2011 Whitefish Whiteout

The group of racers from church (l to r): Colter, Warren, Randy, Zachariah, Eric, and Chris

So I've been doing a bit of racing this ski season.  I've waited for years now going to school away from the mountains in Texas while I live vicariously through my dad as he talks me through the glorious details of downhill gate-dodging and mountaineering slogs.  Now I'm back to take full advantage of everything the mountains have to offer.

Racers on first climb up Tony Matt.  Dad's the first skier
on the left.

At the summit transition.  What a gorgeous day!

The 4th Annual Whitefish Whiteout Ski Mountaineering race kicked off last Saturday morning with blue skies, sunshine, and fresh snow.  Between the two categories (Race: climbing about 4000', and Rec: climbing about 2000') there were over 60 competitors.  It's really good to see people willing to get out and be active.  Dad and I competed in the Race category and had a blast chasing the "men and women in lycra" up the mountain and skiing untracked powder on the way down.  The course encompassed a wide range of ski mountaineering skills: climbing with skins on your skis, transitioning from skinning to skiing/skiing to skinning, descending some of the most challenging terrain of the resort, and even boot-packing up a couloir (North Bowl Chute).  Hearing cheers and encouragement from the "sidelines" from ticket wielding skiers and snowboarders was pretty cool and when I had the energy I gratefully flashed a smile and amped up the pace.  We still have a long way to go though here in the States.  Fans of ski mountaineering in Europe border on the fanatic, just like they do with most sports (soccer, cycling...).

Trying my best at a sprint to the Finish Line.

For results (other than tired legs, rosy cheeks from the exertion and the sun, and a perma-smile), I finished 12th overall with a time of 2:32.24, which was also good enough to beat out the rest of the telemarking field for 1st in my category.  Dad did really well too, finishing 18th overall and 4th in the telemark division with a time of 2:47.32.  A hug at the finish line was a cherry on top of an already great race.

Gotta love the After-Race Hug!