Racer Emails

Final Boot pack: We have a very short bootpack to the finish line this year. I know many rec course folks won’t have a backpack, so you may carry your skis for this short section. Please take extra care with your skis & poles to not hit anyone else while racing. Full course racers are still required to have skis strapped to your backpack for both bootpacks.  

Race Rules: 

• If you pick up your bib BUT you do not start the race please come tell one of the race directors that you did not start so we don’t send SAR looking for you! 

• Wear your bib number on your front in a visible location or be ready to yell out your number at each manned transition.

• If you decide to drop out you must do so at a designated transition and inform the course marshal of your intentions to get back to the lodge. 

• Safety first! - If you come across a racer in need of help, you MUST help them out. 

• Leave your poles flat on the ground at all transition zones. 

• Have fun!

Gear for Full Course Racers: For anyone participating on our full course, avy gear is required (beacon, shovel, probe). We reserve the right to do gear checks pre race or at any time out on the course. 

Required gear

• Avy Gear (beacon, shovel, probe)

• Helmet

• A backpack that can hold your skis (you must attach your skis to your backpack).  

• Map (on your phone) or physical. 

Recommended 

• Warmer layers in your backpack

• Spare set of skins (at least some voile straps in case of skin failure)

• Snacks (there is no aid along the course)

• Water

• Sunglasses/goggles

Race Categories: 

Full course categories:

• Skimo (ski+binding weight under 1500 grams),

• Heavy metal (most conventional backcountry ski setups)

• splitboard

Rec course categories:

• Youth (under 18)

• Adult

• Masters

Race Day Weather Forecast: Currently the forecast is calling for a few inches of snow starting Thursday evening into Sat, which will make for some great conditions. But this forecast has been changing so please keep an eye out.  I’ll probably send another racer email the day before the race if there are any significant changes. 

Course Maps and Description: As long as we have a solid snowpack we will be utilizing our preferred route for the full course. We will be marking the course in accordance with USSMA guidelines. Green flags for the uphill, red flags for the downhill, yellow flags for the boot pack and blue flags for transitions. Please read through the course descriptions to familiarize yourself with the rec or the full course. Full course racers, if you want to save the route or download the gpx, there are links to the strava files from past racers.  A few things of note:

• Transition #2/15 - after the first descent you’ll ski past Windsor Chair and will come to a stop after a short uphill. On the way back, you’ll be transitioning in the same area, which means you’ll be doing a short skin downhill to the base of Windsor Chair (we want to avoid adding to the chaos when skiers are at the resort).  On the way back, you’ll also be taking the cattrack, which has a short down then up to the transition. If you have the right speed, you should be coming to a stop at the transition without any skating up.  

PNW Ascent Series We have some great friends in Oregon and California who are also putting on top notch skimo events this winter. The first one was the Mt Shasta Ascension, but there are two more on the series and we encourage you to go check them out. Bachelor Vertfest is next weekend (Feb 9) and the WyEaster Skimo Mar 29-30.

Race Day Sign Up: For your friends or family who are late to the game, we are offering in person sign ups at packet pick up on Friday and race morning on Saturday. The price goes up to $100 for the full course and $50 for the rec course for those signing up last minute. 

Post Race Lunch/Beer: Hold on to your bib after the race, as this will be your ticket for your meal and yummy beer from Common Block. We will have beers, awards, etc upstairs at the bar.  

Cool Down Activities

I know the time between awards and your finish will be a long time for the fastest racers, but we really want you to stick around. We’ll have food, beer & snacks. If you want to do a cool down, you have a few options:

• Get a discount lift ticket and ride the lifts (see below).

• Go back to the south side (your second descent on the full course). Unfortunately there are no uphill routes during operation at Mt Ashland.  Read more about the uphill policy here.

• Go to the back lot and get a quick skate ski or xc ski in.  The access road is groomed to the top of Aerial every day, so it should be in decent shape. It’s only 2+ miles, but I’m grateful that we have easy access to it.  

• Cheer on your fellow racers!

Discount Mt Ashland Lift Tickets: You’lI be able to purchase discounted lift tickets for $50 after your race. This will give you another reason to stick around for the awards ceremony! If you want to get a cool down, you can go uphill on the backside of Mt Ashland.  See the current uphill policy here. The access road is groomed to the summit, so that is also a nice way to cool down if you brought your nordic skis.  

Leave No Trace

We will be enforcing Leave No Trace ethics to all the participants, volunteers, and spectators of this event.  Review the 7 principles and for this event we'll be highlighting a few (Plan ahead and prepare, Dispose of waste properly, Be considerate of others).  

Recover & train at  the Ashland Wellness Collective

Ashland Wellness Collective has offered up 20% off at SOMA (sauna, cold plunge) or FIIT & FLOW (fitness studio, barre, spin, trx, yoga).  Just use the code SKIMO at checkout.  

Thank you sponsors! These folks help us to put on a challenging skimo event here in the Rogue Valley. Their support goes a long way and we encourage you to patronize these folks in the future. Momentum River Expeditions, Ashland Wellness Collective, True South Solar,  Shepherd's Dream, Tognar, Common Block Brew Co, Mt Ashland, and the City of Ashland. 

We are so excited to see all of you up at Mt Ashland. We’ll be ready and hope y’all are excited too. Please reach out to us with your questions or comments. 

P.S. Please save our contacts below in case of any emergencies

Your race directors, 

Yu Kuwabara (510) 468 4105

Travis Simpson (425) 354 8552

Pete Wallstrom (503) 702-4063