I will probably skin up and watch it in slidebrook.

Abe Froman wrote:

Just finished trimming my new skins. I am getting very psyced! Hopefully I will finish in under 12hrs

oh good! sounds like I won't be the only slow one then!!

I'm seriously worried about making the time cutoffs (depending on conditions) but at least it will be fun!

dave

djspookman wrote:

Abe Froman wrote: Just finished trimming my new skins. I am getting very psyced! Hopefully I will finish in under 12hrs oh good! sounds like I won't be the only slow one then!! I'm seriously worried about making the time cutoffs (depending on conditions) but at least it will be fun! dave

I think you should put an "AZ" somewhere visible with masking tape or something so we all can find you and cheer you on. Ok, maybe not "we all", but someone there will know what it means! Good luck and have fun!

Quote:

I think you should put an "AZ" somewhere visible

You must have meant to type "SkiMRV" ???

noski wrote:

I think you should put an "AZ" somewhere visible with masking tape or something so we all can find you and cheer you on. Ok, maybe not "we all", but someone there will know what it means! Good luck and have fun!

not a bad idea! we'll see if I follow thru! If not, my helmet (if I wear one) always has my screen name on it in red letters..(since it's a nickname of mine)

dave

http://www.life-link.com/sb_mrg_courseinfo.htm I don't think the course map was posted when the event web links were placed earlier in this thread. If it was, sorry to be redundant.

If you want to help with the race you should contact
-Jim Langley
802.583.6849

Having a talk-a-bout and first aid is a plus

noski wrote:

http://www.life-link.com/sb_mrg_courseinfo.htm I don't think the course map was posted when the event web links were placed earlier in this thread. If it was, sorry to be redundant.

cool.. thanks for posting this! I was wondering when they'd post the course map!! (I've been looking for it all week!)

dave

So guys/gals.. who came out to watch or race? What did you think?

I really loved the course, my only (BIG) downfall was not enough training. The climb up Antelope and the short steep climbs in the Slide Brook were my biggest downfalls. Overall though, I really like the course.

Below is a short description of the course:

MRG-Long Trail:
The course started in Callie's Corner at Mad River Glen (the handle tow area) in a Le Mans style start. This meant that we laid out our skiis in the snow at the start line, then went back 100 feet to another start line and had to run to our skis and put them on when the cowbell went off (I thought this was very fitting for Vermont) Once in out skiis, we all skinned up Antelope to where it intersected the Long Trail on top of the mountian. This trail had some fairly steep sections in places that required me to so some switchbacks, but most of the time I was able to skin straight up.

Long Trail to Mt. Ellen:
Once at the top of the trail, the course followed the Long Trail South to the top of the North Ridge chair at Mt. Ellen. It was pretty easy going ski touring in there, but when I went across, it started to rain, then sleet, then back to rain again and actually kept this rain/sleet pattern up the whole way across for me. There were some fun short downhill sections on the traverse across the ridge, and one required downclinb section due to the steepness and narrowness of the trail just above the junction of the spur trail that leads to the Glen Ellen Lodge. After the downclimb, I was able to putter along pretty well and was only hindered in a few places that required some short slimbing over some icy ledges, but luckily they were soft enough to just side step up and over. I popped out into the top of Exterminator into a mini hailstorm. That didn't feel too good on my face, but the wind was welcome to cool me off! I de-skinned and made my way down Rim Run and Lower FIS. Lower FIS was great up top, but then the snow degraded really fast the further down I got.

Lower FIS thru the Slide Brook:
There were mud patches and exposed waterbars on the lower part of Lower FIS, then the course did almost a 180 degree turn and went into the Slide Brook Wilderness. There were a TON of open mud/water/stream/waterbar crossings here that I just decided to ski right thru/over because my skiis were pretty much on their last season anyway so I wasn't too worried about damaging them at all. I skiied down to the lowest section of the course and was surprised to see my wife standing in the rain there with my dog to cheer me on! She was a welcome sight! I stopped for a minute to put my skins on and chat with my wife than started out. My dog had got loose from the leash and was intent on following me thru the rest of the race, but my wife came up and brought her back down with her. The trip thru the Slide Brook area was quite nice actually! I kept puttering along thru the rolling terrain, then rounded a corner and went up up up up.. I wasn't happy with that climb, but I just kept chugging along anyway. It felt like it was the steepest part of the whole course! I eventually made it to the fork where the Race division and Recreational divisions split, and took a left onto the Recreational divisions course and made my way down to Village Run, then up it to the top of the Gatehouse Chair.

Gatehouse Chair to the Finish:
I took my skins off and set off down the Castlerock Connection trail and down to the Castlerock Lift. I made an oops at the lift and went the wrong way here. Thankfully the lift op noticed this and let me know that the course went left at the fork, not right..(oops! I wasn't paying close enough attention here!) So off I went down the Castlerun Runout and then made a sharp right up Header and then skied down Coffee Run to the finish at the Valley House Lodge. I was glad to be done. I went inside, got changed out of my soaked clothing, and got my beer vouchers and went upstairs to relax with my wife. AHHH.. done.

I will be back again next year to do it again for sure, as I had a BLAST!

A BIG thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this race possible!

Dave

Congratulations! How many competitors were there? What did they think as they "decompressed" at the Valley House? I wonder if the series will come back next year. It would be nice to have some anecdotal information from competitors to share with management of MRG/SB and the series promoter.

noski wrote:

Congratulations! How many competitors were there? What did they think as they "decompressed" at the Valley House? I wonder if the series will come back next year. It would be nice to have some anecdotal information from competitors to share with management of MRG/SB and the series promoter.

Thanks! I had a blast out there! There were 37 total competitors, and I think that 36 finished. Everyone I talked to (only a few!) liked the course! I overheard someone saying this was the longest randonee rally in the series. Apparently the other races are half the length. I think the low number of competitors was a direct result of the weather Sunday though.. which is too bad because it really wasn't that bad!

Congrats to all of the competitors! My friend and I worked Grand Junction.....the last semi flat area where most of the logging trails merge and if you ski out there you congregate at the bridge to then ski to the bus stop. The competitors then put their skins back on and went straight up! Most people had smiles on their faces and looked good. Although it was a bit cold standing around in the rain hail it was fun to watch each racer go through! When asked most of the competitors where from around VT. Hopefully next year there is better conditions.

Ditto to djspooksman's comment to being in better shape. I didn't realize how out of shape I am! Thanks to all those who made this race happen. It was a blast!

Abe Froman wrote:

Ditto to djspooksman's comment to being in better shape. I didn't realize how out of shape I am! Thanks to all those who made this race happen. It was a blast!

....Mr. Froman, Sausage King of Chicago.....

Yep! That's me!