The first of the ultra-marathons hits the season early, the second weekend in January!
This event gives a plethora of racing options: ranging from 3, 6, 12, or 24 hour events and from Solo up to 8-person teams, freestyle or classic.
This was my second time competing in this event in the 24-hour Solo catagory, feeling much more matured and ready than before. I wasn’t, however, expecting the temps to be as cold as they were- virtually putting an end to my goals. The snow was cold and abrasive- providing little glide during the wee hours of the night. I had two pairs of skis ready, hoping to not have to stop and rewax an any point during the race. My ‘primary’ skis were done with LF moly, HF Blue/cold powder, then Jetstream blue ironed in. My ‘warm’ skis were LF Moly, HF blue, then Jetstream blue rotocorked.
Starting the race, my skis were fast. As it warmed into the teens in the afternoon, I switched to the ‘warm’ skis in order to preserve my ‘primary’ skis for the night, noticing no significant difference in speed. As the sun dipped beyond the Telemark hill, overmits froze into a solid shell, bodies chilled, and worst of all, skis got slow. Stopping for the first ‘break’ after 11 hours of skiing, I layered up, changed gloves and socks, and put my primary skis back on. They felt fast- considering the conditions. Back to zipping by other racers on the downhills. What a difference the cold powder makes!
6 hours later, temps. dipping below 0F and barely able to push any glide out of the skis going uphill (this is where I should have traveled with a pair of classic skis)- I had to stop to reapply some HF blue/cold powder. I’m sure fatigue had something to do with the sudden lack of ability to climb hills, but the skis were definitely dry. They had lasted about 150K in cold and abrasive snow(the warm skis had made it about 50K).
This is my personal attestation to the wide range, speed, and durability of the HF blue/cold powder combination that I trust for any race greater than a marathon. I have used it up in the low 20’s and obviously into the sub-zero’s, and have always had great results!
the24hoursoftelemark.com is a fun race at a great venue- recommend it to anyone!Now to get ready for the Susitna 100…
