November 25, 2010 (West Yellowstone, MT) – Well, it’s finally time to put all those hard months of summer training to the test! Thursday will be my first race of the year and I’m really looking forward to pulling on a bib and kicking off a new season. I’m in West Yellowstone, MT for the annual Yellowstone Ski Festival and SuperTour NorAm races. Although most of the continent has had a rather slow start to the ski season, winter arrived with a vengeance just over a week ago for much of western Canada and the US.

West Yellowstone has been no exception with close to 50cms of snow in the last three days! I arrived in West Yellowstone to heavy snow and a full on winter storm that would eventually cause the delay of the first SuperTour races due to road closures and cold temps. All this snow however, has made for outstanding skiing and perfect conditions for the upcoming races this week.

Tomorrow’s SuperTour race is a first for sprint racing with two sprint qualifiers (one skate, one classic) being held on the same day. The sprint is a grueling 1.6km point to point course with a total climb of around 35m. The only difference between the classic and skate courses is in the final 200m or so, both finish with what will surely be a punishing stretch of climbing, the classic climb being slightly longer and less steep than the shorter final pitch of the skate course.

To see a zone 1 GPS track of the skate course click HERE. Click on the ‘SuperTour Skate Sprint’ link on the left side of the screen to see more data, note the top speed of 45kph going easy, I expect that the men will easily top 60kph in the skate qualifier!

I’ll finish this update off with one of my favorite pieces written about skiing from the editor of a freeride alpine ski magazine called Axis. It was written a few years ago with alpine skiing in mind but it’s no less relevant today…

‘While the world awaited the court’s decision on who would be the next American president, I went skiing. While men and women continued to clean up ground zero, I went skiing. While soldiers fought and died in the Afghan desert, I went skiing. While “shock and awe” shook the ground of the Middle East, I went skiing.

A certain amount of guilt came over me this year, as I would turn off the 24-hour war coverage to go skiing. Why wasn’t I over there documenting this war, trying to make a difference in this crazy world? This question and doubt in my chosen path would often haunt me while I rode the lifts or sat in the backcountry on a picture-perfect powder morning.

I never found an answer to my troubling question. I still don’t know if I am doing the “the right thing.” I do know that skiing makes me happy – it helps me to forget about all the negative things waiting for me when I turn on the TV. Some people may say I’m just hiding from the world’s problems, soaring high above them on ski lifts of ignorance. I say skiing is not an escape but a better way of life. Skiing is a worldwide community that celebrates life and nature, and is fueled by boundless creativity and positive energy. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing to contribute my time to. So I dedicate this issue to everyone else out there contributing what he or she can to making this world a little bit better.’

-Matt Levinthal, Editor Axis Magazine

In the Tape Deck:
Artist: The Devil Make Three, Track: Do Wrong Right
And with Christmas on the way… Artist: The Killers, Track: Great Big Sled

On the Tube:

Overheard:
“The McMurr Loaf is taking over the world!” -Phil Widmer