Beginner kids clinics and races this weekend were a blast! Lots of Sharks and Minnows, going off jumps and a race course with some some obstacles! Big thanks to our awesome volunteer groomers for their daily work keeping our trails and especially Camp May Rd. safe and fun to ski on for our beginners!
Hi all,
We are able to offer ski clinics for adults of all levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) again this Sat Feb 11th with the following times:
9:30am-11am CLASSIC
12:30pm-2pm SKATE
To sign up, please email SWNSKIboard@gmail.com by 3pm on Friday Feb 10th, we will limit participation to 6 students per instructor.
Not sure what is skate and what is classic? Check out this short informative video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKUpNk7pVaM
Clinics are free but everyone attending should be a current club member due to insurance requirements. If you need to renew or join you can do so here:
http://swnskiclub.org/?page_id=93
$25/individual $35/family. The club is a 401c3 non profit and membership fees as well as any donations are tax deductible.
❄❄ Big thank you to our volunteer instructors as well as our amazing volunteer groomers – their hard work is what keeps the skiing on our trails safer and more fun especially when we don’t get as much snow as we need and through the warmer days!
Hi all!
We have a ski event celebrating our long time friend, club supporter/volunteer and an avid classic skier Chuck Calef this Sat Jan 28th:
The Chuck Calef Classic!
The trail will be groomed with best line classic tracks making it even more fun to classic (but really not fun to skate, so please save the skating for another day)! In classic Chuck style, wear your best nordic sweater, a big kind smile and if you got one a big bushy beard! The event is free to all.
The course will be an approximately 8 km loop on our trails and we will send skiers off 1 min apart with first skier off at 9:30 am from point B. Please plan to be at point B to get your name on the order list no later than 9:15 am and plan accordingly to be able to have your skis ready, warm up and arrive at point B by 9:15 am.
Go Southwest Nordic Ski Club! The kids had some great races here at the Soldier Hollow Super Qualifier (Midway, UT). There were huge fields, resulting in some equally daunting nerves to overcome. That was our main reason to travel so far for two days of racing — time to face reality. It went really well and I think a lot was learned. Poor Quanah just missed a podium in a tight finish. Check out Mila’s U16 (girls 14-15 yrs old) field! She really had to sink or swim quickly!
Saturday, March 5, 2022: RMN Freestyle Distance Race
Saturday will be the RMN-scored distance race in freestyle technique. Standard RMN race distances per age group will apply:
Sunday, March 6, 2022: Relay
On Sunday, racers will team up with their assigned teammates to compete in a relay. Teams will be chosen at random within their respective age groups. Any willing and able coaches are encouraged to participate — we will throw the coach names in a hat and mix them with the teams. Coaches may race more than once, with any of the various age groups. Please specify the age group(s) with which the coach would like to race. Skiers will race on a specially designed course, courtesy of the Durango Nordic groomers. Expect something silly, funky, and challenging. Costumes are highly recommended and almost mandatory, especially for the coaches! This will be a fun day of making friends and having fun on skis. Distances will vary and final details to be determined. Start times and teams will be announced on Saturday, March 5th.
Registration
Registration will open on February 15 via Webscorer. Each team/racer will register for each day individually through the site registration page:
2022 U14 Festival Series Registration Link
Waiver
All participants must sign the Durango Nordic Center programs and races waiver.
Lodging
Homewood Suites by Hilton Durango
15 Girard St.
Durango, CO 81303
(970) 259-2996
Booking Link: https://group.homewood-suites.com/afjcrk
Group Name: U14 Rocky Mtn Fest
You may also call the front desk to make a reservation and reference the group name above.
Course Map
Course maps will be posted the week before the event.
Trail Passes
Athletes and families who arrive on Friday will need a trail pass, purchased online or at the Durango Nordic Center.
Coke Race
The Saturday event is also Durango’s long-standing Coke race. Family members are welcome to race as well ($10/adult; $5/youth). Registration will be online here by Feb. 15.
The trails picked up between 6″ to 8″ the other night, and we got right on it to keep things in shape and preserved. Whew! Just in time! Should be a nice weekend, if not a little warm. Hopefully, we’ll see another similar storm next week. Stay tuned.
Trails groomed for skate and classic. Watch for obstacles. Most of the course is in OK to good shape, then there are those bad spots…
Saturday and Sunday adult and kid clinics. Check the FB page for more info.
Well, it’s about time. We’ve been lacking in posting much about our trails and season, but there’s a REALLY good reason for that. For one, it was a LOT of work this year t get things going with far fewer volunteers than years past, then we had that disaster of a wind storm that destroyed the trails in various areas and caused lots of damage to things. We’re still reeling from that and are short in grooming staff, etc. It’s a tight situation. But… we do have enough snow to ski and groom, and things were saved around New Year, so we’re skiing, and that’s a good thing. We celebrated with our memorial “Chuck Calef Classic” club race & tour. What a wonderful day and celebration of our friend and hero, Chuck.
As it stands now, we’re in a bit of a heatwave and dry spell, so conditions are tough to keep in perfect shape. We don’t have a lot of active groomers, but are making do with what we have. Keep an open mind and use your “not best skis” skis 😉
See the write-up in the LA Daily Post:
https://ladailypost.com/first-pajarito-youth-bike-fest-mountain-bike-race-a-success/
Results:
| time | |
| MILD course overall: | |
| Oliver Garcia | 44:43:00 |
| MEDIUM course overall females: | |
| 1. Mila Moseley | 41:11:00 |
| 2. Amelia Hill | 50:05:00 |
| 3. Liv Niklasson | 56:10:00 |
| MEDIUM course overall males: | |
| 1. Luke Gibson | 52:54:00 |
| 2. Calvin Morris | 56:39:00 |
| 3. Wendell Starr | 59:57:00 |
| HOT course overall: | |
| 1. Isaac Olson | 56:05:00 |
| 2. Jack Hawkins | 57:24:00 |
| 3. Nikolai Nelson | 59:39:00 |
| HOT course age-group awards: | |
| U16 | |
| 1. Joab Morris | 1:05:29 |
| 2. Axel Niklasson | 1:09:06 |
| U14 | |
| 1. Luke Morris | 1:06:49 |
| 2. Adis Bock | 1:12:32 |
| 3. Zachary Gutierrez | 1:17:03 |
| U12 | |
| 1. Ian McLean | 1:07:11 |
| 2. Diego Leonard | 1:13:58 |
| 3. Zach Gibson | 1:14:04 |
| age group 9-11 | |
| 1. Levi Gibson | 1:01:50 |
| 2. Quanah Moseley | 1:02:20 |
| 3. Cullen McLean | 1:06:11 |
Finally, a local mountain bike race for youth racers age 18 and under. No licence is necessary, and the event is free! (thank you to sponsors and supporters!) Check here for details about the event.
We put on a little informal SWNSki Kids intra-squad meet up at EFXC this past weekend, and were treated to wonderful conditions and a lot of fun. If you haven’t been up there yet, make the effort. It is definitely worth it! Also, they have a lot of used ski gear for kids, so ask Ellen Miller about that when you’re there.
