January 29, Classic

A new contender this week!  Chris Fast doesn't let the iffy snow level scare him away, and he sends us this report:

Here are the results for tonight's classic race: 

First place:  Christopher Fast   25:56  two full laps with PK 

Peter and his brother were skating.  Ian was there before me, so he might have a competitive time.  And a dozen Bush kids were leaving as I arrived. 

It was slooooooooow snow tonight.

January 22, Skate

Hurray for Ian "glass half full" Whyte, who appears to be the only person actually racing and timing himself on headlamp Wednesdays!  The rest of us, by which I mean me, stay late at work and stare morosely at the dank gray fog and hope for a polar vortex, or a bombogenesis, or just some good old wintry mix.

While we wait, here is Ian's report from this week.  I believe he is a shoo-in for the attendance prize this year!

The groomer's doing a fantastic job with the snow that's out there. I only skied the Borg and the Road (the stretch between the road and the cabin is sketchy), but it was fun! Two laps around the Borg in 19:50. Jeff and the Ellensberg kids were there as well as, I think, the Bush kids and their sawed-off yellow bus.

January 15, Classic

Hey, people went skiing!  Good for you, and good for you for making up whatever course you could think of to do.  Ian Whyte and his son Kaiam skied the "Borg" loop, which is the Berg loop from the road without the extra loop, in 19:24ish.  Dale Boehm skied from the Stampede start area to the end of the road and back in 14:47.  He reported seeing a pack of Ellensburg skiers, along with coaches Jeff, Carey, and Tim, but I haven't seen any race times for them.  Dale also sends us this conditions report and timely suggestion:


It was 35 degrees at 6:30pm and with day time highs in the
40s forecast for the next several days, I don't think the road will last
too much longer. Get it while you can!

And don't forget: the Amabilis Scramble is Sunday.  See you there, no matter what crazy conditions are thrown at us!

Wednesday Update!

Ozzie is up at the cabin now and reports fantastic conditions!  Corn snow, very fast, and enough to ski around the entire course.  The groomer rolled it this morning, but there are no classic tracks.  Our race schedule says classic tonight, but I say, if you can make it up there and want to ski, do whatever you want!  And if you send me your time, I'll post it.  Have fun!

I miss everything ...

... the excitement of pulling into the dark parking lot and wondering how many cars will be there, the warmth and light in the cabin as we put on our boots and adjust our headlamps, the silent whisper of skis in the tracks, the paw prints of tiny animals following the trail, the glimmer of headlamps through the trees, the whoosh of flying downhill in the Mystical Cone of Headlamp Happiness, the anticipation of recording your name and time and seeing how you stacked up, the dinner-eating and story-telling, the long drive home in the dark and snow and rain.

But not this ...

Pass Report

TEMPERATURE:

39ºF / 3ºC

ELEVATION:

3022 ft / 921 m

RESTRICTIONS EASTBOUND:

No restrictions

RESTRICTIONS WESTBOUND:

No restrictions

CONDITIONS:

Roadway bare and wet.

WEATHER:

Raining

Updated: Monday January 13, 2014 9:38 PM

Ready to Race?

Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not quite ready for you.  The snow at Cabin Creek is VERY thin and not skiable, unless tonight's storm drops down low enough to give us some snow.  The snow higher up on Amabilis is perfect, and, of course, dark, and I've heard that Brent and Peter and Chris are maybe thinking of heading up there for some headlamp action on Wednesday night.  If you go, be sure to check the grooming report first:

http://www.kongsbergers.org/GroomingReport.html

... and be safe, have fun, and tell me all about it!  And don't forget to keep doing the snow dance.

Anticipation ...

This is what Cabin Creek looks like right now.

The best headlamp in the world isn't going to make that skiable.  If anyone in LinkedIn with Ullr, this would probably be a good time to call in a favor.