Mountain Harware Race - Lost Skier

[TreeBandit]

I was happy to see that the reace took place this year. I did not race this year due to my travel schedule and the lack of training as I had expected.
When I raced last year I noted the lower level of support from the Sugerbush team (this may be a wrong assumption and responcibility) with respect to support on the trail. I saw the same this this year, but maybe it is the race group that has the issue.

While skiing Slidebrook from Ellen and after passing the Slidebrook lift I can across a lone racer at around 2:00 on the trail heading the wrong way. The racer asked if he was going the right way and I had to inform him that he missed the turn about .5 mile back. So I tried to lead this person back to the race trail only to find the lack of race marking and people attending to ensure direction.

I only hope that this racer (a yound man) found his way.

I would have expected that there would be a clean up group that followed the last racer and validated checkpoints as well and signage to markings that point the racers in the correct direction.

Just my 2 cents.

[Hawk]

That is very unfortunate. The only complaint I heard was that many racers missed the entrance to the boot pack up next to FIS because it was not obvious and there were no volunteers at the juction to guide people in the right direction. That is to bad because it was my understanding that peice was add to level the playing field a bit.

Anyway I saw lots of happy faces at the finish line. Good work by all that gave it a whirl.

[atkinson]

I started sweeping the course after the last competitor passed onto the LT around 12pm. This is the first year we have swept.

Part of a mountaineering race is knowing the course, I offered maps and course descriptions at the start line and at registration. I also did a quick course rundown before the race, it appears not everyone was listening.

The bottom of FIS is very obvious and we did have a volunteer there, but several people passed him in the fog. The course description advised racers to stay far right, it listed a 100' descent from the top of Northridge to the start of the bootpack and that competitors needed to take the first uphill right hand turn off Rim Run.

I think someone took down some the marking tape down in Slide Brook, because when I was coming through on sweep, several pieces that I remember putting there two days before, were gone.

We have about three times as many course workers as MRG does, due to the length of the route on our side of the ridge. Could we use more help? Sure. But according to the USSMA, this race has more course workers than the other races in the series. Some courses have no support.

We accounted for all the racers by 3pm.

Thank you for the feedback.

John

[Hardbooter]

I started sweeping the course after the last competitor passed onto the LT around 12pm. This is the first year we have swept.

Actually, John, I think we sweep every year but there have been a few years where the MRG patrol didn't sweep all the way to Mt Ellen. For a couple of years I worked the position at the top of North Ridge and I would wait for the MRG patrol to emerge after the last competitor and then I would sweep down to the slide brook bridge. Someone else, usually Craig Spear, would sweep down from the top of north lynx. I think the patrol at mad river stopped sweeping to Mt Ellen for some reason. Also, I think some of the lessons learned from each season has been lost in the shuffle. We seemed to be reinventing the wheel each year even if we had a system that worked for the previous year.

I think the overall organization has been a little bit loose at times but the most you can do is to ski the course behind the final competitor. If someone has strayed off course there's not a lot you can do. We flag the whole course and I think it's important for the participants to know the route.

On the other hand, I've worked the race for many of the last few years and it's a thankless job. It's insanely cold and you miss a ski day with little reward. Most years the communication has broken down and some of the race support crew has been left standing in the cold for hours waiting for someone to tell them that the race is over. We've gotten vouchers for our work and I love idea the race but it's just too cold, too much work, and not enough reward.

That said, I think it's one of the great events that sugarbush hosts in the winter. It's very unique and I hope we can keep it coming back every year. Maybe I'll get off my ass and actually participate in the race next year.

[summitchallenger]

I was happy to see that the reace took place this year. I did not race this year due to my travel schedule and the lack of training as I had expected.
When I raced last year I noted the lower level of support from the Sugerbush team (this may be a wrong assumption and responcibility) with respect to support on the trail. I saw the same this this year, but maybe it is the race group that has the issue.

While skiing Slidebrook from Ellen and after passing the Slidebrook lift I can across a lone racer at around 2:00 on the trail heading the wrong way. The racer asked if he was going the right way and I had to inform him that he missed the turn about .5 mile back. So I tried to lead this person back to the race trail only to find the lack of race marking and people attending to ensure direction.

I only hope that this racer (a yound man) found his way.

I would have expected that there would be a clean up group that followed the last racer and validated checkpoints as well and signage to markings that point the racers in the correct direction.

Just my 2 cents.

Here's an idea that would help solve the problem: next year bring two of your friends when you volunteer and encourage everyone else that you know who volunteered this year to do the same. It would be a better outcome than coming in here and pointing a finger at the mountain and demanding that someone else do more. Better yet, send an Email to John or someone at the mountain and help plan it next year so that the problem gets resolved. Just a thought.

[Treeskier]

Having worked this race for years, this years race had the worst communication. I hope we can all learn from our mistakes.

There were a lot of smiling faces


To see more click here.

What a great powder week

[Hardbooter]

BTW, does anyone know the winning time and an average time? People keep asking me how long it takes for people to do the course and I don't have a good answer.

[atkinson]

Shupe,

You did not stick around for the volunteer meeting, therefore you missed information you are now complaining about not receiving.


Alex,

The race takes between 2 and 5 hours.

John

[daevious]

Where are the results posted? Can't find them at sugarbush.com or even at ussma.org.

[Treeskier]

John,

I was told in the morning upon checking in that I was OK to go and not informed of a informational meeting. Again lack of communication.

[vonski]

I was not racing or participating, but I heard an ambassador at Ellen Tell someone that the race was cancelled. Now, I was assuming it was the hardware race, but as I type this perhaps it was a regular race on Inverness that they were talking about. But since I heard that I did not even try to watch for anyone.

The skiing was sweet on Sunday though as well as Saturday! It is amazing how well the visibility is in the woods when foggy!, much better than the trails.

[HowieT2]

I was not racing or participating, but I heard an ambassador at Ellen Tell someone that the race was cancelled. Now, I was assuming it was the hardware race, but as I type this perhaps it was a regular race on Inverness that they were talking about. But since I heard that I did not even try to watch for anyone.

The skiing was sweet on Sunday though as well as Saturday! It is amazing how well the visibility is in the woods when foggy!, much better than the trails.

I think they were referring to a GMVS race on Inverness.

[Hardbooter]

Just to be clear, I think the communication problems are usually race time problems. The problems that I've seen come from not having a clear end-of-race plan so that someone sweeps for competitors and also makes sure to go to each volunteer and let them know that their job is done. That was particularly hard in previous years when the race had two routes. For the last few years, I've tried to stress this with the organizers on the morning of the race but they don't seem to understand how important the process is. Each year we left people standing in the cold for hours. I know a bunch of people who swore never to work the race again for this very reason. I didn't work on the race so I don't know if that went well this year. Hopefully, this thread will help the organizers plan for next year.

Hey, this thread is kind of a bummer. On a positive note, how did it go? It seemed like the snow conditions were great. Does anyone who participated want to chime in and let us know how it was?

Hey John, how about starting a new all-stoke mountain hardware race thread.

[Treeskier]

Check out this European Mountain Race!

Look at all the support.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP_aRdJ_FaA

What a course.