September 20, 2015 (Wilmington, New York) – NCAA Champion Patrick Caldwell took the win in the men’s race while Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Mary Rose topped the women’s field at the 9th annual Climb to the Castle rollerski race, hosted by the New York Ski Educational Foundation in Wilmington, New York, on Sunday.

Cool temperatures and questionable summit conditions weren’t enough to deter nearly one hundred skiers from taking on the challenge which boasts 8km/5 miles of climbing with an average 8% grade up the Whiteface Memorial Highway to the castle on the summit of Whiteface Mountain, New York’s 5th highest peak with an elevation of 4,867 ft.

The freestyle technique race, which winds its way to the top on the newly repaved Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway, is one of the New York Ski Education Foundation’s larger events of the year. The summit features a 360-degree panoramic view of the Adirondacks, New England and Canada.

“We had a very good turnout this year,” said race director Margaret Maher. “Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite what we had hoped for.”  At the start of the race, it was in the low 50s and cloudy, but at the summit it was a different story, holding at just above freezing and misting, with winds upwards of 25 miles per hour.

When the gun went off for the women’s race, it was Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Mary Rose and US Biathlon’s Annelies Cook off the front. The two would trade off the race lead many times over the next five miles as they climbed into the fog that cloaked the summit, until Rose broke away from Cook in the closing 500 meters.

“I new early that if I wanted to win, I would have to break away (from Cook),” said Rose. “I’m not much of a sprinter.”

Rose broke away at a section of the course known as “The Wind Tunnel,” a stretch close to the finish known for harsh headwinds which reached close to 48km/30 miles-per-hour on this day. That combined with the thick fog proved to be too much for Cook to be able to hang on, with Rose taking the win with a time of 45:15.1, 22 seconds faster than Cook. Hannah Dreissigacker (USBA) was third, in 47:21.0.

In the men’s race, it was an elite pack that took charge early on, and stayed together until the last mile. US National Cross Country Champion Kyle Bratrud, NCAA Champion Patrick Caldwell, and US Biathlon National team member and race favorite Tim Burke led the field, along with Rogan Brown of SVSEF and Russell Currier of USBA/Maine Winter Sports Center.

“Everybody took a turn in front pulling,” Burke said about the pack’s strategy. “Nobody tried to push it too hard.” That group, plus many more athletes from the race, had just completed a week-long intensity camp at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center.

Coming into the finish, Caldwell, Currier, and Burke were vying for the lead, but a mistimed attack by Burke resulted in him breaking a pole with a little over 100m to go and finishing third. Caldwell, who went on to take the win, called his victory “bittersweet.”

“It was a tough race for everyone,” said Caldwell. “And it’s unfortunate that it ended as it did. Tim was the favorite to win, but things happened.”

Caldwell won with a time of 37:05.2. Currier and Burke closed out the top 3 with times of 37:10.2 and 37:16.7 respectively.

Results (brief)

Women

1. Mary Rose (SVSEF)
2. Annelies Cook (USBA)
3. Hannah Dreissigacker (USBA)

Full results HERE

Men

1. Paddy Caldwell (SMS T2)
2. Russell Currier (USBA)
3. Tim Burke (USBA)

Full results HERE