When the Saba Ski Festival Instagram page launched, there was almost immediate reaction from a variety of ski teams, skiers, and ski clubs from North America and Europe saying the idea was fantastic. Then they tended to ask how the whole idea would work, by which they often meant how the whole idea could possibly work or whether it was, literally, fantastic.
Fair question.
Former Colby College Nordic Ski team captain and current head groomer at Jackson Ski Touring in Jackson, NH, Silas Eastman, was part of the proof of concept team that spent a week last May on Saba. He had his doubts, too: “When I first saw Saba from the ferry I couldn’t see any roads, just the steep hillsides rising up out of the ocean. Then as the ferry approached the harbor, I could see the road snaking its way up and thought that it was the steepest road I had ever seen (and that’s not an exaggeration). It turns out that it wasn’t even the steepest road on the island, although it was a close second.”
The team still had to get to its base camp at The Cottage Club in the village of Windwardside, a ten-minute drive along Saba’s main artery, known instructively as “The Road.” Eastman’s “first reaction that evening driving to our cottage was that we were crazy for trying this.”
Now, looking back on the experience, he reflects that it “may still be true [that we were crazy for trying this], but it turned out to be some of the most fun I’ve had roller skiing in a long time.”
Saba is a small (5-square mile) volcano-cum-island in the Caribbean, about 21 miles from Sint Maarten, a hub for several daily flights from the U.S. east coast. It is part of the Netherlands and the summit of the volcano (named, in keeping with the island’s penchant for descriptive cognomens, Mount Scenery) is the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, offering visitors an opportunity for an unexpected summiting selfie.
The Saba Ski Festival offers an out-of-the-box but utterly compelling and rewarding week-long roller skiing vacation or camp that will test fitness, classic technique, and endurance in a compact yet experience-rich setting that also offers hiking, snorkeling, diving, and a range of accommodation and restaurant options. Participating skiers will get free entry to the second annual island 10K race, scheduled for Sunday May 5 (allowing for a Saturday arrival on Saba) as well as discounts on accommodation. Finally, for participants who wish to extend their stay, organizers of the island’s famed triathlon, “where even the swimming is uphill,” are offering 50 percent off entry to that event.
Best of all, the festival offers an opportunity for a genuinely unique Christmas / holiday gift to treat yourself with and to surprise a partner to help you both celebrate the season and have a reward awaiting you just as the last snow disappears and it’s time to think “transition to summer.”
As for roller skiing there? Well, when the festival organizers approached the person behind the island’s existing race schedule and so the obvious best bet for time keeping, race registration, and making sure the necessary support is in place, Jochem Batstra, had first to take a few minutes to google “roller skiing” and then asked the obvious question: “How do you stop?”
Then, he remembers thinking, “That sounds fun and crazy! Is that going downhill? wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
Answering that question / objection was critical to persuading the island’s governing council and tourism board that the idea was not, in fact, dangerous, though it might well be both fun and crazy. Hence, the visit of the test team last May.
So how did it go? “After looking at the roads in the daylight, we quickly decided that most downhills were out of the question, but that there were several options for hill climbs, all with breath-taking views. My advice to anyone considering roller skiing on Saba is that it’s going to be hard, but it is more than worth it. Let’s be honest, if you enjoy Nordic racing, you don’t mind a little pain, you might even enjoy it,” Eastman reflected.
Batstra was left thinking that roller skiing Saba is ‘doable but tough. And it’s unique to do this sport here on a Caribbean island: not the first climate you would think of for doing this!”
“When I was first approached about the idea,” island councilor Vito Charles said, “I had never really heard about roller skiing so I thought it was a crazy idea because I couldn’t imagine someone going downhill on these roads. I figured you’d have to a bit mental to try it, but when I finally saw the skiers in action, I was really intrigued. I saw the possibility for people who love the outdoors to visit for reasons other than diving.”
That is the niche that Saba, a Caribbean island almost unique in having no casinos or mass market hotels, and no cruise ship harbor, is seeking to develop: eco-friendly, outdoor, customizable rather than off-the-shelf experiences.
It’s a niche that seems almost perfectly designed for off-season Nordic skiers, as Colby College Nordic head coach Tracy Cote discovered when she joined the test team in May. Like Eastman, Cote “was in awe” when she “saw Saba Island coming in on the ferry. It’s so incredibly beautiful and I had never seen another island like it.
“I didn’t think much about roller skiing it until we got in our taxi to go to the hotel. It was dark and I could only see the small stone walls on the edge of the road and could tell there were steep drops to every side beyond those walls. I remember thinking, this could be really interesting.”
The next morning, “when we woke up” Cote was “so excited to see every inch of this beautiful place that I was ready to hop on my roller skis and start exploring—and I may have quickly recommended we do a lot of uphill skiing!”
The festival will offer three race courses with the final finishing order calculated from cumulative times, but you don’t have to be too hard on yourself as organizers are offering a touring, citizens option for all the courses, leaving you free to take your time and enjoy the views while benefitting from the race support. [Key tips from the test team: classic style is the way to go and sharp pole tips and back ratcheted roller skis will make your life much easier given the steepness of the hills.]
All the courses end at trail heads, so if you want to combine a ski and a hike creating your own Caribbean biathlon, you’re free to do so. Support vehicles will return your skis and polls to your hotel while you hike or trail run back along well back but technically demanding routes.
The festival will also see the launch of a “Saba Straight Up” course from the lowest trailhead below Mount Scenery to the very summit, a name lifted from the iconic Norwegian “Skåla rett opp” challenge but also paying tribute to Saba’s budding reputation as the home to a range of local rum drinks that can be drunk “straight up” or sipped with dessert. The route is designed to allow a gut-busting trail run from barely above sea level to the highest point in the Netherlands in pursuit of the KoM or QoM title, or a challenge motivated only by self-determination.
As Cote said, “Saba is a must see for anyone who loves the outdoors. The roller skiing will add a unique and fun twist to your Caribbean vacation, especially for those of us who want some adventure on our vacations. The running and hiking trails allow you to see every inch of this beautiful place and you’ll never be bored.
“The designed courses are short, but spectacular. More than the workout, you’ll never regret getting the opportunity to do something so unique while enjoying the warm hospitality of Saba.
“As soon as I left, I couldn’t wait to go back!
Contact details for the festival and for additional information about hotel discounts, customizable options, and travel advice: sabaskifestival@gmail.com
Registration at: https://www.event66.nl/saba-ski-festival.
Instagram: @sabaskifestival, where course profiles and videos are posted.
