The sun was yawning as the racers showed up at Black Mountain in Jackson last Saturday.
Snow guns blanketed trails as the 70 prepared for the 7 a.m. start with single digit temperatures.
Brandon Baker, of Lebanon, spoke through a bullhorn, both psyching up the assembled with skis, snowboards, snowshoes, spikes and studded running shoes while also getting in a quick safety message they repeated back to him: Runner’s right, skier’s left.
Then with a three-two-one countdown, they were off into the wilds, a 2.3-mile course with 800 feet of elevation gain.
Such is Winter Wild (winterwild.com), a 10-week series across northern New England where competitors race up and down a ski area, wrapping up the race and awards ceremony in the early morning hours before the lifts start running.
“I like to think Winter Wild has the same ethos as the hiking idea of leaving no trace,” said Baker, the race director and also part of the event production company Team AMP.
Attracting endurance athletes ranging from novice to expert, the series, now in its eighth year, was founded by New Hampshire ultra athlete Chad Denning. He died in 2014 at age 39 while running along the Appalachian Trail.
“This series is for people looking for an alternative winter challenge,” said Baker, a runner himself. “We have endurance athletes and some people who just like to snowshoe and won’t run one step.”
The series attracts mostly runners. There are three categories. An open group for runners, studded shoes and snowshoers. Then there are traditional Nordic skiers in skate or classic followed by a heavy metal division for telemarkers, alpine tourers and snowboarders.
There are lots of raffle prizes, volunteers and a sense of community. One race remains this season, scheduled for March 18 at Gunstock.
Manchester’s Keith McBrien, a forty-something engineer, was skiing in the series for his fifth year, going to every one this season.
“It’s a good way to get out in the morning,” he said. “The challenge is good. I do it to stay in shape and get out on the snow. The series is unique.”
It’s also helped make him a better skier, as he has invested in good equipment. He’s also improved his uphill skinning technique. Because the snow guns were blazing, he wore goggles. If the gun’s weren’t running, he wouldn’t. Extra weight.
“I try to better my time at each course,” he said. “The steeper the better. The longer the better.”
Randy Weld, of Newmarket, N.H., was on cross-country skis. He tries to compete in one Winter Wild race every year.
“As a cross-country skier, this was a unique opportunity to fly down a trail at a downhill area on light-weight skis. There’s a also an atmosphere of camaraderie. Everyone is pulling for everyone. You’re on the mountain with all different modes happening.”
For elite runners, Baker sees the races as a form of speed training.
“If you’re trying to compete in the top spots, you are going to be working hard all the time. It’s a lot of hard work getting to the top. Then on the way down you can run a 4½-minute mile pace in a free-fall. Sometimes people are flailing down, jumping and falling a bit.”
That they did, as runners come down the slope in the mist of manmade snow. Some were passed by those on boards.
Ed Harvey, a Black Mountain ski patroller, and his 12-year-old son Amanuel, ran in the open division.
They both know the mountain well.
“That helped,” said Harvey. “My son knew where he was going. But it was also amazing how fast you can get up the mountain just jamming away. That was the first time I hiked up. I’ve done some grade work but that’s more of a slow pace.”
With borrowed microspikes, Deerfield, N.H. resident Bill Hall, 69, finished the race. He’s been doing the series nearly since its inception.
Why?
“Well, I guess winter is too long to sit around the house so you have to get out and do something,” he said through a long beard he said he’s been sporting since 1969.
A self-described recreational sports kind of person, he enjoys talking to the “kids” and being able to do the fun things that they do too. He normally finishes in the back of the pack.
Though he praises the series, he’s not enamored by that early morning start.
“That’s the toughest part for me,” he said. “I’m a late night person.”
Marty Basch can be reached at marty.basch@gmail.com.