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The 48th Geschmossel 2025

1/20/2025


An energetic field of New England skiers converged on Bretton Woods for the 48th Annual Geschmossel.  Pulling into the driveway of the Mount Washington Hotel is always an impressive sight, but with a pristine blanket of fresh cold snow, it was all the more striking.  You could tell by the way the top of Mount Washington glistened that it was cold; however, the flags on the masts atop the famous red roof lying still were a welcome sight.  Sun and minimal wind meant that conditions would be very much on the pleasant side of how they could be.


Overnight snow accumulations deepened as we approached the site.  After a bit of a warm spell with some light rain, the temperature dropped, freezing the base, and Sunday night’s snow covered the surface with a blanket of cold powder.  Perfect conditions for another bluebird day!  We have been lucking out with these just-in-time snow accumulations and should remember that when things are not in our favor.  Travel was reasonable, with crews having the roads mostly cleared during our commute.


Skiers arrived with about an hour to get ready for the race.  Swix 30 was testing well, with John Witmer (NWVE) happy with its strong kick.  Others gave it similar praise.  A few of us tested Guru Green with some Rode Alaska to cover and were happy with that.  Toko Blue was the choice of a few others.  Waxing was easy, but it was cold, so people did not spend much time at the table or testing, for that matter. 


At registration, maps of the course were handed out.  While it was explained well, race brain was going to come into play on the course.  There were plenty of volunteers to help guide the way, but with three loops, two separate loops near the start, a traverse, and then a single remote loop twice, and a basic finish line, it was going to be tricky in the heat of competition.  Most got through without any issues, though a few followed a finisher they were closing in on when they should have turned for another lap.  The timing crew was on it and let people get back on course to complete the full distance.


The course started at the far end of the golf course.  Skiers climbed Willey’s Way; at Tunnel, they turned left and were rewarded with an easy downhill on B&M back to the start.  At the bottom of B&M, skiers had to make a nearly 180-degree turn onto Perimeter and then loop back through the start area on Links.  From here, they would head back up Willey’s Way but take a right on Crawford’s Pass, heading over to the final loop on Zeland Pass and Esker.  The course had a good flow with easy striding up Willey’s Way and across Crawford’s.  The double pole on the final loop had a nice wind assist as you approached the Lap/Finish zone.  After last week’s full-throttle efforts in Jackson, I found myself unfamiliar with the recoveries on this course. 


Racing got underway at 10:00 a.m.  The start had been changed from Mass Start to a fifteen-second Interval Start, which caught most people by surprise.  Some even missed their start, which, as Tyler Magnan (NWVE) pointed out, should not happen when you thought you were supposed to be ready for a mass start at 10:00 a.m.  It was an interesting comment, coming from the person at the wax bench, who was surprised by my urgency with twenty minutes to go to the race.  The timing crew was gracious in accommodating those who needed a late start anyway. 


Christopher Graupe  (Craftsbury) got the day going as the only junior in the race.  He was followed by Colin Pogue (MNC), who was the only Senior in the race.  The rest was a Masters’ affair!  The start order was generally seeded by age, starting with the youngest.  The Men went first, then a 90-second break, and then the Women started.  With four miles of trail before the final loop, this was the longest circuit we have skied this season.  This also caught me a little off guard, as there was not a continuous stream of skiers in my presence.


Colin Pogue (MNC) quickly caught Christopher Graupe (Craftsbury) and skied away to the win.  Colin’s teammate, Michael Dillon (MNC), also had an impressive race, catching two skiers and following Colin’s tracks to take second.  Dennis Page (Nansen) and Tyler Magnan (NWVE) had an even battle.  Tyler could see Dennis much of the race but could not close at all on him.  I started 15 seconds behind Tyler but never saw him after the climb up Willey’s way.  On Willey’s way, Rob Riley (GNS) caught me quickly from a minute back in the order; however, down B&M, I closed a little before Rob double-poled away from me on Links.  Rob would eventually catch Tyler late in the race and take third place overall. 


The Geschmossel drew several skiers we have not seen at an event this season.  While some of us have several races under our belts in 2025, Stephen Wright (NWVE), David Herr (Unattached), Nat Lucy (Mt. Wash.), and Mark Isselhardt (Craftsbury) all jumped in and kept pace as though they have been racing all season!  Stephen Wright got the better of David Herr, hitting the transitions and strong double poling.  Nat Lucy looked great and used the home course advantage to edge Bill Donahue by 0.6 seconds at the finish.  I was happy not to have Mark Isselhardt catch me after the start, but he and Ian Blair (BOC) close in the results.  I forgot that Ian had broken a pole in Jackson, which cost him valuable seconds on the fast circuit.


Races within the race unfolded as is the tradition at the Geschmossel.  The race has been conducted 48 times, so you know people are returning to settle previous results.  Jim Fredericks (Craftsbury) was not going to race too hard, but the conditions and company were too much to resist.  Jim started one spot behind Bruce Katz (OLD) and knew he had to get him.  Through a series of mishaps, Bruce had forgotten his ski boots and was on a pair of David Herr’s skin skis and in a pair of rental boots.  Jim knew in the cold powder conditions that those skis were going to be slow, so from the countdown, it was on.  Jim then had his sights on Gordon Scannell (SDXC), Dhyan Nirmegh (NWVE), and Roger Wilson (SDXC).  One after another, Jim was overtaking people on the course and having a great race.  So much so, that when Stephen Wright passed him on his finishing lap, Jim tucked in and kept pace to the line.  Unfortunately, Jim was returned to the course to complete one more lap, but he held position and gave it another go to race the whole distance. 


Jonathan Rodd (NWVE) was happy to catch a few people during the race.  Hi was still a little sore from a bruising John Witmer (NWVE) had issued during cyclocross, so Jonathan was happy when he caught and passed John.  John seemed to be very tenacious during cyclocross in the fall with Scott Magnan (NWVE) reporting that the guy was unshakable and would close from out of nowhere!  Jud Hartmann (NWVE) and Dhyan Nirmegh (NWVE) resumed their competition from last weekend.  Jud had studied the course and found good company during the race.  Initially he was chasing Jim Fredericks and then worked on catching as many skiers as he could.  Nirmegh did not study the course and was disoriented as to where he was at Bretton Woods.  While familiar with the trails, many of them were skied in the reverse direction of what we usually do.  Jud took advantage of the tail wind on the final approach to the finish line to edge Nirmegh.  Nirmegh had a slight penalty due to following another racer into the finish line a lap too soon.


Only Masters women entered the event.  Rosalie Wilson (Ford Sayre) set out on a mission.  She skied through Jessica Bolduc (NWVE), Michele Smith (CSU), and Cipperly Good (NWVE).  The only female that started in front of her that she did not catch was Anne Rabon (Unattached), but it was close at the finish.  Rosalie had the biggest smile after finishing the Geschmossel, knowing she had just won the race.  Jessica Bolduc had recovered nicely from her birthday ski the day before.  She caught Michele Smith and Cipperly but could not hold onto Rosalie.  Jessica raced all the way to the finish line, catching some of the men, including a final push to reel in Nirmegh at the line.  JoAnn Hanowski (Craftsbury) had a great result, coming in third for the women. 


Even with the interval start, Michele Smith raced consistently, placing just ahead of Jud and Nirmegh.  Scott Brown (Ford Sayre) looked more on form with the classic technique and finished in the mix with Michele, Jud, and Nirmegh.  Cipperly’s skis were not so fast this week after being good in Jackson.  She had left the blue wax on from the White Mountain Classic, and it was biting through the Alaska speed shell and grabbing the new cold snow a bit more than she liked.  She kept even with Gordon Scannell, but Andres Torizzo (MNC) had the better result this week.  Andres may have also benefited from a lack of the herringbone wall this week. Karen Alence (MNC) made her racing debut, rallying several MNC skiers to the event.  She skied close to Renate Adamowicz (MNC) and Katie Hill (MNC).


Jessica enjoyed chatting with Nirmegh on her cool-down, asking for advice as she approaches age 50. Nirmegh shared that he celebrated 8 Personal Bests when he turned 50, which Jessica found to be an incentive to consider in her training.  Everyone enjoyed a little extra skiing, and upon returning to the lodge, the results had been posted and were scrolling on the big screen.  Awards were celebrated over hot chocolate and some baked goods.  The 48th running of the Geschmossel was a success!  Conditions at Bretton Woods were perfect for the event! 


Damian

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