If there’s one event that shows the spirit of New England skiing, well…that would probably be BKL Fest.
BUT, if there was a podium for that spirit, Cochran’s Nordic Cross would probably occupy 2nd place.
The fact that a local alpine area utilizes it’s snowmaking and snow grooming capabilities to construct an absolutely bonkers racecourse of jumps, banked turns, step-down terrain, pond-skim set-piece, hay bale roll, and bicycle pumptrack, all for NORDIC skis, is something to behold.
I’ve seen a few other versions of this pop up, such as one in Duluth, MN and Anchorage, AK, but I’m not sure they have anything on Cochran’s Nordic Cross.
In addition to the racecourse itself you’ve got gigantic, continuously poured-and-flipped pancakes for all. You’ve got a kids race with over 40 competitors. You have the 8th best sprinter (and top U23 skier overall) in the entire world, Ben Ogden, rolling up with a truck that has a built-in grill in the bed to skew kebobs for all to go alongside the pancakes. You have local vendors showing and giving out great products. You have Bullitt Timing on site with chip timing, speed traps, and immaculate professional results. And you’ve got 250 total competitors, and all the fans and parents and teammates that go along with those competitors, and before you know if the entire hill is flooded with bodies all in the name of a crazy skinny ski race.
Many MNC skiers participated, from BKL racers all the way up to some masters unafraid of a few turns, icy corners, and steep drops! Several who were in attendance told me that they “had no idea how awesome this was” and will certainly be jumping in next year.
Our Juniors made it through the day unscathed although crashes were numerous. Racers went off in groups of 5 every minute, and I think event organizer Pennie Rand had a laugh creating an “MNC wave” of myself, Virginia, Julia, Ava, Emma, and Aidan.
Virginia, Ava, and Julia after the madness.
Astrid getting air successfully over the mini pond! To see an unsuccessful pond jump just peep the thumbnail for the Youtube video below…don’t worry, Niko was ok!
Start of a kids wave, led by the creator of this whole thing, Pennie Rand!
Dave Priganc captured many great photos (including some of the above) on his popular Flickr page here.
Taylor Carlson did the whole thing with a GoPro chest mount, and thanks to the wonders of technology we put together a video showing the course. The uphills are a bit sped-up (you’ll be able to tell!) in order to really show you the action on the descents and features (which are in real-time). Thanks for capturing the event, Taylor! Be on the lookout for additional media in the coming days.
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