At Soldier Hollow
From left to right: Coach Tony Chambers with racers Oliver and Elizabeth Chambers, and Zoe Noble at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Heber, Utah.
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Zoe Noble
Zoe Noble enjoying the weekend’s events.
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Pinedale Junior Nordic skiers compete in Utah
by Bonnie Chambers
February 6, 2012
In their fourth event of the season, racers from the Pinedale Junior Nordic Ski Program traveled to Heber Utah January 26th to compete in the Junior Events at the Super Qualifier hosted by The Utah Nordic Alliance. There were over 650 racers from the OJ (age 19) to the J6 (ages 6-7) classes, representing clubs and schools from the western half of the United States. Despite the lack of snow in this region, Soldier Hollow (the location of the 2002 Winter Olympic Nordic Games) provided a world-class and spectator-friendly venue.
Racing from the Pinedale club were Elizabeth Chambers, Zoe Noble, and Oliver Chambers. Friday’s Classic Sprint race proved to be a challenge for waxing, with rain the night before, temperatures hovering at 32 degrees by mid day, and an icy base of freshly groomed man-made snow. The tubes of Klister were out in force! Oliver placed 5th out of 21 skiers in the Boys J5 1.3k race, Zoe placed 6th out of 25 skiers in the Girls 1.3k race, and Elizabeth placed 22nd out of 45 skiers in the Girls 2.6k Classic Sprint race. Older skiers participated in a qualifying 1.3k sprint, which advanced the top 30 skiers to heats that took place in the afternoon.
Saturday morning was clear and cold with frosty air provided by the snow making equipment, which was just perfect for the Freestyle (Skate) race. Contestants were seeded according to Friday’s results for placement in the chevron formation for a mass start. Oliver, with a clean run, placed 7th out of 19 skiers in the Boys 1k. Zoe, after a brief fall across downed skiers at an icy corner, placed 9th out of 29 in the Girls 2k. Elizabeth, after detouring completely off the course at the same ice patch, finished strong and placed 39th out of 49 skiers in the Girls 3k. The group enjoyed the rest of the morning watching the J2s and then the J1/OJs in their respective 10k and 15k races. Such great talent out there!
February will be a quiet month for the racers, who will ski Tuesdays and Thursdays with the rest of the club at Surveyor Park, Kelly Park, and the CCC Ponds. March brings the last race of the season, the Yellowstone Rendezvous, which is an annual marathon series that takes place in West Yellowstone, Montana.
Photos by supportive parents
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