Challenging conditions for Gold Rush competitors

Women's Winner Katerina Vinogradova (photo by Emma Garrard)

Donner Summit, CA—

More than a foot of snow fell on Donner Summit overnight Saturday and continued prior to the start of the annual California Gold Rush, a 46k cross country ski race held at Royal Gorge.

The weather resulted in a delayed start and slight course change.

The races started at 9:30 a.m. and instead of a two-lap 21k loop, Gold Rush competitors skied three laps of a 15.3k loop.

Silver Rush Competitors skied two laps (30.8k) and Bronze Rush skied a 9k.

The only thing more challenging than trying to skate ski through the soft, fresh snow was the visability, or lack of.

Adam Swank, 33, of Duluth, Minn. won the Gold Rush race with a time of 2:28.49.

The Minnesotan said the conditions were the toughest he’d ever seen at the race.

There were sections where it was coming down so hard, he was trying to skate through “boot-high” snow.

“It was like an expedition out there,” he said. “There were times when you couldn’t see the trail in front of you.”

Adam Swank (Fischer-Craft) finishes lap 2 and heads out on his final lap. Photo by Emma Garrard.

Swank took the early lead and broke away from the pack around 7k, along with local skier Ian Case of Truckee.  The two were soon joined by Nikolai Aniken, also from Duluth, who bridged the gap within two or three kilometers after Swank’s initial break.

The three leaders worked together for the first two laps before Case dropped off heading into the final lap, leaving Aniken and Swank to battle for the win. Swank was able to put an impressive two minutes on Aniken on the long final climb up to the finish.

His best finish prior to Sunday was 2nd in 2007.

Aniken easily took second with a time of 2:30.36, while Case hung on for third with a time of 2:34.17 after skiing the entire third lap alone.

On the women’s side, Katerina Vinogradova of Auburn won with a time of 2:45.22.

Behind Vinogradova were Sarah Max of Bend, Ore., with a time of 2:51.03 and Lenka Palanova of Boulder, Colo., with a time of 2:56.00.

Swank had nothing but praise for the race organizers and groomers who dealt with the challenging conditions.

“They did a good job,” Swank said. “Free beer and chili (for racers) will keep you coming back.”

Besides the racing, Swank said he enjoys coming to the Sierras to train in the 60-degree spring weather.

“I love coming out here,” Swank said.

2nd Place Woman Sarah Max laps through the stadium. Photo by Emma Garrard

Silver and Bronze Rush

In the shorter races it was all about girl power.

Joanne Reid, 16, of Palo Alto was the first-place female (2nd overall) finisher with a time of 32:50.5 in the Bronze Rush. Behind Reid was Janelle Webb with a time of 40:18.0 and Nancy Rosenblum with a time of 40:29.7

The first place male was Truckee junior Justin Ondry, with a time of  31:58.3 followed by Alex Kopytko (38:02.8) and Bill Aaron (39:40.5).

The top two finishers in the Silver Rush were Beth Reid (Joanne’s mom) of Palo Alto with a time of 1:47.46 followed by Cathy Howard of Truckee with a time of 1:57.48. The 3rd place female was Kari Rust with a time of 2:04.09.

The men’s race was won by Adam Wright of Truckee with a time of 2:00.58 followed by Glenn Jobe with a time of 2:01:21 and Scott Fairman with a time of 2:01.30.

Results:

GOLD RUSH 46km – WOMEN

GOLD RUSH 46km – MEN

SILVER RUSH 30.8km

BRONZE RUSH 9km

photo by Emma Garrard

photo by Emma Garrard