Kongsberger Ski Club

 Another fun report to wrap up the KSC experience: Joy's summary and pictures of her time at World Masters and beyond! World Masters Seefeld 2023   To say that we were not prepared for what we found in Seefeld is an understatement! I was deluding myself about the amount of snow there—thinking it was probably like March skiing at Cabin Creek when the snow was low. So it was a shock to arrive and see ribbons of snow carving through a brown and dusty landscape, Seefeld close to a ghost town as people fled for higher elevations or, like our apartment host, flew to Gran Canaria. Unfortunately, we did not bring running shoes, hiking boots, or shorts, like many of the other athletes. The second shock, perhaps worse, was the course conditions on Sunday at 12:40 pm when my group began our 7k slush skate. It was at least 6” deep around the whole course! Try to V2 in that! We were all exhausted when we finished. As one woman told me, “I can ski 42k at home and not come back as tired as t...

 So what do you do if the conditions at Seefeld just weren't that much fun but you're not ready for ski season to be over?  If you're Rune, you head north, WAY north, to the far northern tip of Norway, where you find some serious snow ... ... and you jump into the Reistadlopet.  One of the Visma Ski Classics races, this one is billed as the toughest one in the series, thanks in no small part to this eye-catching elevation profile: Here is the official race description: REISTADLØPET - A BREATHTAKING ADVENTURE ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE Reistadløpet race course profile is known as one of the hardest in Ski Classics. The race starts in Setermoen, which is in the municipality of Bardu in Norway, and goes through arctic landscapes and mountain tops before reaching the finish line in Bardufoss in the municipality of Målelv. Most pro skiers use kick wax and diagonal striding when skiing from Setermoen to Bardufoss because of the challenging climbs on the course. The race has a long...

 We've had Masters World Championship reports from racers David Evans, Suzanne Corkran, and Rune Harkestad.  Now it's time to hear from our observer-in-chief and chief photographer, Rob Corkran, with his eye on the larger perspective.   The Masters World Cup 2023 was held in another beautifully situated mountain town, Seefeld, Austria.  For Suzanne and me, it was surprisingly accessible. Departing from Seattle in late morning, we arrived in early afternoon the next day, local times. We took flights through Chicago to Munich and a three-hour bus ride direct from the airport.   The head of American XC skiers is John “JD” Downing.  He does a great job of organization for these events, arranging lodging and transportation options and providing the coaching  functions for the entire group. We chose an apartment complex at the start of the xc ski trails, our particular unit with a balcony overlooking two ski lifts.  We found ourselves amidst skiing roya...

Photo of Seefeld shamelessly stolen from Cara Battles' Facebook page because, I mean, look at this! Rune's race report and expert strategy commentary from the slush fest of Seefeld, with a bonus commentary at the end from Boulder Mountain Sports' Nathan Schultz on the importance of ski selection. Seefeld 2023 Rob Corkran's photo Augustina and I are now sitting at the airport in Oslo, 4 weeks into our 5-week Europe trip. Normally we would head back to warmer temperatures at the end of March but not this time; now we are heading to Tromsø in Northern Norway where the temps are still in the 20s, with daily grooming and more than 4 feet of snow on the ground.  More about that later but first about Seefeld. I would like to summarize the skiing in one short sentence “searching for crust and avoiding dirt." This was exactly what we have seen from ski competitions in Central Europe this winter: no snow anywhere in sight except a strip of manmade snow on which the skiers go...