Sunday was one of the bigger racing days for Vermont skiers: the Eastern High School/U16 Qualifier. This is a huge endeavor with all the teams in Vermont (public HS, club team, and ski academies) all converging on one venue for nonstop racing…a mens and women’s 3km classic, followed by a men’s and women’s 3km skate.
This year the races were held at Rikert, which had ample snow to begin with and then picked up a few extra inches Saturday night. It was beautiful!
The classic races got interesting because the sun came out and things warmed up quite a bit in a short timeframe. There was dry snow underneath as a base, with more moisture and loose snow on top that was starting to get packed and compressed. It was definitely more of a tricky day than many of us probably bargained for (or anticipated) but that’s the fun of our sport. And it was a great reminder of why we do stuff like classic rollerskiing on slippery astroturf and car wax.
Our crew skied well and handled a very tough 3km classic course well! As the preparation turned to skating, some light snow began to fall and the sun went away. The skate course was “easy” on paper with a long gradual uphill and long gradual downhill, but what that really means is “no recovery” and a full effort the whole way.
Always ready to bring the music to the people (whether they want it or not?) our boys finished their race and were immediately back out on the trails with their Soundboks speakers to cheer on the girls. Levi Peters captured this cool photo which says all you need to know about that!
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