Sam and Alison Naney of Cascade endurance put on a rather unique race. It's hosted at the Loup Loup ski area not far from Winthrop Washington. Loup Loup is a real ski area in my book (independently owned and fixed grip lifts only) which makes it very worth visiting. Like the Meany lodge or Cochran's in Vermont, it's a throwback to a time when skiing was a fun and affordable community activity. A time before most ski area were soulless corporate money-makers. I digress though...
Only from the mind of these two endurance coaches could such a painful race be conceived. The basic premise of the race is: How many laps can you do in four hours? (there is a one hour race as well , but let's just say... it's a long way to drive for an hour of racing) Laps are 1200' vert and most years there is a skintrack outside the ski area boundary to the East. This year there was a bit of a "crust" (read bulletproof ice) so we ascended the same groomer we were descending. That actually made the climb much more efficient than normal and resulted in a CR.
When you get to the top you rip skins and bomb the groomer. It's a pure test of aerobic capacity, the perfect race for people with strong legs who are bad at skiing. Basically without any icy moguls or breakable crust to help me catch the fit folks the race is over before it even begins. I won a few years back, but that was before the aerobic athletes discovered skimo.
Only from the mind of these two endurance coaches could such a painful race be conceived. The basic premise of the race is: How many laps can you do in four hours? (there is a one hour race as well , but let's just say... it's a long way to drive for an hour of racing) Laps are 1200' vert and most years there is a skintrack outside the ski area boundary to the East. This year there was a bit of a "crust" (read bulletproof ice) so we ascended the same groomer we were descending. That actually made the climb much more efficient than normal and resulted in a CR.
When you get to the top you rip skins and bomb the groomer. It's a pure test of aerobic capacity, the perfect race for people with strong legs who are bad at skiing. Basically without any icy moguls or breakable crust to help me catch the fit folks the race is over before it even begins. I won a few years back, but that was before the aerobic athletes discovered skimo.
It's good to ski without a pack at least once a year - Photo by Stephen Mitchell
The one required piece of gear for this race is a helmet. I appreciate that Sam and Alison ditch any pretense of "aspiring to the big mountains" this race is about lapping a groomer as hard and fast as you can. No need to pretend we are being avi-safe, or that you need to be prepared for the big mountains. I typically toss a 500ml flask and some Gu and bars in my race suit. Extra clothes, food, and skins can be conveniently be placed at the lower transition/finish and grabbed as needed. They have a full aid station going, but this race doesn't seem to require diving into real food.
Photo by Stephen Mitchell
Pacing is the name of the game in this race. I typically work backwards from the number of laps I am hoping to do and come up with a round trip lap time. If you hit the lap button on your watch every lap you can keep an eye on the time. Keep in mind if you are mid lap when the clock hits 4 hrs your lap doesn't count. Especially late in the race you gotta keep an eye on the time. Folks are ranked first by number of laps completed, then by total time. I.e. if two folks both complete 8 laps the victor will be the one who did the 8 laps fastest, but they beat everyone who did 7.
It is VERY easy to go out too fast. Especially true since the 1 hour folks and 4 hour folks start at the same time. I have blown up several times in this race.
It is VERY easy to go out too fast. Especially true since the 1 hour folks and 4 hour folks start at the same time. I have blown up several times in this race.
Ripping the Groomer - Photo by Stephen Mitchell
This race is a blast every time I go and it's always a total ass kicker. Love supporting Sam and Alison too. This year I set a personal best with 10 laps that's 12000' in 4 hours, though the winners were really hauling ass and put in 11 laps. I think I won back in the day with 9 laps, not 10 was only enough for 6th place, it's a good thing, the rising tide lifts all boats.
