Totally Dark Cross Country Ski Racing Series

Leap Day Relay Update

2012-02-28T14:06:00.002-08:00

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

2012-02-24T22:00:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

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

2012-02-16T13:19:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

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

2012-02-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

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

2012-02-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

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

2012-02-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

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?

2012-01-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

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!

2012-01-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

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!

Can't Wait?

2011-12-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Don't want to wait until January for headlamp skiing? Jon tells me there were at least 25 people there last Wednesday night, skiing around in the dark, lit only by their headlamps and their big smiles, and he said the grooming was fantastic. Peter and I are headed up tomorrow after work; see you there?

Headlamp Racing -- Coming Soon!

2011-12-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

The new 2012 schedule is now posted over there on the left, so it's almost time to block out Wednesday nights all winter, throw your skis in your car, and head up to Cabin Creek for another season of headlamp racing!

You know the drill: bring your own headlamp and your own watch; start whenever you want to and time yourself; write down your results on the sign-in sheet in the cabin. That's all there is to it. If you don't want to race, come anyway and enjoy a fun couple hours of skiing after work. The cabin will be warm and open, available all evening for changing clothes and eating dinner and telling stories with your friends.

This is a super fun way to get a blast of fresh air in the middle of the work week, and the sight of all those headlamps twinkling in the trees is magical. You want to be a part of it this year!

Happy holidays, everyone, and see you in January!

While We're Waiting ...

2011-10-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

Patience, my friends; winter is on its way back! While you're waiting, check out a special invitation for all headlamp skiers over on the other blog:

www.xcskigirl04.blogspot.com

And keep training!

Mar 18, Relay

2011-03-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, that's it for another year! Winter gave us one last blast for the end-of-season relay, snowing and blowing at the pass, and our old friend the wintry mix, sleety rainy snowy, at Cabin Creek for the race. Didn't matter; 20 loyal skiers came out to say goodbye to another successful headlamp season, blasting through the sprint relay, then heading up to the cabin for dinner and age-group awards and draw prizes, courtesy of Mr Helle Hansen, Brent Turner. Thanks, Brent, for the awesome prizes!

And thanks, Jason and Neil, for these photos.

Here are the final season standings:

Men 20-29 (three racers)
1st: Jim Wood
2nd: Jordan Goldwarg
3rd: Owen Burbank

Men 30-39 (ten racers)
1st: Alex Horner-Devine
2nd: Bryan Schaeffer
3rd: Kyle Nagle

Men 40-49 (15 racers)
1st: Jon Fewster
2nd: Jim Cahill
3rd: Chris Fast

Men 50-59 (nine racers)
1st: Brian Dumais
2nd: Peter Boveng and Jeff McGrew (tie)

Men 60-69 (one racer)
1st: Richard Rice

Women 20-29 (one racer)
1st: Heidi Fischer

Women 30-39 (three racers)
1st: Jessica Kleiss
2nd: Emily Rimas
3rd: Martina Widman

Women 40-49 (four racers)
1st: Mona Deprey
2nd: Carey Gazis and Amy Snover (tie)

Women 50-59 (three racers)
1st: xcskigirl
2nd: Joy Cordell
3rd: Elizabeth Bailey

Junior Boys (two racers)
1st: Magnus Melbourne
2nd: Nils Melbourne

Junior Girls (one racer)
1st: Elise Stacey

Many thanks to everyone, especially to Brent, the guiding force behind this super fun event; to Brian, the go-to guy for getting things done when they needed getting done; and to Robert, for grooming as well as he could, given the conditions. But most of all, thanks to you and you and you, for showing up, week after week, in the rain and snow, bringing your energy and smack talk and love of skiing to the dark dark trails. It has been another fantastic season, and I will miss all of you!

We'll start back up again next January, and until then, have a great summer. I'm transferring my focus now to the training and racing blog, http://www.xcskigirl04.blogspot.com/, so if you have any fun roller ski/mountain bike/trail running/other adventure stories to tell, send them on to me and I'll post them so we can all share in the fun!

In the meantime, you know what US Ski Team Coach Pete Vordenberg says:

"Train, train well, train a lot, train hard, balance it with rest. Train."

Bye!

Mar 16, Preview

2011-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

It's time for the end-of-season relay and party!

Relay: starts at 6:30. Two-person teams, one skating and one classic. Each person does three sprint laps (alternating skating and classic) around the first part of the Berg loop, then coming straight back down the road and around the little PK loop to tag your partner. Results don't count for this one, so it's fun to mix up fast skiers and slow skiers. We probably won't even need headlamps!

Party: bring your own food and drink; there may be a grill set up to barbecue. Hopefully Brent will bring schwag for prizes, both age group winners and draw prizes.

This is always a super-fun evening, so bring your friends and come up for one last night of headlamp skiing before you get out your running shoes and mountain bikes! See you there!

Mar 9, Classic

2011-03-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't possibly improve on the awesome race report submitted by Anonymous in the March 2 comments section! So I'll just add a few results and leave it at that. Thanks, Anonymous!

Masters, 5k

Jon Fewster, 17:25
Brian Dumais, 18:23
Brent Turner, 19:24
Chris Fast, 19:33
Jeremy Littell, 21:11

Just Skiin'

Melbourne Boys
Ian Whyte (skating!)

Mar 2, Skating

2011-03-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

It looks like I missed some interesting weather while I was in Sweden! Many thanks to Chris Fast for wading through two feet of snow to open up the cabin, putting out a list, collecting the results, and sending them to me. Here is his report on conditions:

2 feet of fresh snow got groomed in the morning. The track was very bumpy and rutted. Poles with powder baskets were the gear of choice tonight, because the poles kept punching through. The first time classic would have been considerably faster than skating!

I'll try to track down the results for the other week I missed; if anyone picked them up, please let me know.

Next week: end of season relay and party! Details to come.

Masters, 5k Skating

Nikolay Nachev, 16:56
Chris Fast, 17:20
Eric Kamila, 17:50

Just Skiin'

Tim Melbourne
Jon Fewster
Brian Dumais

Feb 23, Classic

2011-02-24T10:25:00.001-08:00

Wow. Chris Caviezel is reporting 54 inches of snow in the last 60 hours! Did anyone make it up there last night?

Feb 23, Conditions Preview

2011-02-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

Yikes! Kent reports that he is slowly coming back from the pass, with heavy snow and cars in the ditch. He skied at exit 62 and said within 15 minutes, his tracks were filled in. If you go, be careful!

Feb 16, Skating -- RESULTS!

2011-02-21T12:38:00.000-08:00

Finally ... sorry for the delay! There might have been some creative course design this week: it looks like some of you added the PK loop and some did not, and at least one of you did the upper part of the Berg loop instead of the road. It's all good.

Masters, 5k

Jon Fewster, 13:58
Christopher Fast, 15:30
Alex Horner-Devine, 15:57
Bryan Schaeffer, 16:18
Eric Kamila, 16:22
Jim Cahill, 16:45
Jeff McGrew, 17:04
Dale Bohm, 18:03
Ian Whtyte, 20:55
Peter Turcan, 23:15
Tim Melbourne, 77:77

Just Skiin'

Brian Dumais (20k, 1:01)
Brad Laesch
Ronnie Schmeer (2xViking)
Jason, Anita, and nine Bush School kids
Robert Gordon (4xBerg)

This week: classic, and a possibility of fresh snow!

Feb 16, Skating

2011-02-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

It looks like at least a couple of racers made it up there last night! Dale reports fine skiing under clear skies and a full moon. He said the course was groomed Tuesday night, but another couple inches of fresh snow after that made the skiing slow but fun.

Anyone else?

Masters, 5k Skating

Chris Fast, 15:xx
Jeff McGrew, 17:04
Dale Bohm, 18:03
Ian Whyte, 20:xx
Peter Turcan, 23:15

[note: I'm told there is a sign-up sheet with 15 to 20 names on it -- hopefully I can find it this weekend!]

Next week: classic. This weekend: Stampede! 5k and 15k at Cabin Creek -- you've been training for this one all winter! Details at http://www.kongsbergers.org/.

Feb 16, A Little Help?

2011-02-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to make it up there tonight, so if everyone who goes could email me their times, I'll compile a results list. And if someone wanted to send me a conditions report, that would be great! Have fun, everyone -- it's snowing up there!

Feb 9, Classic

2011-02-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

When Peter Boveng walks across the bridge to the ski trails and steps onto the snow and gets a big smile on his face and says, "Ooh, fast!", that can only mean ... ice. Again. The course was wicked fast last night, rock solid, with classic tracks blasted out of cement. Even the laps of the skating bikers couldn't soften it last night. Even a whole posse of skiers doing multiple laps couldn't destroy those tracks. For good downhillers, it was pure fun; for timid downhillers, it was fantastic training, spending some time at uncomfortable speeds. For everyone, it was another in a never-ending streak of excellent nights of headlamp skiing! Easy driving, smooth grooming, temps in the upper 20's, clear sky, with a quarter moon bright enough to cast shadows and blot out all but the brightest stars. We're halfway through the season; if you've been thinking about coming up, it's time!

Next week: skating. Good luck to everyone going to the Langlauf, the Nickel Loppet, and the Cariboo!

Masters, 5k

Jeff Hashimoto, 13:17
Brian Dumais, 13:53
Peter Boveng, 14:38
Brent Turner, 14:39
Kyle Nagle, 14:48
Jeff McGrew, 17:22
Eric Kamila, 17:50
Jim Cahill, 18:28
Chip Nevin, 19:45
Ian Whyte, 23:10
Amy Snover, 26:00
Debbie Kolp, 28:15
Tim Melbourne, 77:77

Juniors, 2.5k

Magnus Melbourne, 7:52
Nils Melbourne, 8:12

Just Skiin'

Jessica Kleiss (one lap, 15:25)
Robert, Kris and Karen Gordon
Anita Campbell, Jason Paur, and 14 Bush kids
Ben Corwin
Carey Gazis
skating bikers
other nameless people

Feb 9, Conditions Preview

2011-02-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

Just heard that Ozzie and the Wednesday guys spent the morning finishing the repairs on the Berg loop washout. A LOT of man-hours of hard physical labor have been going into that washout, so many thanks to everyone who has contributed to that little project!

Ozzie also reports that it's really nice up there today, with fast corn snow, and he set a track around the whole Berg loop, including the washout repair section. Time for some classic skiing!

Feb 2, Skate

2011-02-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, we almost forgot what to do when the temperature actually drops below freezing! The chilly clear air made for a gorgeous night of skiing: a dark dark sky, with billions and billions of stars. You could turn off your headlamp when no one was around and look far into the universe, searching for those new suns that might have livable planets circling around them. The parking lot was a sheet of ice (be careful out there!), and almost full of cars. Robert did the best he could with the course, but this interminable thaw/freeze/thaw/freeze cycle we're stuck in has turned that stuff on the ground into something that doesn't remotely resemble snow -- it's just rock solid ice. Fortunately, a couple of turns around the course by a bunch of skaters sugars up the top layer and it becomes really nice, really fast skiing! And, of course, there is always the cabin afterward, to change clothes and eat dinner and share stories with your headlamping friends.

Next week: classic (hope for snow so Robert can actually set a track). Good luck to everyone heading to the Race of the Methow (boasting of excellent trail conditions, clear and cool weather) or the Boulder Mountain Tour (where I hear it's -6F!).

Masters, 5k skate

Kyle Nagle, 37, 13:07
Peter Boveng, 52, 13:17
Jim Wood, 28, 13:29
Alex Gardner, 40, 13:30
Jason Paur, 40, 13:37
Jim Cahill, 48, 13:42
Bryan Schaeffer, 34, 13:48
Chris Fast, 44, 13:50
Jeff McGrew, 50, 14:15
Alex Horner-Devine, 38, 14:20
Eric Kamila, 37, 14:35
Romic Scheet, 42, 14:35
Dale Bohm, 52, 15:00
Mona Deprey, 44, 15:02
Chip Nevins, 52, 15:08
Rolf Sunnerup, 15:13
Carey Gazis, 48, 17:10
Heidi Fischer, 25, 17:37
Amy Snover, 42, 18:29
Ian Whyte, 48, 18:50
Peter Turcan, 19:17
Debbie Kolp. 57, 27:06 (classic)
Guillaume Mauger, 31, 38:04 (classic)
Tim Melbourne, 99:99 (can't read your handwriting, Tim!)

Juniors, 2.5k

Nils Melbourne, 8:32
Magnus Melbourne, 8:43

Just Skiin'

Terry Buchanan
Spencer Reeder
Anita Campbell and nine Bush kids
Michael Wenger (Night of Adventure award: Michael skied around the Amabilis loop in the dark, by himself, with his headlamp; it was so icy he used skins for both the uphills and the downhills!)

Jan 26, Classic? Relay? Classic Relay?

2011-01-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the confusion, everyone! I guess we were sending out mixed messages, and when we finally got there, it seemed easiest to just call it a classic night, no relay.

The parking lot was a little emptier, the sign-up sheet a little shorter, the people on the trail a little fewer. Don't give up yet, skiers! It was 48 freakin' degrees and sunny at the pass yesterday and the friendly little creeks running alongside the road are graduating into full riverhood, but there is plenty of good snow cover. The temps were still near 40 when racing started; with no moon, the sky was very dark and the stars were very bright. The course was nicely groomed, and the snow itself was a little soft, but still pretty fast, kind of like a former college football player. It's still a fresh and fun way to spend a Wednesday evening, so come on up before it's gone!

Next week: skating. Good luck to everyone heading for the Bavarian Cup, the Teacup, and the Marcialonga!

Masters, 5k classic

Jon Fewster, 14:10 (all double pole)
Brian Dumais, 14:12
Kyle Nagle, 14:50
Peter Boveng, 14:58
Alex Horner-Devine, 16:38 (all double pole)
Chris Fast, 16:51
Jeremy Littell, 17:10
Joy Cordell, 19:00
Jim Slyfield, 20:30
Di Houta (sorry; I have no idea what this says!), 23:38
Debbie Kolp, 25:58
Elizabeth Bailey, 29:15
Ian Whyte, 29:40

Skating

Tim Melbourne, 14:15 (5k)
Magnus Melbourne, 8:23 (2.5k)
Nils Melbourne, 9:10 (2.5k)

Classic/Skating Relay IronMan (two laps classic, two laps skating)

Robert Gordon, 51:06 (yay for you!)

Just Skiin'

Michael Wenger
Ben Corwin (didn't want to embarrass anyone)
Ellensburg junior team (skating)
Anita Campbell, Jason Paur, and 12 Bush kids
Four bike racers, all in a peloton
Lots of other people who prefer to remain anonymous headlamps passing in the dark

Jan 19, Skate

2011-01-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

Knee-deep slush last week, heavy heavy rain over the weekend, then temperatures dipping down just below freezing ... you know what that means! Very firm and fast conditions, especially as Robert was there grooming when we arrived. He did his best with the rock-solid conditions, and as more and more skiers circled the course, the snow turned into a layer of sugar over a hard crunchy base, kind of like your favorite dessert. He also did his best to repair the washout that required a re-route of the Gunnar Hagen race last weekend, but we really need some substantial snow before that can be fixed, so we left that little leg out of the race course. Your times may vary. Jon brought a gigantic bag of new no-wax Madshus skis to test, and even though conditions were not conducive to classic skiing AT ALL, he found plenty of willing testers. It was a great night of skiing -- the temp was near freezing, the highway was bare and dry, and a ghostly full moon rose silently behind a fuzzy little cloud cover. What a pleasure, to be out here skiing on a Wednesday night, in the dark!

Next week: relay! Meet at 6:30 to form two-person classic/skate teams, three sprint laps per person. Good luck to everyone heading to the Methow for the Pursuit, or to Austria for the Dolomitenlauf, or staying here for the Jente Loppet!

Masters, 5k
Brian Dumais, 53, 12:58
Jon Fewster, 40, 13:08
Doug Reid, 42, 13:10
Jeff McGrew, 51, 13:36
Jordan Goldwarg, 29, 14:15
Alex Horner-Devine, 38, 14:15
Jim Cahill, 48, 14:30
Tim Melbourne, 42, 14:32
John Outterson, 40, 14:40
Jim Wood, 28, 14:49
Bryan Schaeffer, 34, 14:54
Jason Paur, 40, 15:04
Eric Kamila, 37, 15:20
Craig Fowler, 39, 15:38
Spider Burbank, 56, 15:46
Rolf Sunnerup, 45, 16:50
Emily Rimas, 31, 16:55
Jim Slyfield, 53, 17:41
Brad Weed, 45, 18:19
Heidi Fischer, 25, 21:40
Jessica Kleiss, 33, 20:02
Jennifer Wagner, 20:22
Michael Black, 42, 22:10
Ian Whyte, 48, 22:10
Marketa Eisner, 33, 22:58
Kris Gordon, 12, 29:21
Debbie Kolp, 57, 40:04 (lonesome classic skier)

Just Skiin'
Elise Stacey
Robert Gordon
Karen Gordon
10 Bush School kids

Jan 12, Classic

2011-01-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

Hey, guess what! Some people did make it up to the pass for headlamp racing this week, notwithstanding the flooding roads, the slushy parking lot, the crusty trails. I'm impressed! Here are two stories; if anyone else made it up, let us know so we can admire you.

Jeremy Littel's story:

At 4:34 pm when you wrote the entry on the headlamp blog, I was headed up the highway with two others in the car to go skiing in the rain. There was impressive standing water on the highway, and I too got temporarily stuck in the parking lot, but nothing 5 minutes of shoveling couldn't fix. There were a handful of other cars.

We skied from about 6:20 to 7:30, and got pretty wet. There was skate lane set, but no classic tracks, so we had to make do. Skating would actually have been okay, if a little soft.

I skied a 22:23 5k classic on the standard course, maybe my slowest ever? Anyway, good to be skiing, but good to be home and dry too.

Rolf Sonnerup's story:

Ingrid Tohver, Jeremy Littel and I must've really needed to get out.

Raining HARD at the summit, deep water on the highway, and anyway we've driven this far, why not? At 6:15, freshly groomed but no classic tracks. Light rain. Ingrid (3rd time on skis) did the road and declared 'this is so beautiful!' JL and I did the TT, Jeremy came in at 22:22 and I was, amazingly, done in 2:25. Amazing because we did not ski together. Later we discovered that my skis (rilled very coarse) were running substantially faster than Jeremy's. I would stand and scratch myself on slight downhills [ed. note: he means adjust his headlamp] with Jeremy double poling the same pace. this explains the near coincidence as JL > RS in reality world.

Pity there weren't more folks - the skiing wasn't as bad as it looked. Yes, we got stuck in the parking lot. yes, it was raining. anyway it was nice.

Masters, 5k

Jeremy Littel, 22:23
Rolf Sonnerup, 22:25

Next week: skating. This weekend: Gunnar Hagen, come hell or high water! Pre-register and get all the info you need at http://www.kongsgergers.org/.

Jan 12, Update

2011-01-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Ozzie went home early (which NEVER happens). He said there was freezing rain forming an icy crust on top of a ton of new snow, although Robert was grooming, and the parking lot is a deep slushy mess. Scott also emailed and said he got stuck in the parking lot until someone with a truck pulled him out. Given that, plus the fact that the pass is currently closed for avalanche control, Peter and I are pulling the plug. Color me disappointed but resigned. If you do go, please send me a report, and kudos to you!

This Sunday: Gunnar Hagen! In the rain!

Jan 12, Conditions Preview

2011-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

Early report from Ozzie at 11:30: 28 degrees, snowing hard. No cars in the parking lot; no grooming yet. Ozzie ran the track sled around Ozbaldy, but the tracks filled in as fast as he could set them.

It's gonna be a fun one -- see you there!

Jan 5, Skate

2011-01-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

We're back! Another season of headlamp skiing started this week, with, guess what, freezing rain. It looked so pretty, sparkling in the beam of our super-bright headlamps. Even with areas of standing water on the freeway and temps in the mid-30's, the parking lot was half-full and there were plenty of eager skiers ready to start the new year skiing in the dark. The course had been groomed in the morning, but then it snowed a couple inches and then it rained. That left us with some pretty choppy slop when we arrived, but when you send a bunch of skiers around a short course over and over, it starts to pack down into something skiable. The downhills turned into slickety luge runs carved into the heavy wet snow, and got faster and more exciting with each lap. For classic skiers, striding out of the tracks to try to get some traction was a great workout for all those little tiny balance muscles. It was a fun evening of skiing, and so cool to see my favorite guys in the cabin again afterward!

Next week: classic. Good luck to anyone (that would be Martin) heading to the Czech Republic for the 50k Jizurska!

Masters 5k
Brian Dumais, 53, 14:11
Brent Turner, 56, 14:19
Jon Fewster, 40, 14:24
Peter Boveng, 52, 14:51
Jeremy Littell, 37, 15:35
Seth Davis, 34, 15:37
Bryan Schaeffer, 34, 16:39
Gareth Hardwick, 15, 16:55
Jonathan Sirois, 36, 17:15
Jim Wood, 28, 17:21
Alex Horner-Devine, 38, 17:28
Craig Fowler, 39, 17:36
Rolf Sunnerup, 45, 17:43
Spider Burbank, 56, 17:58
Owen Burbank, 21, 17:58 (home from college)
Eric Kamila, 37, 18:45
Jim Slyfield, 53, 20:15
Richard Rice, 60, 23:00
Peter Turcan, 53, 23:20
Jessica Kleiss, 33, 23:54
Martina Widman, 33, 25:00
Markita Eisner, 33, 26:00
Kent Robarge, 46, 28:30 ("setting low expectations for the next race")
Debbie Kolp, 57, 30:58 (classic)
Elizabth Bailey, 50, 34:15 (classic)

Juniors, 2.5k
Elise Stacey, 14, 10:23

Just Skiin'
Brian Palm
10 kids from Bush School

2011 Race Schedule

2010-11-18T21:11:00.001-08:00

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

Trail Work Time!

2010-08-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

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

2010-03-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-24T11:33:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-19T11:55:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-02T19:51:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-25T22:31:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

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