“I’m a telemark skier and I like to be on the edge when it comes to my skiing,’’ he said. “I always figured that telemark skiers can do what Alpine skiers do.’’
New England’s slopes are loaded with competitions that go beyond traditional racing gates. There are myriad events in 2010 for the adventurous skier. Ski a day of runs trying to accumulate the most vertical. Get air navigating aggressive terrain with chutes and jumps. Bust some knee-jarring bumps.
On Tuesday, 84 people tackled Sugarloaf’s Moonlight Climb, a free-heel randonee dash featuring skinning up and skiing down. Skiers had a choice of a 1-mile course with a 1,780-foot vertical climb (73 opted for that) and a 5-mile route with a 2,500-foot vertical push (11 signed up).
Other upcoming ski mountaineering races include Jay Peak (Jan. 30), Blue Hills (Jan. 31), Mad River/Sugarbush (Feb. 7), Saddleback (Feb. 27), and Magic Mountain (March 6).
Mogul mashers like the bumps at Sunday River during the Maine Telemark Festival Feb. 6 and Killington’s Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge March 27 on Outer Limits.
Skiers can tap their inner Bode Miller or Lindsey Vonn during the Jay Peak Syrovatka Downhill March 6, clocking speeds upward of 80 miles per hour. That, said Jay president Bill Stenger, is faster than what the Olympians will reach in Vancouver, since that downhill has more twists, turns, and dips.
The race at Jay is more of a straight shot, and though it attracts a large number of former college ski team members, master’s competitors, and other high-end racers gunning for a $500 prize, there are still dreamers who feel like they’re Olympic downhillers for a day.
“For a lot of people who show up, it is a Walter Mitty kind of experience,’’ said Stenger. “They have never been in that type of race before. They don’t go very fast, but they think they do and it is a thrill for them.’’
