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Crystal Mountain, February 28, 2009
Alpental, March 28, 2009
Alpental Results Are Posted!
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hi everyone!
Alpental results are posted on the right. Take a look! Photos are not far behind!
I just want to send a quick thanks for everyone who came out, participated, skied their hearts out, and helped support NWAC! The numbers are not quite tallied yet, but we've broken our own record for how much money we'll be able to donate. Hopefully now, NWAC will have a fighting chance into next year.
Also, a huge thanks again goes to all of the people who made the 2009 VertFest events possible; Our sponsors at Gore-Tex, Windstopper, Osprey, Garmont / Life Link, Marmot Mountain Works, Off Piste and Backcountry magazines and Lazy Boy Brewey. Thanks to our extremely accomodating hosts at Crystal Mountain and Alpental,. Thanks to the amazing and inspiring team at Pro Guiding Service. Thanks to the fantastic volunteers from Crystal, Alpental, and Outdoor Research who manned the gates and cheered you all on. And thanks to the team at Outdoor Research who helped inspire and continue to allow VertFest to be a growing success in the Northwest.
Saturday was an amazing day! Even the miserable forecast and even dicier conditions couldn't ruin the fun. It is always such a cool thing to see what a great and decided group the backcountry ski community is. We didn't get Martins 100 racers, but we came close with a very impressive 92 racers!! Nice work!
Thanks again everyone, for helping to make VertFest a huge success. We look forward to seeing you in the backcountry again soon.
Cheers!
Sam and the Outdoor Research VertFest team.
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The Challenge of 100 Racers
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Last year, Martin Volken tasked me with getting him 100 racers for the Alpental VertFest event. I thought that the 98 racers that we got would be enough to make him happy. Well, apparently not... Still, almost a full year later, I am still getting grief about not getting him his 100 racers.
So, I beg of you all to help me out... come on up, try it out. If you like to skin, come up. If you love Alpental, come up. If you love all things about the backcountry, come up. If you want to donate money to NWAC, come up. If you love the sound of cow-bells, then please come up!
The goal is to get 100 racers out there on that course, not just to make Martin happy, but to help increase the exposure of backcountry skiing to those sitting idle on the chairlift and to make them understand what is so special about what we are celebrating.
Saturday will be another amazing day! I can't wait to see you all there! And I can't wait to finally get Martin off my back!
Cheers!
Sam
P.S. Check out the updated course description on the right, under Alpental Event Details!
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VertFest Alpental is only 12 days away!!
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hey VertFesters!
This is just a reminder that VertFest Alpental is only 12 days away! We hope that you are all in the mood for another round of VertFest after the many days of skiing you must all have had in all of this new snow!! Keep the stoke up, we want you to be there and ready to rally on the 28th!
The finishing touches are being taken care of as we speak and there are tons more fantastic prizes for the racers and for the raffle! And don't worry, the Lazy Boy beer will be flowing! We hope that you can all be there to enjoy the festivities, we don't want anyone to miss out!
More info to come on race course and other exciting details... stay tuned!
Cheers!
Sam
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Race Results Now Posted
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hey everyone!
I hope your legs are feeling better after Saturday!
Once more we'd like to thank you for coming up and being part of the 3rd Annual VertFest at Crystal Mountain! It was a great day! We had amazing weather, great conditions, lots of tasty beer, and lots of really cool people with big smiles on their faces!
Thanks once again to all of the sponsors that help make VertFest possible! Gore, Windstopper, Crystal Mountain, Pro Guiding, Marmot Mountain Works, Garmont, LifeLink, Osprey, Off Piste Magazine, Backcountry Magazine and Lazy Boy Beer. Don't forget to check out their websites over on the right!
Finally, race results are posted. Check out your time and overall standings by clicking here.
Rest your legs now... we want you back in working order in time for VertFest Alpental!
See you there!
Sam
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The eve of the big day!
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hi everyone!
It is the eve of the big day and we can hardly contain our excitement! We have rounded up lots of amazing prizes for the race, the raffle, the demos, and many kegs of very good beer. We hope you are ready!
One thing to consider before you head down - there is a rumor that SR-169 is closed at the Green River Bridge in Black Diamond. If you decide to travel SR-169, please anticipate about a 1/2 hour detour. Please plan accordingly, we don't want anyone to miss registration.
Another thing to know - Crystal is reporting close to 3 feet of new snow this week! Come prepared for awesome conditions! We'll keep our fingers crossed for a bluebird day!
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow! Travel safely, and come prepared for a great time!
Cheers,
>
Your friends at Outdoor Research
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The items to have...
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hey Racers,
Just a reminder: if you are planning on heading out to Crystal and racing this Saturday, don't forget these 4 important things:
Pack
Shovel
Probe
Transceiver
All racers will be checked for these items on the starting line. Afterall, this race is all about backcountry safety and fun. You wouldn't be caught in the backcountry without any of these things would you?
Also, if you haven't already done so, please RSVP if you think that you are coming. We want to make sure we have enough beer and swag to give away!
Looking forward to it!
Sam
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Love seeing those names...
Update by: Samantha Killgore
I just wanted to share with you guys how excited I am. I just went through the RVSP list that we have thus far, and I am so pumped to see all those names!
After having my paws in the last three VertFest events, I have started to recognize a lot of racers names, and I am so thrilled to see all those names again! I feel like we are doing something right if you guys keep coming back!
We created this event from the ground up with very little idea of how to throw a successful randonnee ski race, and you guys all showed up, skied hard, had fun, drank good beer, gave us pointers and helped make it a success! Now, we've had three GREAT events, gathered more and more people at each go, and we are simply growing this big, cool VertFest community!
I'm not going to give too many hints as to who has RSVP'd... I am sure you all have a name or two on your short list, but I will tell you that we still need more people out there so we can really help out Friends of NWAC!
Tell your friends, and coax them into it when they try to tell you they are out of shape! Tell your co-workers! Tell Grandma! There are great prizes for every division and this race includes everyone, regardless of ability or experience level!
If you are on the fence about coming, just jump on over to our side. We are looking forward to an entire day of fun and don't want you to miss out!
Looking forward to seeing all of you!
Cheers!
Sam
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Come try out the new Osprey packs!!
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hey everyone!
Heads up! We've been talking to our talented friends over at Osprey and apparently they have some pretty cool new packs that they are going to have available for demo up at the VertFest Crystal Event.
Stop by their booth at the base area (you can't miss it!) and check out the backcountry-specific ski packs and their smaller volume adventure-race inspired packs. I am told that there will be a handful of these packs that can be made available to racers if they would like to demo them during the race! And if you're not racing, still come by and try them out!
It may shameless, but I've got to let you know... my Osprey Switch 26 is hands-down my favorite ski pack!! Come check them out!
See you soon!
Sam
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Hope you've been training...
Update by: Samantha Killgore
Hi, everyone!
I hope you've been training! The days left get to get your legs in shape are running low! We've got just 26 days until VertFest Crystal!!
This is just a reminder to RSVP (link over on the right) and let us know if you think you can make it. Don't worry, this is not binding, it just serves us so that we know how much beer and swag to bring! We don't want anyone going home empty-handed!
Since we are trying to save our pennies and would like to donate as much money as possible to the Friends of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center, we need your help ( we don't want to spend all that money on advertising!)...
Next time you're out, mention VertFest to your pals. Mention it to the guy you see at the gas station with his ski's on his car. Mention it to your cousin who has been dying to try out backcountry skiing, but just has not had the opportunity to do it. We need your help to get the word out there so that we can have the biggest and most sucessful VertFest yet!
Check out all the information to the right, and consider joining us! We are going to have even more fun than last year!! And drop us a line if you have any questions, we'll do whatever we can to convince you all to be there!
Cheers!!
Sam
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Update by: Samantha Killgore
Let us know you’re planning to race by RSVP’ing here! Though registration happens the day of the race, we’d like to get as accurate a head-count as possible of how many racers we’ll have at each event. This helps us get a better idea then of how many prizes and kegs of beer to bring. We don’t want to run out of either!!
A note about RSVPing: You’ve probably noticed this is a different sign-up system for racers than last year. Why the change? Last year, we stepped up the level of race technology by hiring a company to manage registration online and provide electronic timing for the race. While we’re big fans of innovation, the cost of these services didn’t quite seem worth it at the end of the day. This was even more apparent after we realized that even fancy electronic timing and registration systems don’t eliminate errors, as some of you may recall. So, we’ve learned from our experiment. We learned we’d rather donate that money to the NWAC. And we learned humans are often more free of errors than electronics.
So, in old-school style, RSVP here to let us know you’re coming. The day of the race, you’ll have time to fill out your forms, sign waivers, and pay your entry fee (which is donated to NWAC); plus get all your race goodies. Timing will also be done the old-fashioned and more accurate way in the trusty hands of yours truly and my bevy of awesome volunteers.
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