris Fast	46	13.44
Brad Bauer	39	13.45
Jim Wood		14.09
Dale Bohm		16.23
Mike Renes		17.00
Bernd Drenk		17.05
Jeff Clark	59	18.05
Ian Whyte		18.30
Heidi Wood		18.36
Adrienne Haass	29	20.25
Joy Cordell	58	22.36
Gina Jackson		23.47
One Lap
Matt Shecks		7.45
Anthony Evans		8.04
Ingemar Sonnerup	13	9.25
Cooper Jackson		9.40
Jordan Ewing	16	10.02
Delaney Jackson		12.30
Just Skiin'
Jeff Hashimoto
Uhuru Hashimoto
Apollo Hashimoto
Gavin Scoville
Gwynn Scoville
Jerry Scoville
Isak Larson
Peter King
Anders Repsher
Rolf Sunnerup
Nils Melbourne
Tim Melbourne

Next week: classic.  Good luck to everyone heading to the Swedish Vasaloppet!

Feb 13, Skiathlon

I was trapped late at work, so Chris Fast sends us a mincing-no-words report: "The snow was soft, but the weather was nice."  Thanks, Chris!  It looked like a lot of people came to ski, but not necessarily to skiathlon.  That's cool; it's just nice to see people out there on a Wednesday evening, doing whatever kind of skiing makes them happy.

Next week: skate.  Don't forget: the real Kongsberger Skiathlon is this Sunday -- 7.5k classic, 7.5k skate.  Sounds like fun!

Classic/Skate Skiathlon
Brad Bauer	39	13.11
Chris Fast	46	15.15
Max Limb	67	17.11
Jeff Clark	59	18.11
Jim Slyfield	55	18.20
Robin Pederson	59	22.16
Joy Cordell	58	23.10
Just Skiin'
Jeff McGrew
Dale Bohm
Ian Whyte
Matt Sheeks
Alexandra Isbell
Fang Zhang
Adrienne Haase
Benjamin Cape
James Evans
Anthony Evans
Marcia Trussell
Whit Hammond
Craig Hammond
Hana Tinka
Kelsey Jones-Casey
Ryan Jones-Casey
Heidi Wood
Jim Wood
Doug Reid on the Viking loop
Jason Paur and 13 Bush kids on Ozbaldy

Feb 6, Skate

You know how the snow gets when it's cold but it's been rained on all day, all fresh and wintry smelling?  Yeah, that's how it was last night.  Temps in the mid-30s, hard wintry mix falling at the pass, but damp and cool at Cabin Creek, plenty of snow on the nicely groomed trail, and the skiing was slickety fast, both in the tracks and in the skate lane.  It was another gorgeous night of skiing in the dark, with bright little fireflies of headlamps twinkling in the woods.

Speaking of bright little fireflies, I tried the Petzl Nau headlamp again last night, and I am even more enamored than I was last week.  This time I tried tilting the angle of the light, rather than the angle of my head, and it was as if the light could read my mind: it just automatically flicked from low to high and back to low the instant I needed it, without my having to even think about it.  Technology is a wonderful thing, and to be able to wear a beautifully-designed little piece of technology on your head, and to have it open up the whole dark trail to brightness, is a pretty cool thing.  If you've tried one and want one, they're available at Second Ascent in Ballard and Marmot in Bellevue (these two shops generously sponsor the Kongsberger races), as well as REI in downtown Seattle.  If you haven't tried one and you're interested, find me next Wednesday night; Peter will be out of town, but I have his stash of demo lamps.

Next week: something special!  As a warmup to the Feb 17 skiathlon at Cabin Creek, and to give you a chance to practice your transitions, the headlamp race will be a one-lap classic followed immediately by a one-lap skate.  Measure your total time, including the transition.  Sounds like fun!  Good luck to everyone heading to Spokane for the Langlauf or to Winthrop for the Derby!

Two Laps
Brad Bauer	39	12.35
Peter Boveng	54	13.47
John Outterson	42	14.40
Christopher Fast	46	14.44
Egor Klivak	28	15.55
Jeff McGrew	53	16.46
Max Limb	67	17.52
Jeff Clark	59	17.58
James West	44	18.01
Ian Whyte	50	20.15
Peter Turcan	55	20.17
Dale Bohm	54	20.24
Don Brooks	62	20.34	(classic)
Joy Cordell	58	20.43
Debbie Kolp	59	27.49	(classic)
One Lap
Jonathan Loeffler	27	6.55
Garrett Stout	17	7.14
Oliver Isik	17	7.59
Finley Terlin	16	8.03
Camille Moore	14	8.47
Benjamin Cape	15	8.58
Just Skiin'
Brian Palm
Jason Paur and 7 more Bush School kids (besides the ones who timed in the one-lap above)

Jan 30, classic

It was kind of mean, actually.  A foot of fresh pow fell on Snoqualmie Pass on Monday, but on Tuesday and Wednesday it rained and rained and rained, with standing water on the road and avalanche control closures.  Maybe that's why the participation was way down this week, because the precipitation was way up, but the skiing turned out to be delicious: with temps in the upper 30s and a heavy mist that sparkled in our Mystical Cones of Headlamp Happiness, the snow was sleek and fast and wet, like a sea otter.  Zeroes worked, fishscales worked, and red klister sort of worked.  It was a gorgeous soft night of skiing!

And speaking of Headlamp Happiness, I got to test-drive one of the new Petzl headlamps that Peter Boveng is bringing up for demo-ing.  The verdict?  I want one.  And I want it now.  They are amazing.  There is a substantial, long-lasting lithium battery, rechargeable on your computer, that sits on the back of your head, but the strapping system is so well-designed and comfortable that you don't even know it's there.  The on-off button is a nicely engineered toggle that's easy to maneuver with your gloves on (and you can lock it so it doesn't accidentally turn on in your pack), and the beam of light is as wide and bright as you could ever want.  But the cool thing about this particular model, which is called the Nao (say "now"), is how it figures out how dark it is in front of you and adjusts the brightness magically by itself.  At first I thought it was a gimmick, but it is actually awesome: when you get to a long hill, or a dark corner, or better yet, a dark corner at the bottom of a long hill, you can tilt your head back an inch and all of a sudden it's like the floodlights came on and the entire forest is lit up!  Who thought of this?  And how did we manage without it before they thought of it?  (And what do the owls think about it?)  Peter is bringing several of these lamps up to the cabin every Wednesday night, so find him and grab one and give it a test.  We may be able to give away some discount certificates, or maybe even some lamps, at the end-of-season party.  Did I already mention how much I want one for my very own?

Next week: skating.  Good luck to everyone going to the Konig Ludwig Lauf and the Chicks on Sticks!

Two Laps
Join Fewster	42	16.34
Peter Boveng	54	16.38
Richard Clung	47	16.50
Jonathan Loeffler	27	17.43	(all double pole)
Don Brooks	62	20.02
John Outterson	42	20.35
Jim Slyfield	55	20.40
Dale Bohm	54	19.51
Debbie Kolp	59	29.04
One Lap
Jay Wyatt	26	8.25
Jordan Guzale	18	8.49
Fin Terlin	16	10.00
Oliver Isik	17	10.12
Benjamin Cape	15	12.02
Just Skiin'
Brad Bauer
Kent Murdoch
Douglas Holtan
Brian Dumais
Kirsten Wysen
GlennWysen
Ryan Jones-Casey
Kelsey Jones-Casey
Sean Brown
4 Seattle Academy students
4 Bush School students

Jan 23, Skate

Snowy snowy night ... snowy slippery drive up to the pass, snowy-but-plowed parking lot, snowy upper-20s temperatures, thick heavy snow on the trail, thick fluffy snow falling in our Mystical Cones of Headlamp Happiness. What a gorgeous night to be out skiing in the dark! It was a skating night, but the classic skiing was also glorious, especially after the track was skied in a little bit, and especially for someone who got to test-drive a pair of Jon Fewster's beautifully light and responsive Madshus Zeroes--perfect grip in the tracks, smooth-as-butter tracking down the hills and around the corners--and fell in love with them. The skiing was so wonderful, we hated to stop and go inside the cabin until we realized we were hungry and tomorrow was a work day. If you're not coming up here and skiing with us, why not?

Next week: classic. Good luck to everyone heading to the Methow Pursuit or the Marcialonga!

Two Laps
Kent Murdoch	51	14.28
Doug Reid	44	15.30
Jon Fewster	42	15.55
Chris Fast	46	16.17
John Outterson	42	16.20
Matt Sheeks	29	17.08
Jim Slyfield	55	19.06
Dale Bohm	54	19.51
Max Limb	67	20.02
James West	44	21.01
Ian Whyte	50	21.10
Jeff Clark	59	23.30
Joy Cordell	57	24.18
Debbie Kolp	59	32.44	(classic)
One Lap
Camille Moore	14	11.00
Just Skiin'
Jonathan Loeffler
John O'Brien
Brian Palm
Bonnie Loshbaugh
Alex Ingerman
17 Bush School kids