Nordic Race Results - Alpine Race Results

• Great Bear Chase
  
• American Birkebeiner
• Hayward Lyons Pre-Birkie
• Noquemanon Ski Marathon
• Chama Chile Classic
• SiSu Ski Fest
• Seeley Hills

 

Great Bear Chase Summary from Paulette Neimi

Had a great race at the Great Bear Chase. The snow and temps were actually pretty cold in the am when we started and places on trail had windblown dry snow. It had gotten down to 16°F Friday night. I was worried about the added structure (0.3 mm V pattern) I had put in and warm HSF-30 & Flite Warm waxes. I tested 3 pair and chose hard track Atomics as they skied the best.
The trail stayed firm for most of the race other than some of the hills. First lap, my skis were OK, but on second lap when sun came out and temps rose, snow got wetter and then my skis started flying, which was good as in the last 10k I was beat and needed all the help I could get from my skis!

I finally broke 3 minutes per km this year. It was a good end to racing season.
Paulette

 

Excellent Results from the American Birkebeiner with several age group champions.
Congratulations to all the the Fast Wax Skiers on the excellent racing

Age Group Champions

Dave Christopherson 60-64 Age Group Champion
Elaine Nelson 30-34 Age Group Champion
Mary Beth Tuttle 45-49 Age Group Champion
Paulette Neimi 40-44 Age Group Champion

Pre-Birkie

Strong Racing by the Vakava Team especially in the Pre-Birkie with Mary Beth Tuttle's second place in the 23 K Freestyle Race and several age group champions

Elaine Nelson makes it wins 2 in a row with a first place in the Pre Birkie 42 K Freestyle!

Tough conditions with a race time temperature of 0°F, new wind blown cold snow.
Here are the race notes from Grant:
Elaine was super happy with her race. We both used Fast Wax HS-0 White
with Flite Arctic over the top. Both of us had great skis. Elaine caught
me at 30km & we skied the rest of the race together.
Once again Fast Wax HS - 0 White is the champions choice.

Side note: Several elite level master skiers stated they tried to stay with Elaine and could not keep up with her.
"Elaine just skied away from us at will"

Noquemanon Ski Marathon
Paulette Niemi skis to victory in the Noque 50 K Freestyle

The winning edge was Strong Hill Climbing, Soft Flexed Atomic World Cup Skis and Fast Wax HSF-20 Tan,
Top Coat Flite Cold
Paulette needed fast skis to overcome not 1 but 2 crashes

Clay Mosley 1st Place in the Chama Chile Classic January 14

There was great racing and great snow (although only about 20% of normal...) at the 39th Annual Chama Chile Ski Classic this past weekend. I've been having to groom a lot for our local club race the previous weekend, then went up to mark the course for Chama the next day, then groomed it last Friday with a couple other guys, then raced, and repeated on Sunday!
So, I'm always pretty tired for the Chama races, but they were still great and I had a good time.

The 18km (not 15 as advertised) race on Saturday was very competitive with skiers from all over southern Colorado showing up, including 2nd place in the World Randonee Championships, Scott Simmons, from Durango. He took off
really hard and I had to bridge some gaps to the first chase, from getting a slightly lack-luster start. That left me a little hurting through about 12km, at which point we bridged the gap, but I began falling apart with my tired groomer's back and hips. I lost about 38 seconds in the final 6km and ended up 3rd overall, which was pretty good considering how I felt, but I
felt like I should have won because I definitely had the best skis!

I used the new fluorinated base prep, which made my skis look so shiny and fast! I almost didn't want to put anything else on them, but it's cold and dry in Chama, so I went with the HSLF-20 (blue) for my final layer wax. I had some extremely fast skis and I think it definitely made the difference in my ability to hang onto those guys at the front. I would relax on the tops of the climbs and let a little gap open up because I knew it would naturally close on the descents thanks to my fast skis.

In the classic event (~12km), I was even more tired, but again, had some fantastic skis. Same deal as the day before: I went with the new fluorinated base prep, followed up with the HSLF-20. I was SO pleased with how my skis felt, and despite the fatigue, I skied to the win. I never panicked despite having a couple of guys chasing hard only about 30 seconds back. Each descent kept me in the front comfortably, so I was able to ski with good technique on the hills. It was a lot of fun.

I love the new base prep. That is good stuff.

Sisu Ski Fest January 14 2012
Mary Beth Tuttle Reports on an excellent 2nd place finish after a year off of Racing
Cherly Dubois Age Group Champion
Paulette Neimi Age Group Champion
Dan Meyer makes the podium in the 42K Freestyle using Slick Pro

 

Sisu Fest Race report:
After not racing for more than year due to serious spine issues, I was thrilled to be able to be back enjoying one of my great passions in life. My two main goals were to have fun and try not to fall, which I successfully accomplished both. The fun started on Friday as I watched my 9 y.o. daughter and Cherly Dubois's daughter ski in the kids race.

Ironwood had received about 18 to 20 inches of new, dry snow earlier in the week. They were excited to ski and play in some real snow, other than the artificial snow we have in the Twin Cities. It was our turn the next day. We woke up with a temperature of 9 degrees, a few degrees warmer than what we expected, but I felt confident that I had chosen the right Fast Wax. I used HSF 10 Green, over HSLF 10 Teal with a coating of Flite Arctic on top. I was especially impressed with the Fast Wax base saver that I used applying the Flite Arctic flight. I have used others before and none have worked as well as this one. I was careful to try to get a good start as the trail is very narrow. I knew that it would be difficult to pass people. I hadn't skied this course before so I took extra caution on the many downhill, twisting turns which left me playing catch-up a lot during the race.
The course was well groomed and the volunteers along the course were amazing! There was still large amounts of snow still hanging on the tree branches and many beautiful vistas, which helped distract you from the pain of racing. Overall the K's seemed fly by and I kept my focus on technique and staying relaxed. I was very happy to see the finish line and I suddenly found a new burst of energy to sprint to the finish.
The Sisu Fest was a great event and I hope to be back next year!
_________________________________________________________________

Seeley Hills Dave Nelson Reports
3rd in age group, 15th overall in 42km

Thank you so much for the great wax!! I had fantastic skis for Seeley!

I passed about 5-6 guys on the first long downhill.
That is quite the confidence boost!

I used a pair of 1993 Fischer RCS skis that I had kind of retired from racing because they didn't seem too fast anymore. But I was concerned about the thin track so I didn't want to use my best skis. I base peeled them, hot scraped them with HS-30 Red, put a coat of HS-20 Blue, a coat of HS-10 Teal, a coat of HSF-10 Green and then ironed in Arctic(I thought it was going to be colder). For kick I ironed in a thin binder, 2 layers Rode multi-green, and 4 coats of Rode super blue extra.

My kick was good and made up ground on people I skied with the entire course.
It was a great day!

3rd in age group, 15th overall in 42k

 

Alpine Race Results

Vickie Valen 2nd Place at Region