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!
Today, they went next level and had no choice but to stay in the tracks and ski straight up the big hills to get out to the Caldera rim. We usually let them wind their way up the easy, more gradual route, but not tonight. They do appreciate the view into the Valles Caldera every time. Quanah is always impressed that he skis all the out there under his own steam and even crosses out of Los Alamos County, into Sandoval County. It’s somehow epic to him that he crosses that imaginary line (well, there is a fence) 😉🤣
Hey snowshoe enthusiasts,
The warm spell last weekend didn’t last long . It’s back to winter. Ski slopes and adjacent XC trails got a nice little refresh of new snow yesterday 3 of us plan to meet at the west end of the Pajarito ski area parking lot tonight. We will hike on either the Canada Bonita multi use trail or ski area slopes/jeep roads as people wish.
All ages and abilities welcome.
Mike Engelhardt
Sports Director
Los Alamos Triatomics Multi Sport Club
Results from the day’s effort. What a great group out there today!
| Name | Time |
| Kyle | 26:54:00 |
| Laura | 29:12:00 |
| Logan | 29:45:00 |
| Clay | 30:19:00 |
| Travis | 30:32:00 |
| Zach L. | 30:43:00 |
| Levi | 31:13:00 |
| Mila | 31:47:00 |
| Diego | 31:53:00 |
| Zach G. | 33:13:00 |
| Adis | 33:54:00 |
| Quanah | 33:58:00 |
| Sanna | 34:00:00 |
| Lukas | 36:20:00 |
| Kevin | 37:25:00 |
| Ajla | 37:46:00 |
| Tarik | 37:48:00 |
| Harper | 38:07:00 |
| Luke | 39:09:00 |
| Nick | 39:10:00 |
| Phoebe | 39:33:00 |
| Oli | 40:21:00 |
| Siobhan | 40:57:00 |
| Lynn | 41:23:00 |
| Jasmina | 41:40:00 |
| Lindsay | 48:39:00 |
| Ana | 49:59:00 |
| Sarah | 51:23:00 |
| Jan | 52:16:00 |
| Katya | 59:00:00 |
We had some dedicated kids, parents and adults come out for the clinics in the Sunday snow storm (and some valiantly tried driving without and then with chains before giving up with a car full of our awesome little skiers)! I didn’t get a lot of photos but it was a lot of fun with even a one-ski soccer game at the end! Huge thanks to coach Kyle for his help with everything!
Definitely good winter tires needed and ideally 4WD for coming up there this week, although FWD worked well as long as you had good winter tires from what we saw.
We are FINALLY skiing! We got a healthy dump of some very good-quality snow that has done a good job of covering the trails. It’s still thin in the usual “big rock” locations, but if you’re careful and know where they lurk, you can miss them. Be especially careful on the section of trail between “TJ’s” and “Dave’s Dogleg” (between point G and H on the map), and the screamer downhill toward the bottom of the meadow, just above point M on the map.
Hopefully, we won’t have to wait so long before we get another good dump, but with some reasonable January temperatures, it should be pretty nice.
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 😉
