Although many racers were deterred by snowy and at times wild driving conditions on Saturday, December 17, a determined bunch survived the drive to participate in two cross country ski competitions.
On the eastern front, the HURT/UHTA North Creek Nordic Festival 5K/10K Classic race drew 31skiers to collect age group wins and early season NYSSRA Points. Organizers teamed up with Gore’s snow making capability and mother nature’s own mix to create a challenging classic ski track. See podium shots courtesy of HURT, results and the weekend’s point list summary.
To the west, Camden Nordic Ski Club hosted the annual World Famous Osceola Pie Race 5K Skate Race at Osceola Tug Hill XC Ski Center. Likewise, skiers traveling from the Finger Lakes, Central, Western and Capital Regions were surprised to find as much new snow on the Tug Hill trails as the unplowed highways. Even Camden Nordic’s pie-baking auxiliary faced treacherous roads to transport fresh pies to the awards table.
Snow accumulates on a table of coveted pies at Osceola Tug Hill XC Center.
The ski course challenged everyone: dry snow up to your ankles at 18 degrees F. However, there was a data issue with race timing records in the timing building. The NYSSRA points committee is working with race organizers to score the race with a fair resolution.
Age group winners pick pies. Matt Torniainen goes for the apple crumb pie, or was it the Tollhouse pie?
Saturday night’s warm up and heavy rains caused organizers to cancel Sunday’s Sprint Races at North Creek and Ski Orienteering at Lapland Lake.
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