A sunny day for the Winterstart Race on Dec. 1 brought out a horde of classic style skiers who tested themselves on a 5K course set by Kenton Shaw. A handful decided they needed more fun so they skied the second race of the day, a 5K freestyle on the same course. Youth prevailed in the classic race as our young local phenom Glenn Randall won handily (check out his excellent ongoing results on the GMNC web site as he battles the best young racers in the state this season). Penny Crom, skiing fast, was the top female racer in both of the day’s races. Mark Lange came in from Telluride to win the men’s side of the freestyle race. As usual, Grand Mesa provided some of the best ski conditions in the state for this early season race.
On Jan. 6 there was a nice turnout of skiers burning off some holiday calories and competing in the 10K Freestyle Skyway Skuffle. An overcast day made for consistent conditions on a hard fast track for a large contingent of very fast skiers from around the West Slope. Danny DiMaria from Snowmass mastered the hilly course faster than anyone. Kari Distefano, the superb Telluride athlete, was the top woman. Asa and Ian Burritt, 10 and 13 respectively, proved they are mighty tough kids by skiing the full course in excellent times
As always, we greatly appreciate Summit Canyon Mountaineering for being our primary race sponsor. Thanks also to our other sponsors, Valley Books in Montrose, Loki Hats, and City Market for vast quantities of energy bars.SUMMIT CANYON/GRAND MESA NORDIC RACE #2
10K FREESTYLE 1/6/2002
1. Danny DiMaria 33:10
2. James Dresser 33:46
3. Mark Lange 34:41
4. Scott Hill 34:42
5. Raphael Adamek 36:05
6. Eric Krch 36:38
7. Kari Distefano 37:05
8. Ian Clark 37:06
9. Kelly Murphy 38:18
10. Greg Rawlings 38:27
11. Carole Sharp 38:38
12. Doug Johnston 39:55
13. Michael Dawkins 40:30
14. Chris Mroz 40:52
15. Ken Pill 41:03
16. Betsy Paussa 41:16
17. Winslow Robertson 41:28
18. Joe Ramey 42:33
19. Peter Garber 42:45
20. Penny Crom 43:08
21. Tom Ela 47:43
22. Brad Burritt 48:16
23. Charlie Peterson 48:18
24. Paul Cooper 49:51
25. Kayla Dodson 50:56
26. Steve Ela 52:27
27. Mike Nadiak 57:42
28. Deb Hill 57:58
29. Sampsa Kiuru 63:06
30. Chris DePuy 70:53
31. Gisela Koplin 75:45
1. Asa Burritt 71:04
2. Ian Burritt 78:40
3. Monty Metzler (Short course)
FOUND: A water bottle fanny pack was left behind on my car roof after the race. Give me a call to retrieve. Tom Ela, 434-9753