Event Reports Archive 2005 - 2006

White Mountain Classic

March 11, 2006

The wagon train left Richmond to make the crossing to Jackson, NH, at 5 AM on Sunday morning. Two car loads competed in an event that was pulled off very well, considering it was bare ground across Vermont and most of NH. 

The conditions Sunday morning were changing quickly, and the snow surface was a dynamic mix of granular, slush, ice and tilled ice, all changing over to water. For the most part the course held up. However had the race been just hours later, nothing would have been left to ski on. The race course was three loops with a steep uphill about half a kilometer in, and then rolling down hills until a long gradual climb and descent on an out-and-back trail and then a kilometer of relative flat until the steep uphill again. The race was a seeded mass start. With only room for three lanes, it was the best they could do, and it seemed to work okay for most.

NWVT had very impressive team and individual results in the final points race of the season. Perry Bland, coming off a slog in the Craftsbury Spring Fling the day before was very excited for the race, exclaiming the conditions were going to make for a real tough endurance test. He even picked up a lucky penny on his way to registration. As the rest of us worried about wax and snow, Perry seemed to have a certain calm as he soaked it all in. 

As the race was underway, Dhyan Nirmegh broke out with a fast pack. Perry was in another not too far behind, Lary Martell and Scott Magnan were chasing, and Damian Bolduc settled in on his own in the middle of the field. On the second lap, Lary caught Perry and they worked together as Scott continued to chase. The top woman found Damian's pace suitable for drafting. On the third lap Scott caught Perry and Lary, but the reunion was brief as Perry pulled away dropping Lary and then Scott, reeling in Nirmegh. 

With only a few K's to go, Perry overtook Nirmegh, and they skied together picking off other competitors as they closed in on the finish. With only a short sprint remaining, Nirmegh attacked and tried to get past Perry. Going as hard as he could Nirmegh knew Perry had him beat when he unleashed a double pole sprint on him that he could not counter. "I pulled up beside him going as hard as I could, and it was like he said NO, not today, and just dropped me. I had nothing left." groaned Nirmegh. Scott and Lary were not too far behind, and after drafting Damian for so long, with 3k left, the top woman pushed him aside (knocking him over) and put a minute on him by the finish. 

The last race of the season always seems to be the most exiting. The team really comes together and competes very well. This can be seen in the way we all work with each other, but still put our best race out there. Our team success was measurable Sunday with team scoring. NWVT took third in the team scoring getting beat only by much larger teams CSU out of Boston and Ford Sayre out of Hanover. Thanks to some special recruiting by Perry, we were able to field a four-man masters club team with a special guest Steve Wright, who finished very well over-all. NWVT has made an impression this year as we broke into the top-ten clubs in New England by quadrupling our points over last season. I hope to compile a more extensive end of season club report by next week, but to close for today: As has been the case the past few years, a team member has given us all something to think about over the summer by having a stellar performance in the last race. This year it was Perry who blew our doors off in the final K's of the last race. Complete results at www.nensa.net. 

Final NWVT results:

14th place: Stephen Wright 1:51:08 (special guest for masters team scoring)
18th Perry Bland 1:51:32
19th Dhyan Nirmegh 1:51:39
22nd Scott Magnan 1:52:48
25th Lary Martell 1:54:29
39th Damian Bolduc 2:01:57

Rangeley Lakes Loppet

March 4, 2006

Six of the Northwest Vermont Ski Club members made their way to Maine and competed in the Rangeley Lakes Loppet. The drive over was quite an adventure as the road to Maine provided a rough ride combined with high winds, snow, and
impending darkness of dusk and night time. On race morning we awoke to warmer temperatures in the low teens, milder winds and a fresh coating of snow. With the way the winter has been, every little bit helps. 

The new race course was an 11.5k loop with two easy, but significant climbs, with one easy down hill, and one, more technical down hill at the 5k mark. There was also plenty of flat as the course took you along a lake before going up the second climb to restart the loop. Half Marathoners did two loops, and Marathoners did four. Aaron Delfausse, Scott Magnan, Damian Bolduc, and Perry Bland started in the first wave at 9:30. Kevin Bessett was off in the second wave five minutes later, and Dhyan Nirmegh was out in the third wave five minutes after that. 

Starting on the line, Aaron broke off early in the lead pack. Damian also had a strong start, but was not able to catch up to the lead pack, so skied a lot of the first lap with a small 2-3 person group composed of other skiers who fell of the fast pace of the first pack. Scott and Perry were in the main pack not too far behind. When the group got to the lake, Damian knew that he would not be able to maintain his pace alone, and saw that Scott was in a small chase pack closing in fast. At the start of the second lap, Scott's pack closed in and overtook Damian. He latched onto the group which was necessary due to the windy conditions. They were also closing in fast on an objective Scott has been working on all season. 

With 6k to go in the second lap, the group overtook Jim Fredericks, who was in the 25k field along with Scott. Damian knew he could help Scott, and tried to keep himself positioned between Jim and Scott. Tactics were not relevant as Jim caught a tip and fell hard, and was not able to catch back on to the pack which was really moving at this point because a few of them were finishing their 25k race. Scott tried to make a few moves, and successful dropped a couple key 25k skiers before his finish, which placed him as the top Senior male, and third overall for the 25k race. The remainder pack kept pace for another lap and then fell apart, and Damian ended up in the middle of the mix tired from skiing harder for 3/4th's of a marathon than ever before. Even though he bonked pretty bad on the last 5k of the race, he hung on finished with an excellent time and place. 

While all this was going on, Aaron was trading places in the first pack, which was slowly whittling away. Eventually Aaron skied off the front of it with some strong Williams College skiers and closed in on the elite four who worked together for the whole race. Aaron finished strong, right on Mark Gilbertson's tail and in the top ten. Meanwhile Perry was having an excellent race as well moving more freely with improved technique especially on the climbs. When he crested the hill for the finish, it was clear that all his climbing work on the Notch Road payed off as he charged to the finish winning his age group. 

The second wave skiers had a tough day. The group failed to really pack up, and skiers were left to ski alone and exposed. This is a tough way to race a marathon especially in the wind, but even so Kevin Bessett finished well among the wave two athletes. Nirmegh was in a special M5 wave three which also experienced the fate of wave two, but he was able to work with one other competitor for the first lap, and then began picking up people from the previous waves. He could get a small break with these people while he worked his way by them. He skied way all the way up to wave one in this manner, placing third in his division and second in his wave. One other M5 skier apparently petitioned successfully to race in wave one. 

All NWVT racers did extremely well over the weekend, and a few even had big break throughs. It is very exciting to see how far we have come along, and to see how the team environment has made us all improve. You know things are working when one person improves, the rest of us do too. I am sure that when official Rangeley results are posted NWVT will have impressive numbers. Lets keep our momentum as we sail into the last points race of the season next weekend.

Ted Means Memorial

February 25, 2006

A long standing tension has existed in the Bolduc house. As talented as the Bolduc children were in athletics none has ever beaten their father, John in a competition. Whether it was Tania who blazed trails and laps on the track setting the endurance standard, or Demetre who killed John LeClair's penalties, or Damian who had the heart to go 48.00 in the 400m or Phil who would win high school invitationals and events in the meet of champions to Andre' who came in to skiing with strength and guts, none has ever beaten John Bolduc. It has been suspected that he is very selective of his events. Perhaps not competing against his children after they turn eight to maintain his record as unbeaten. The fact remains that no matter how good or strong we get; we have never beaten our father in a race or game. Today at Hazen's Notch John lined up in a race where all was equal to face the music. Today was Damian and Andre's chance to beat the unbeatable. Damian age 28 in his biological prime, and Andre' peaked for this week's State Championships, with family as witnesses, the race began. John was off early in the interval start. Andre' left 10 minutes later, and Damian two minutes thereafter. The race course had a long climb of about 4k to start, then a 3k loop, then back down the 4k. Andre' was able to over take John on this climb, Damian made up the ground as well. Finally after years of waiting for the chance the old man was going down. As Damian and Andre' cruised through the course leaving John in their snow contrails it looked grim. How could he make up the ten minutes they had taken out of him in the first half. Could John a patient thinker find a way. And then he got a break. Andre' blew through a blind turn, and continued on back to the lodge where he finished, going in the wrong direction on the wrong side of the road. Damian missed the same turn as well, and followed the tracks set by Andre', BFA Coach Scott Magnan, and BFA teammates. However Damian knew when he arrived at an intersection that he was off course and began back-tracking. As he back-tracked he encountered the rest of the field and instructed them that they were going the wrong way. They paid him no attention, as did he, when he passed his wife, Jessica Bolduc, and fellow citizen racer Dave from Champlain College. As Damian made it back on course, there was John, the only athlete to make the turn, plodding away steadily with the mind to make the right decisions and complete the race course as planned and laid out. Nothing more. Nothing less. He studied the map and knew the trails names. John remains unbeaten by using the largest and most important muscle of all, his BRAIN! Though Damian was able to overtake him again and finish having skied the whole course plus 3k. He had to concede defeat to the man 32 years his senior with 8 grandchildren. An ancient fable came to life today at Hazen's Notch. Slow and steady wins the race. It does not matter how fast you go, you have to finish to win.

Many racers competed today and all were happy to get some great skiing in at Hazen's Notch. This years course outsmarted all but one. It really was a nice course, offering great snow, temps in the high single digits, long climbs and thrilling descents. The usual sharp turns that got the best of most of us to one extent or another. NWVTer's in attendance were: coming up short, Cathy Martell, Scott Magnan, Andre' Bolduc, and Sam Martell. Going way too long Damian Bolduc, and Perry Bland. Jessica Bolduc also missed the turn, but realized it within time to only deviate about 200m from the course. And the day's winner by brains, John Bolduc. Since it was a new course this year John wins the race, and holds the record. Let this be a lesson to all. Anything can happen in a race, whether you think you are good enough or not. 

Tales From Nord of the Border

February 18, 2006

Two race reports came in today. The first was from Ferdinand Lauffer who skied the Canadian Ski Marathon last weekend. This is a two day event that covers over 160k. It has all types of divisions to include everyone and challenge them to their full potential. Ferdinand participates in the most advanced where the skiers are self supported, having to carry their own supplies and shelter for the duration of the event. His account follows:

I had a great time at the CSM. It was a very frigid -22 Celsius at the
start on Sat, but the temps went up into the high teens/low twenties 
(F),
and the waxing was no problem: green and special blue. Got to the Gold 
camp
at 3:20 which allowed for a leisurely camp setup. My mashed potatoes 
tasted
great for dinner, and I slept well under plenty of hay. Sunday started 
at a
chilly - 24 C, and the green klister binder was the right choice. It 
was a
bit hard to apply, though. The Coureurs de bois Gold had an extra 5 km 
to
ski because of a logging operation. Section 3 was as tough as ever.
Crossed finish line at 4:30.
It was a lot of fun, and I'll be back next year for my second gold
bar. Check out the pictures at http://www.lixar.com/csm/csm_photos/index.php
You can see me drying my socks over the fire in pictures 83and 90.
Ferdinand

I strongly urge you to check out all the photos. They really capture the whole spirit of the event, only part of which is roasting your socks after a long day of skiing. Check out more on the CSM at http://www.csm-mcs.com/index2.html

The next write-up is of Kevin Bessett's experience at the Keskinada World Loppet. This was a 53k race which is part of the World Loppet Series, and draws serious competition from around the world. For more on the 53k marathon and other events of the weekend go to http://www.keskinada.com/en/cdr_en.htm 

The race was good. I was 84 out of 384 men, (18th out Team of 60 in my
age group) and finished 90th overall out of 434. I was the 10th 
American
to cross the line, too.

It was corn snow and they had to do a lot of work to break up the layer 
of
ice on top that formed from the rain on Friday.

The conditions seemed fast, but all the people I looked at (except for 
the
top guys) were slower than last year by 2 or 3 minutes. It is a 
different
course, but I was only 15sec slower, so I feel like I was two or three
minutes faster than last year.

The conditions were tricky. 15k into the race, on a 90 degree slowish
corner I almost went over a bank because I lost my outside ski on the 
ice.
I managed to stay up right, but it was close and I think that ropes 
would
have been needed to get me out.

I raged up penguin hill (20k into race) and bridged up to the next 
group
of guys. This is a 4k climb and is pretty steep in places. But about 
10
minutes after that someone fell in front of me on a corner, and I 
thought
that I got around him, but my outside ski slid out and I went down. I
lost a lot of time on that one because of where the fall took place and 
I
never was able to catch the two that I passed up the hill that passed 
me
back. That was a big mental hit.

I also took a high speed fall on the parkway back to the finish area 
about
12k out. Just caught an edge in snow in the shade. I got going again 
and
a minute later 4 guys caught and dropped me. We were on a down hill on
the parkway and they dropped me. My skis were not gliding well at 
that
point and it was clear that I missed the wax (in fact, just after 5k it
was clear that my skis weren't gong fast in snow that had exposure to 
the
sun). I just went into auto-pilot after the last fall.

The funny thing is that even though I was relatively faster this year 
by a
few minutes over people from last year, I ended up placing a bit 
farther
down the list.
Kevin

Congratulations to both on their success, and thank you for sharing your experiences in these extraordinary events. I know I enjoyed reading and learning more about both.

Damian

February Freezer EC

February 8, 2006

Winter finally visited us temperature-wise for this weekend. NWVT was once again racing internationally. With temps holding steady at 1 degree and wind gusting to 30 mph NWVT sent three racers to Craftsbury for the Eastern Cup Series Finale. The races were held on the Craftsbury Race Loop, a challenging, technical loop with long rolling hills. The snow was a thin layer of loose granular with a dusting of fresh new snow each day. Day one was a 10k classic. Showing up late with his skis pre-waxed, with straight hard wax, NWVT member Damian Bolduc picked the wax of the day. After a brief test he was satisfied that the VR30 (his favorite kick wax) was working great, and his boycott of klister would continue. He was surprised that most of the other racers were klistering their skis, and they seemed baffled at how well the hard wax was working. After testing it themselves, many decided to lay the hard wax on. Leading off for NWVT Perry Bland skied out, maintaining a fast pace overtaking a few skiers on their second lap. Starting thirty seconds back Damian skied the first half a little easier in the much faster lap traffic just trying to stay out of the way. Starting another 3 minutes back Dhyan Nirmegh attacked the first lap. With the course opened up for the second lap, the three NWVT racers skied their own race. Perry stayed true to form, Damian picked it up, and Nirmegh held on after a fast start. In the end the three finished as they have all season in classic races, with Nirmegh taking top honors for the club, followed closely by Perry, and Damian a little further behind. Perry won his division while Nirmegh took second in his and Damian placed sixth in the senior men. All three continue to improve, closing the gap on those in front of them. All were pretty psyched to return to skate on day two of the weekend. 

Day two brought the same extremely fast conditions but warmer temps with lower winds. Eager to skate after a really good classic race, NWVT showed up ready to capitalize on the momentum. It was clear that the competition was looking for NWVT as well. Leading off on Sunday was Damian. More confident with the skate technique he started very aggressively, passing people who started in front of him, and keeping pace with the college skiers who were on their second lap. Nirmegh, and Perry started four minutes back consecutively. Both skied hard as the courses' hill placement demands a lot of the athletes. As Nirmegh battled in close competition, Perry maintained good tempo as he powered over the climbs. Knowing he was having a good race, Damian was surprised that he was not alone at the start of the second lap. He pressed on continuing to maintain pace as he moved through the field. Nirmegh continued to pick off competitors while Perry closed in toward the finish. Nirmegh posted the fastest time for the club, with Damian racing to a PR just 22 seconds behind him. Perry also posted one of his best skate finishes only 5 places and a minute back on Damian. Perry took the second W in his age division this weekend while Nirmegh and Damian finished fifth in their respective categories in this highly competitive field. All were pleased to get two good skis in this weekend, and are pumped up for the races big and small coming up. 

Kevin Bessett represented the club at the Keskinada World Loppet this weekend. Results have yet to be posted so more on that later. As for last week some good news. Sugarloaf was a mens' points race and NWVT finished third in the points behind the behemoth CSU and host Maine Nordic. In the overall standings we moved back into the top ten in 8th place. Perry also started his streak last weekend at the Maple Onion 15k with a top twenty finish in what was probably most highly contested citizens' race in quite some time. We had two participate in the Canadian Ski Marathon. Still waiting for word on what happened up there.

Sugarloaf Marathon

February 1, 2006

Eight NWVT Club members made their way to Maine to take in a short Marathon. This years Sugarloaf Marathon was shortened to 30k from last years demanding 45k. The course was also shortened by removing 900 feet of vertical that was climbed twice last year. All in favor of that say aye! This years course was rolling, with a long two stage climb, with a long descent after. The sweeping curves as the course winded through the woods were fast and fun. Race temperature was in the high single digits, and snow conditions were fine, crisp granular. It was the type of snow that made everyone feel fast. NWVT racers competed well against the other clubs, and even took two wins in the age categories. Our top finisher Aaron Delfausse raced with the first pack was the first of that group to finish in 7th place and took top honors for the Senior men. Ten spots and three minutes later Dhyan Nirmegh took the W in the M5 division. Nirmegh worked his way through the field, trading places with skiers on the up and down hills, and finished within 90 seconds of last years winner Nick Mahood. Scott Magnan was the next NWVTer to finish in 24th place 2:30 behind Nirmegh. Scott skied the flats and down hills aggressively, but was not pleased with his climbing. Another two minutes back in 29th place was Damian Bolduc. He was pleased with his race, but had a poor start, and missed a break when the field broke apart after the first few kilometers. He skied the first loop in a small pack, and then dropped them skiing on his own and picking off those who fell off the main pack. Lary Martell who also had trouble finding his way through the start finished 45th edging NWVT's favorite competitor Bill Farrell of Rossignol. He should be very pleased with his finish considering this was his first long skate race! Unfortunately, after reading the fine print, only women scored points in this race. Our men would have scored well, and moved up to 7th or 8th place in the standings. I am really sorry I was not aware of this before the race, and I find it interesting that nothing was said or mentioned on the events calender, registration or at the event. NWVT also had three skiers participate in the tour. Jessica Bolduc skied the shorter 15k tour while Allaire Diamond and Seth Maciejowski completed the 30k tour. They were pleased with the fast conditions that made the skiing pleasant, and the course which was surrounded by scenic mountain views. After the event everyone warmed up and refueled with a great lasagna lunch. Racers and tourers also took home some hardware from the bountiful awards ceremony. Congratulations to all who participated, it is great to see so many people participating in these fun events.

Bolton EC

January 28, 2006

Several NWVT members braved the sub par conditions to race in the Eastern Cup Races at Bolton over the weekend. As you know rain greatly diminished snow quality, but reports coming from the venue state that the races were well organized, and the conditions were fine for those hearty enough to show up. Saturday's race was a 15k Classic on a course still in pretty good condition. NWVT's Dhyan Nirmegh and Perry Bland continued their success with impressive finishes among the most competitive field New England could assemble. To give you an impression of the contenders, Eli Enman who made the US World Cup team, and won the Craftsbury Marathon by 3 mins. was second by over 30 seconds. Due to all the other races being canceled, all the top athletes from juniors, to collegiate and on up were in attendance. Day two: after another deluge of rain, even the "deep" snow pack of Bolton suffered, and the course had to be run on a 2k loop in the pouring rain. NWVT was once again well represented with Scott Magnan joining Nirmegh, and Perry to race among the best in the worst conditions. Nirmegh was the top finisher as Scott and Perry finished a little further back. After a weekend of racing like that these guys should be ready for anything as we head to another Major Marathon on Sunday. It will be fun to see how NWVT places at Sugarloaf this year with everyone having a great season so far. Good Luck to those participating in the Canadian Ski Marathon as well. NWVT has several members heading north for the event. It would be great to have some perspectives/retrospectives on this 2200 participant event.

US Nationals

January 28, 2006

The NWVT club made it's Debut perfomance at U.S. Nationals this past week.Tyler Magnan a BFA and St.LAwrence Gradute and current NWVT club member working and training in Colorado this winter, represented our club. While his results were mabye not what he had hoped, I think it was a learning and good experience for both of us (The both being myself who was their to watch and help the best I could). It was cetainly a big step forward for our Club, and I was very proud and excited to see my brother and the colors of the NWVT team making it's way around the hills and corners of Soldier Hollow.
Jen and I left for Utah on Monday and after a day and two interesting cab rides in NY City (we were fogged in at Burlington for over an hr and missed our flight to Utah) we arrived in Salt Lake, the day after Tyler competed in the 30k skate, an event that all but 40 or so athletes would finish, due to the blistering past of the leaders who lapped most of the field (lapped racers were pulled). We spent the first day catching up with Tyler and visiting Park City, The Olympic Jumping and Sledding center and finished with dinner and a speed skate on the Olympic oval with several hundred local kids. On Thursday we headed to Soldier Hollow for the 1.5k Sprint event. Tyler represented our Club very well with good form and a finish near the top 50 Percent. Tyler and I went out Friday morning for a ski and to test wax for the race on Saturday. The snow was mostly manmade and dry for the 30+ degree temps. We tried some klisters and also tried covering the Klister. On Saturday morning after a successful test day we were confident straight Klister was the way to go. I tested some kr 50 about an hr before Tyler’s start, which was very late, about 170th on a three lap course. THe course became very glazed and hard packed due to the number of racers and increasing sun and temperature. The wax seemed excellent and Tyler agreed. Near race time I added some kr60 to the mix to copensate for the changing condiontions. It seemed excellent, so I applied the mix to Tyler’s race ski’s we tested the day before. He came back after a quick test with no Kick. I added a thicker layer of straight 60, He headed out once again and headed to the start line. Right off it was evident something was not right. The skis were not working well and he was struggling up the hills. It turned out that the ski’s that had worked well the day before were too stiff for the hard packed glazed conditions. I thought he did well to finish and was far from the back. Sundays 10k skate race went much better. He moved up several places and was much happier about the race. After the race I was able to get in about 30k on my own. The elevation took some getting used too. You are skiing along just fine and suddenly you just don’t have any energy. Beyond skiing Jen and I had fun looking around to see what Park city and Salt Lake had to offer. The highlight for both of us was probably the scenic views and beautiful sunsets of the Wacatsh Mountains. You can see all of Tyler’s results on the NENSA web site. Great Job to everyone who competed this past weekend, I am exited to see so many doing so well, it is very motivating to all involved and can only help our club get stronger. Thanks, Scott

25th Annual Craftsbury Marathon

January 21, 2006

Many NWVT members made a morning trip to Craftsbury on a mission to finish the 25th annual Craftsbury Marathon. The morning started early with a ride over before sunrise to get everything in place for a great race. Many were the challenges ahead: the 47k, the new course, feeding and drinking plans and what may have seemed to be perfect weather to race in actually made things a little difficult. On the way to the race the temperature made dramatic swings, from 30 degrees in Burlington to 11 degrees in Morrisville. Things were looking complicated. After bib pick-up and a short bus ride to the start, NWVT decided to go with a gut feeling approach to waxing. Although it was still cool, temps were rising fast, also the course was two laps, and a majority of it would see all of the days 1000 skiers at least once, and the Marathoners twice. We did not look at temperature, we just put on the warmest wax that did not slow our skis. In the process we were mistaken for the Swix Wax pros, several times, and many people could not believe what we were using at the start. NENSA poses the question "Who had the Wax?" on its marathon write up. Ask the people who doubted us as NWVT kicked by them on their VR70. It was not perfect, but it was better than anything else out there. The course began with Seth Maciejowski and Allaire Diamond (NWVT members volunteering) checking everyone in at the start. Once the gun went off it was a long double pole around Big Hosmer pond, then it looped around many of the Center's rolling trails twice, and finished as usual around the green in Craftsbury. For the most part, things went well for the NWVT racers. A couple had some wax issues but still thought things were satisfactory over all. Everyone had their strong areas and seemed to like the 20-40k section on the main trails at the nordic center (this is where most of the other racers wax failed), and the hills, and twists and turns seemed to give everyone just the right amount of challenge. Many spoke of how impressed they were of their performance, compared to those they raced with. And for the most part such was the story for the race until the final two kilometers. This is where the skiers must climb the long steep hill to the finish. What was a challenging but fun ski turned into a relentless slog up the sun-exposed hill that drained every ounce of energy out of the racers. It did not matter who you were, you hit the wall, you spent whatever you had left on the hill, and after that it was all about the finish that could not come soon enough. The last kilometer of Craftsbury was skied purely on a will to get to the line, bodies moved in slow motion, vision was blurred, delirious rants of self encouragement and ramblings to do what ever its took to get it over with. The finish looked like a war zone with skiers sprawled out on the ground, or leaning over poles or on a fence but they all had and deserved a sense of accomplishment for having what it took to complete the Craftsbury Marathon. NWVT had two volunteers, as mentioned above, many, many supporters on the course, one tourer (Mike Cain), and seven 50k racers who all finished pleased with their performance. If I missed anyone let me know and I will make it right. NWVT results follow, full results can be seen at: http://www.craftsbury.com/ski/marResults.php 

24 50km m S2 Aaron Delfausse Hanover, NH 130 02:52:19 
40 50km m S2 Scott Magnan burlington, VT 552 03:00:03 

52 50km m M5 Dhyan Nirmegh Huntington, VT 101 03:04:34 

58 50km m M6 W. Perry Bland Westford, VT 107 03:06:18 

63 50km m S2 Damian Bolduc South Burlington, VT 129 03:07:21 

75 50km m M4 Lary Martell Georgia, VT 465 03:13:05 

And gearing up for real endurance, The Canadian Ski Marathon Gold Bar Division 

186 50km m M5 Ferdinand Lauffer Enosburg Falls, VT 497 04:47:45 


Congratulations to all who participated, as it turned out, it was a perfect day to race after all.

Geschmossel

January 16, 2006

Several Northwest Vermont Nordic Skiers set out following the morning Sun Dogs east; to the home of Bode Miller, Bretton Woods, to participate in the Geschmossel 15k Classic. Geschmossel means mass start, and with that said, 100 or so skiers braved the low temps and high winds for the annual event. The temp was actually a balmy 2 degrees, and the wind was a stiff NNW at 26 mph. They should have given awards for just getting out of the car! Fortunately most of the race course was in the woods, where the skiers were protected from the high winds. Plus, when you are hammering the way NWVT was, 2 degrees feels just about right. The course started on a long flat, moving to some small rolling hills leading to a long climb, followed by a long decent, and then a couple flat of kilometers to the finish. After skiing with club members since it started Dhyan Nirmegh has finally joined its ranks. Right off the start Nirmegh, Perry Bland, and Damian Bolduc were able to group together. For the first 5k they skied hard, keeping a solid pack, as they worked their way up through the field. On the climb Lary Martell had joined Perry and Damian, as Nirmegh pulled away racing with some stronger skiers on the move. Damian fell back a few seconds, and Lary and Perry crested the major hill together with Nirmegh in sight. Perry then pulled away. Getting a second wind on the down hill Damian caught up with Lary, and brought Perry back into sight. He then latched onto and drafted a small pack of college skiers through a breezy portion of the course, and thought he may catch Perry. Unable to bridge up to Perry the pack broke apart, and Damian ended up somewhere in the middle of the mix with Lary right behind him. BFA and Georgia Elementary skiers, Sam and Evan Martell also braved the conditions with Mom Cathy cheering them from the sidelines to very impressive finishes in a race much longer then what they are accustomed to. Official results have not been posted, but all of the NWVT members were in the top thirty. The club is looking good as the next couple of big weekends take shape. We are currently 5th place in the Club Standings!

Sleepy Hollow Relay & Bogburn

January 8, 2006

What another great turn out for NWVT this weekend. We had no less than 9 skiers participate in the Sleepy Hollow 10/20k race event this weekend. It was good to see so many people get involved in this fun annual event, sponsored by our club supporter Skirack, and some of the nicest local ski area owners around. The conditions at Sleepy Hollow were once again excellent. It has been surprising how Mother Nature has been able to spruce things up just right for race time this season. The temps were in the high single digits and gradually climbing at the start. The course rolled through some of Sleepy Hollow's scenic terrain. For the most part, the snow held up to the day's 60+ racers with only a couple corners getting scraped out. All races started simultaneously with NWVT racers in each one. Mass start experience proved to be key as the field started up the relatively narrow hill out of the Sleepy Hollow stadium. Perry and a new member (to be named later) got off to a good start, and the rest sorted things out by the end of the first 500m. First, the 10k results. Skiing for NWVT in the morning and BFA in the afternoon, and the first to pull the double this weekend was Andre' Bolduc placing third overall. Andre looked to be racing well, and saved some energy to place 6th in the afternoon race. He also beat a National Guard Biathlon team member Brian Letourneou, but in all fairness he has been serving in Kuwait for the last year; "training conditions were not optimal." Tailing Andre' closely through the half way point was NWVT's Lary Martell, who is still feeling the effects of an automobile accident from a week and a half ago. Trying a 10k skate race for a change of pace, coming in around the middle of the field and second in his age division was new team member Seth Maciejowski. Quiet and humble, he should be very pleased with his performance. NWVT had some impressive results in the 20k as well. As mentioned two skiers got out early in the start. One was Perry, the other was Aaron Delfausse. Aaron's abilities bring the club to a new level of competition. He easily skied among the seasoned leaders to finish third overall. It is good to have him on board, as his mentality is a good fit for the club, and of course he can contribute a lot athletically as well. Perry was in top form as well. He continues to improve technically, and his times and places reflect his work. He finished well within the top ten with gas still left in the tank. The NWVT women also showed up with a relay team. With the green to start, Jessica lead off with her super slick secret wax. After picking her way through the field at the start she skied the first leg in 15 minutes and change, handing off to Marielle Aunave. An international road cycling stand out, Marielle skied a very strong second leg. She handed off to Hannah Barden. With husband Brendan, and 6 month old daughter Rosa cheering enthusiastically Hannah kept the pace skiing an even split with Marielle! Anchoring the team to divisional victory was new club member Allaire Diamond. Accustomed to longer events it was great to see her come out and complete the relay team. Hopefully the women continue their success and race some of the great events coming up later this season. Interest in some of the marathons was detected. They will not regret it if they follow through as they are exciting events and great reasons to get out and have fun together. 

The Bogburn:
On sunny Sunday the conditions in Pomfret were good for the first classic race of the season. Temps were in the twenties and the snow was a fresh coating on top of frozen granular. The course was the same challenging back woods style double loop as the last few years. Perry Bland was the second NWVT member to pull the double this weekend. Capitalizing in confidence gained on Saturday, Perry knocked a minute off last year's time, beat many of his usual competitors, and a few he has had in his sights for a while. Meanwhile, Damian Bolduc was looking to achieve some of his own goals for this race. He wanted to improve significantly over last year, and shock his body to kick it into classic mode. His ambitious improvement goal was not met, but almost 4 minutes faster than last year is still very impressive. He is also motivated and ready to work on some things before the upcoming White Mountain 30k and the Craftsbury Marathon. Things are picking up for the club. We are in 7th place over all in the club points standings, with Perry and Damian scoring high at the Bogburn. Tyler Magnan has also been representing us at Nationals, competing in four events. More on that to come soon. It was great to see everybody out having fun this weekend. Hopefully the enthusiasm continues for the rest of the winter and the great events, big and small, coming up.

Mt. Hor Hop

January 1, 2006

It was another great day for the NWVT racers at Mt. Hor this weekend. Once again five skiers competed with an impressive showing for our small club. The temp was 14 degrees at race time, chilly but still comfortable for most parts. There was a slight NW wind blowing a very light flurry by. The course was two figure eights with a steady 300 foot climb that began around the midpoint of the 5k loop. The trails were groomed wide and even; with a nice blend of hard packed crusty snow, and a little packed powder on top. Sporting a new pair of boards and leading off for NWVT was Perry Bland. Starting early meant going out with amongst some of the top St. Lawrence and Middlebury College skiers. Coming through the 2k and the 5k marks Perry looked strong, and was holding his own skiing with the top contenders of the day. Perry's solid performance was inspiring to all in the starting corral, including the rest of the club members as he quietly cruised through the lap zone, in the zone. Shortly after Perry went by, the next three NWVT skiers were up in consecutive 30 second start intervals. Leading the NWVT train was new-comer Vincent Lepeltier, a former BFA skier now attending the University of Rochester. Clearly skiing a few notches above where he was last week, it was hard to tell that he is cross training for crew. Next off was Scott Magnan, and then Damian Bolduc. The three stayed relatively close together for the first 4k of the race until Scott hammered through the switchbacks on the downhill portion of the course leaving Vincent and Damian in his dust. Vincent and Damian then spent the rest of the race working their way through traffic, picking off one skier at a time, finally coming to an exciting sprint finish with Vincent just edging Damian to the line. Lary Martell started a few minutes back from the previous three and finished well, even though he was recovering from a traffic accident earlier in the week. With all the results tallied, Scott was NWVT's top finisher again this week, putting a 90 second gap on Damian. Perry and Vincent also made the first page of results by finishing within a minute of Damian, and Lary was only 30 seconds off them on an off-day for him. It is nice to see everybody out for another great event. For full results and a great photo of Perry on his new skis and in the zone sprinting to the finish go to www.nensa.net (Perry is # 67). The club scored very competitively against other local clubs, and with this much improvement in the short races it will be interesting to see what we can do in the longer races where we are stronger.

BFA Citizens Alumni Race

December 24, 2005

What a great turn out for the BFA/NWVT Alumni/Citizens Race this year. The Holiday weekend must have put everyone in the spirit to ski. Or perhaps it was just a good excuse to join up with friends and family for fun and to burn off a few calories so we could have seconds and thirds for (those who did two laps) on dessert over the weekend. The new NWVT Mobile Registration and Wax Unit provided by Scott Magnan's Custom Service handled the crowds smoothly as waves of registrants with dry ski bases arrived at the race venue. The Dickinson Farm was in perfect condition, a fresh few inches of snow had fallen the night before complimenting the already great snow coverage. At race time the temp was a comfortable 34 degrees with overcast skies. Wind was negligible. The rolling course had narrow trails that looped through the woods and meadows of the scenic farmland. The fresh but heavy snow was packed to perfection by grooming specialist Chuck Farrington. In a word, conditions were FAST! The day was full of exceptional performances by all. In the Women's 6k race NWVT took 2nd and 4th in a diverse field of athletes. The race was won by former BFA skier Kirsten Devrees from St. Olafs college. Kirsten lead from the start and never looked back. Taking second with super slick skis, Jessica Bolduc looked to be in good form for her first race of the season. She concentrated on staying smooth as she chased Devrees the entire race. Cipperly Good followed close behind in the middle of two top high school athletes to round out the top five. The big news of the day was the NWVT sweep of the top five in the Men's 6k. Taking the lead off the start NWVT skiers Damian Bolduc, Scott Magnan, and Rich Dickinson quickly put a small gap on the rest of the field. Working there way through the field and joining them by the end of the first lap were Perry Bland, Lary Martell and some of the top high school racers. Getting a good start (a lesson learned in last weekends 130 person mass start) and maintaining good balance proved to be key for the day. It took a lot of care to pass without wiping out as the heavy snow would swallow your ski tips if they wandered from the trail. Keeping momentum over the course's level variations with good form Scott Magnan was able to pull away from the field on the second lap. Damian and Rich swapped places a few times, with Rich making a move on the final climb to secure second place. Meanwhile Perry and Larry were closing in. Having battled through the main pack of the day; the were able to ski off the front of it uninhibited by the congestion of hard, risk taking racers who were getting tangled up with each other. Other NWVT skiers in the 6k were Kevin Bessett, and Vincent Lepeltier who both placed within the top ten. A good time was had by all who participated. Hats off to Scott Magnan who held off aggressive racing from close competition to ski away for an impressive victory. It was his first win at the BFA/NWVT Alumni/Citizens race.

Craftsbury Opener

December 10, 2005

Finally! five fanatical skiers found their first race of the season. Northwest Vermont skiers journeyed east to Craftsbury to find 10.5k's of good snow. The temperature was in the low twenties, no noticeable wind, and mostly sunny skies made for the best racing weather yet this season. The race course was in excellent shape as well. The thin but firm and fresh snow held up well as 70 athletes of all abilities took to the rolling course at 30 second start intervals. Starting in the middle of the field and leading off for NWVT was Damian Bolduc. Determined to maintain where he left off last season he wanted to race strong and smart. With team members Perry Bland, and Scott Magnan starting 30 seconds and one minute behind him respectively, he had no choice. With three teammates this close together it is always fun to feed off each other while at the same time fending each other off. Scrambling from the start, Damian was able to stay ahead leading the pack to the finish. After 9k's of having him in his sights Scott was able to make a move, pass Perry and hold him off to the end. All three finished within a 1:30 of each other. Mean while toward the end of the running order, Lary Martell and Kevin Bessett fought their own separate battles. Lary, new to skate skiing, placed well in the field, with only a minimal gap behind Damian, Scott and Perry. His technique improved over race, and he finished exhibiting the power everyone knows and fears with a strong V2 sprint. However it was Kevin who stole the show today. Starting last for the team, Kevin finished first with the fastest NWVT time of the day by a minute. "Kevin's form, focus and fitness allowed him to prevail today" exclaimed one possibly partial on looker. Partial or not, Kevin's improvement will certainly leave an impression on all who compete against him, as he will be an even stronger force in the long races coming up this season. Regardless of how they finished, everybody at the race was pleased with their performance and the conditions today. It sure feels great to have the first race of 05-06 under our belt, and it looks like it will be another great season for NWVT. Let's see where we stand against the best in New England at the Eastern Cup race next weekend at Trapp Family Lodge.

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