March 8, 2006 – The first weekend in March hosts a crowded schedule of ski marathons across North America. Each of these races is genuinely unique in the course and weather conditions presented to the skiers. Team Rossignol women adapted well to both course conditions and altitude with three, second place finishes and Team Rossignol Adam Swank proved that his winning season has been no fluke, winning his second Sibley Ski Tour in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Team Rossignol’s Eli Enman, fighting the effects of a cold, captured second place at the Rangely Loppet, while two of the most experienced men on the team did not prepare for the cold and windy conditions and experienced “equipment problems”.

Alaska: Up north in Alaska, the Tour of Anchorage’s overall altitude-loss, point-to-point 50k course meanders from Hillside Ski Area in the foothills of the Chugach Mountains, down through the popular Chester Creek, multi-use trail to the Cook Inlet Coastal Trail and the final climb up the bluffs to Kincaid Park. The first grueling 10-15 kilometers threw racers onto a world cup caliber trail designed by former Anchorage Olympians. Here racers contended with numerous long difficult climbs and a series of tricky downhill s-turns. After completing the Spencer Loop the course provided a respite with a flat and gradual downhill section as racers coasted toward the coast. It was a unique opportunity for racers to ski meters from the Pacific Ocean and glimpse amazing views of the Alaskan ranges and magnificent Denali. After the lactate inducing initial climbs, followed by several kilometers of endless V2ing, racers were exhausted. In the last few kilometers, racers pulled themselves from the flat sea level tour up a series of hills to finish in the Kincaid Park stadium. The last segment of the race offers an element of surprise as it changes year to year.
In the women’s race Camilla Brinchmann, Erin Hood, and Rossignol’s Kate Pearson skied together trading leads for the first 42 km. Brinchmann then pulled away from Hood, who then put distance between herself and Pearson. When the threesome entered the hills with 3km to go, Rossi’s tenacious Pearson closed the gap, with a thrilling catch of Hood in the stadium. Brinchmann’s lead was insurmountable and won by 43 seconds. Pearson powered over the line to capture second and Hood held on for third.

Colorado: High in the Mountains of Colorado, the biggest challenge of the 23rd annual Snow Mountain Stampede is the altitude. The largest race in Colorado with over 300 participants is held at Winter Park where the course climbs to the thin air altitude of over 8000 feet. Relentless climbs are the signature of this race. Team Rossignol’s Martina Stursova, who has only been able to ski on snow during weekend races was 2nd in the women’s event behind Kristin Sonstegard. Martina is doing graduate studies at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Ontario, Canada: Up north of the border near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Duluth physician and Team Rossignol skier Adam Swank continued his winning ways over this past season, taking the title in the 29th running of the Sibley Ski Tour. The race course on the beautiful Sibley Peninsula has a variety of terrain that eventually separates the pretenders from the contenders. Course conditions within Sleeping Giant Provincial Park adjacent to beautiful Lake Superior were spectacular, with a bountiful layer of snow and a perfectly groomed trail. Swank patiently skied in a pack in the first kilometers of the race, before surging on some of the longer climbs and dropping his competition one by one.

Swank flashed a victory sign after his convincing win in the men’s 50-kilometer event. Two fingers. Two attempts. Two titles. He finished a clear six minutes ahead of runner-up Phil Villeneuve — and a big difference from Swank’s debut here in 2005 that saw him win with a sprint to the finish. “Two-for-two, yeah,” said Swank.

New York: After a few early season postponements due to no snow, skiers at the Lake Placid Loppet awoke to a blanket of 10 inches of snow that fell through the night and during the race. This made conditions for the tough Mt. VanHovenberg trails even tougher, with overall finish times more than 20 minutes slower than last year. Typical conditions when so much fresh snow comes down and doesn’t have time to setup, mash potatoes on the uphills and unforgiving ruts on the downhills plus poor visibility at times. Yahoo, fun times for all, as described by Team Rossignol member Deb Nordyke, who finished 2nd among the women.
In addition to navigating in white-out conditions, Nordyke also had a bit of excitement when she skied over a gel package without realizing it…”for a minute I was thinking who in the heck would be using klister on a day like today? It stopped my glide pretty quick and it took a few steps to get going again”. Nordyke, like many eastern skiers was psyched to be able to get a race in since the conditions in there have been so poor this year. “Overall, it appeared everyone was happy to be able to finally race and then enjoy some decent food at the banquet” she reported.
Maine: Getting to Rangely is almost as difficult as racing the marathon. The drive requires navigating some of the most horrendous frost heaved undulating roads known to man. However, the midnight snowmobile races
that are usually held adjacent to the Rangeley Inn were not as loud as in previous years so the team got a reasonable night’s sleep waking up to temperatures in the single digits and a moderate wind.

Not feeling well enough to race, Team Rossignol member JoAnn Hanowski volunteered to be Team Manager for the day, allowing Director Jim Fredericks to enter the race. The temperature and wind was harsher than anticipated and unfortunately Fredericks was unprepared, inadvertently forgetting his thermo briefs. However he was able to avoid equipment failure by borrowing some women’s thong underwear and improvising a brilliant solution (see photo) that allowed him to ski an excellent 25k, winning his M6 age group and beating most masters in the 25K.
Team member, Bill Farrell was one step behind Fredericks in the pre-planning stage for cold protection. After skiing the first of four laps, he asked for a hat or a sock at the team feed area. Hanowski was on top of it for the start of the second lap and handed Farrell a hat (which he quickly stuffed in his suit) that had been tossed off by another competitor. However, by the third lap, the hat and the two drink cups that Farrell had used to fend off equipment failure, proved to be too hot and too uncomfortable as he jettisoned all before heading out on the final lap (see photo). We are happy to report that the hat and owner were fortunately reunited (and will remain clueless as to the hat’s adventure).

On to the competition, Eli Enman, not up to his usual racing prowess due to a cold, hung tough for 2nd overall, while team mate Marc Gilbertson (who was nursing some sore ribs from a tumble in Canada) was 4th overall and won the Masters. Farrell hung on to place 2nd in the M6 division. In the women’s race, Lindley van der Linde, an environmental teacher at Kimball Union Academy and new member of Team Rossignol, won the 50K Women’s’ Master division and placed 4th overall after being narrowly beaten by a Dartmouth girl. Lwas a former Junior World’s skier and competed for William’s College. Her maiden name was Hall for those who may remember.