The Lake Placid Loppet 2025
The ample mid-winter snow meant the Lake Placid Loppet returned to the full 25k loop. Traditionally, the loppet tries to emulate the 1980 Olympic course when conditions allow it, and it is without question the hardest loppet course in the Eastern region. There were some modifications from the Olympic course, partially due to the recent renovations at the venue. In another twist, the 25k loop began by going out to the old biathlon side first and then finishing around Porter Mountain and Russian Hill before rolling back into the new stadium for the finish.
The 50k Classic left the start line first at 9:00 AM. Skiers arrived to find a fresh dusting of snow on top of the groomed tracks. Surprisingly, the base snow was very hard and a little icy, but it did not affect waxing much. Tyler Magnan was the sole NWVE member to take on the 50k Classic, and with limited time to test, opted for Swix Special Violet as a safe bet for the massive amount of climbing. The new snow definitely slowed things down a bit, but the ski conditions were very pleasant. There was a strong field in the 50k Classic compared to recent editions. Elissa and Joel Bradley from Ford Sayre took the line, as did Michael Dillon from Mansfield and some club skiers from Middlebury College.
The classic tracks were not set in a best line fashion, so skiers often had to make decisions on whether to cut corners out of the tracks or take a slightly longer path but keep a good rhythm in the tracks. Abram Weil-Cooley and Joel Bradley pulled away at the front, with Michael Dillon being left in no man's land. Tyler skied the first lap behind Jeff Erenstone, watching him ski the whole lap out of the tracks, burning energy unnecessarily. They were later joined by Nathan Klonel of Middlebury and Elissa, who had amazingly fast skis.
Joel broke a pole while taking a feed at the top of porter mountain. He picked up a spare backcountry pole at the aid station and amazingly skied nearly 20k with that before getting a new one. He still went on to finish 2nd, only 4 minutes behind Abram, who took the win. Tyler left Jeff and Nathan at the 25k aid station and put 10 minutes on them in the 2nd lap but couldn't chase down Elissa or Michael, who held strong to the finish. Overall, there were 14 finishers, and all of them deserve kudos for completing the feat.
The 25k Classic took off at 9:15. Phil Matthews from Paul Smiths won handily, catching and passing most of the 50k race field. Scott Magnan and Ed Hamilton from NWVE led the rest of the field, skiing much of the lap together until Scott pulled away just before entering the Porter Mountain trails. Behind them, Joann Hanowski took 4th overall and the women's victory and bested Jim Fredericks in 5th. Lary Martell also made his long-awaited return to racing. His training plan consisted of a few miles of skiing at Hard'ack after spending most of the winter biking in the American Southwest. Big kudos to Lary for jumping into the hardest race of the year with no ski training. It's a true representation of the NWVE motto.
Brook Hodgeman took the line in the 50k Skate, going into the race with no knowledge of the trails he was about to take on except warnings from his teammates about the difficulty of the race. The 50k Skate is always very competitive, and Brook took 6th place overall with an impressive 6-minute-per-mile pace. St. Lawrence Alum Brian Beyerbach took the win by a large margin. In a tighter battle behind, Cameron Cogburn took 2nd over The Beast, Duncan Douglas. David Herr had a great race, using his light frame to his advantage to climb his way to 4th. Nate Laber from Mansfield finished strong to overtake Brook for 5th, while Michael Gaughan from Mansfield came in shortly behind Nate and Brook.
The last of the day was the 25k Skate. Nirmegh was the lone NWVE racer but represented well. He rode fast skis to a great finish, nearly besting Andrew Craighead from Ford Sayre, who smoked him at the Silver Fox Trot. A little bit of stadium confusion at the finish cost Nirmegh the W in that battle. Tim Van Orden was the masters representative at the front of the field, mixing it up with Paul Smith's skiers and taking 2nd overall.
After the race, everyone refueled with a great post race buffet and nearly everyone went home with an age group prize. The challenges of this race course can break you to pieces, but there were no regrets. It was a great opportunity to ski the legendary trails in fantastic conditions, and everyone agreed it was worth the trip and the effort.
Tyler
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