Olympians Ready for Ski to the Clouds

Pinkham Notch, NH— On Sunday March 8, 2009, Great Glen Trails will host Ski to the Clouds: North America’s Toughest 10k presented by Maxiglide. This year’s race will feature Olympians and last year’s champions.

In 2008, Olympians and top college skiers took on the challenge of Ski to the Clouds, and the same is true in 2009. Last year’s overall winner and 2006 Olympian, Justin Freeman of New Hampton, NH and The Factory Team will return to defend his title. Kelsey Allen of NENSC and Franconia, NH, 2008’s women’s champion, will also return to defend her title.

Other top athletes scheduled to race include: 1998 Olympian Marc Gilbertson of Rossignol and Hyde Park, VT; 1992 and 1994 Olympic biathlete Duncan Douglas from Honeoye Falls, NY, representing the New York Ski Educational Foundation; and current U.S. Biathlon team member and Army World Class Athlete Program racer Jesse Downs of Jericho Center, VT.

Last year was also the first year of the race’s new incarnation, which included 4k of racing on the trail system at Great Glen Trails before the climb up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. The 2009 race will be contested on the same 10-kilometer course making it the toughest 10k in North America. The race will finish at the site of the historic Halfway House on the Mt. Washington Auto Road, just below 4000 feet above sea level. Ski to the Clouds is true freestyle event: skiers can use either skating or classic technique in this mass start race. There will not be separate categories for each discipline.