The Whitefish Whiteout Ski Mountaineering Race
The course consisted of four climbs in the boundaries of the Big Mountain Resort. Three skins and one bootpack. It has been a while since they had gotten snow so conditions were crusty. In my mind perfect conditions to race. One, you know you’re not missing blissful powder turns elsewhere. Two, it makes for some more technical skiing and skinning which can be fun. The weather forecast for the day was to be cold and windy. Luckily the weather guessers were a bit off. It was cold but bearable. My only complaint of the day was the course could have been marked better. For a third of the race I thought I was off course. Luckily when in doubt I guess right.
Brandon French proved why he was last year’s national champion. He smoked the 4700ft course in 1:32. I got 4th with a time of 1:52. Participation overall was good. There were ~50 racers which was double of what they had last year.
