24 Hours of Sunlight – Part 2

Track results realtime here.

There is a team with a pizza theme, they wear capes. Why should they have all the fun? A bit of tape and a sheet, now Future Ski Bums of America has their own cape! A little while ago I did a sample “journalist’s” lap to check out what these folks are going through tonight. (Apologies to the folks I passed who thought I was a competitor). The uphill is mostly low angled, so glidy skins are key. But near the top of the uphill you’ve got a fairly steep section that after a few laps feels like the Hillary Step on Mount Everest. You do your transition, then the downhill begins. First, you’ve got to straightline a low angled section so you’ll glide instead of skating over a flat on a cat track. Then you drop into a steep narrow toboggan run with two large pine trees in the middle. This year they actually put a catch fence in front of the wood. Not quite as exciting as in the past when death was possible, but at least someone is actually thinking safety. Wow, with a trend like that they might even end up requiring helmets like any other rando race. Since you’ve got a race setup on your feet, your not exactly carving like a ski instructor, but rather trying to ski fast but brush of speed with wide turns. But watch out, that’s not a slalom pole, it’s a person on foot stumbling down the hill without their headlamp on! All I can say is these early days of 24 Hours will be remembered by all competitors with sweet nostalgia in the future when it’s bigger and the rules are stricter and the course more maintained and prepped. For now, adventure is the name of the night.

You can track the results realtime here

Night has begun. It gets tough. Even for the support crew. More later.

Louie, Future Ski Bums of America. We’re still second in our class, question now is who’s going to slow down or take a break. Polly McLean has moved into second, women’s solo. Molly Thole Zurn is still in first. The key for Polly now is to be consistent. She’ll need a break soon, but will try to make it as short as possible. Feed here is everything from ramen to Cytomax. We try to keep the team away from too much fat and protean, but as the day wears on you start to crave more and more of that stuff. The problem is, you start eating and suddenly you’ve chowed way to much, then you do a slow lap or even get sick. Sometimes it might be better to just get sick and get it over with, bulimic laps? We had to pay Louie to wear those Dynafit “tights.” Nice Trab skis too, eh? Those are the Ti race bindings and of course Scarpa F1 boots (early model F1, slightly modified). His last lap was a 38 min., that’s good, but compare to the solo guys who are still banging out 40 min. laps – after 10 laps, 15,000 vertical feet! Shoot, that’s better than you can do paying for a helicopter in the Selkirks.

9 Responses to “24 Hours of Sunlight – Part 2”

1. Luis February 23rd, 2008 6:25 pm

   Amazing! I was there this morning and I could feel the rush! Young, middle, older, men, women…just good people. It will get really good tonite! I am headed there at 12:30am. My friend Veronica Whitney is finishing her 2nd lap as I write this.

2. Lou February 23rd, 2008 6:44 pm

   The vibe is great, that’s one of the best things about this race.

3. tony nitti February 23rd, 2008 10:15 pm

   Lou, getting some much needed rest here in between laps. Looks like the Future Ski Bums have put the old men of Greatest Team in the World: Tribute away for good. It was fun while it lasted. Stay safe out there!

4. Lou February 23rd, 2008 11:41 pm

   Sand bagger! We don’t believe you for a second.

5. Luis February 24th, 2008 6:32 am

   We were supporting friends tonite. Visited from 12 am till 5 am. What a sight! Next year we will give it our best! The energy and vibe up at Sunlight is something to experience first hand. Everyone has a story to tell, plus some.

   Beautiful night full of humanity! Gotta say that it requires a special person to give yourself into this type of situation. Four in the morning and all these folks are having a blast (although many of them are catching well needed rest).

   I am sure a dip in the Hot Springs tomorrow is almost a necessity! Kudos to all the participants! Go Bushwackers! Viva Argentina!

6. brian harder February 24th, 2008 10:43 am

   Lou,

   It was clear Sulli was serious about getting the record this year showing up in lycra. Should be close. More sensible starting pace and he does not seem to be fading. Very nice.

   I see Louie kicked it up a notch in his own “fast” pants. Now you just have to get those boyz to take the tongues out of their boots and grind some rubber. It’s all about the up, guys! Great effort.

7. Thomas February 24th, 2008 8:23 pm

   Lou, after 1.5hrs you need protein and fat or your body will start taking it from your muscles and leave alot of junk for your body to deal with. Look into “perpetuem” from hammer nutrition, cashews work good too…just you can’t eat too much,just a little…

8. Lou February 25th, 2008 8:24 am

   Thomas, don’t worry, the team gets enough protein and fat, we just try to keep from doing too much, as when the 24 hours wears on it’s all to easy to pig out on the snack bin the support team keeps at the ready.

9. Thomas February 25th, 2008 12:16 pm

   right on> Good job guys, that little race may be worth the trip….