2010 World Loppet

Saul' s Winter Adventures March 2010
Polish Adventure
The World Loppet (WL)is an international sports federation of cross-country skiing marathons. The federation was founded in 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden. The aim of the World Loppet is to promote the sport of cross-country skiing with various ski races around the world.
In 1999 I started collecting stamps. At the time I didn't know it. I just headed off to France to ski the Transjurassienne World Loppet Race and the Finlandia in Finland. When I returned home I was hooked. With the Gatineau Loppet (in Ottawa) I had completed 3 World Loppets. Seven more would make me a World Loppet Master. That is when I decided to purchase a WL Passport and start collecting stamps. In 2005 I completed my 10th race. There were still 5 more races that I hadn't experienced. The completion of all 15 races would qualify me as WL Global Skier.
Poland's Bieg Piestow was the final jewel in the crown. On March 2nd, 2010 I arrived in Scklarska Poreba, Poland. This mountainous region is just over the mountain pass from the Jezerska Region on the Czech Republic where I skied the Jezerska Padesatka Race last winter. This winter, 2010 was an unusually mild snowless winter at home, but Europe was experiencing a harsh snowy winter. The mountains in south western Poland were covered in snow. Our group of 10 stamp collectors were all staying in the same little Pension. I was told about the annual competition for the fastest skier in the house. The trails were covered in fresh snow and the race venue was set in a beautiful stadium that has hosted numerous World Cup races. The challenging trails went up and down the mountains and connected a number of nearby villages. This year's Gatineau Loppet, back home, served as great preparation for the 42km classic and 42km skate race. Fortunately I had 3 days to adjust to the jet lag and altitude.
Classic race Saturday was a perfect blue wax day. This is the big race with 3,000 participants registered. The large start field was broken up into waves starting in 5 minute intervals using something called the "Ideal Start". At the appointed time each wave starts off. After one kilometer of our rolling start we cross the timing gate, our chip registers the start time and the clock starts. This civilized system eliminates the usual crush of jumpy skiers and makes for a smooth start. The course takes us uphill for the first 4km. At about the 3km mark the field starts to open up leaving lots of room for passing and skiing at my own pace. The course consists of numerous ups and downs just like this climb of 150m over 4km. The biggest climb at the 13km mark, seemed to go on forever with 250m in 4km. The good part was all these climbs were skiable in the track with very little herringbone. My strategy of starting slow and saving my energy for the end was paying off. There were very few flat sections on the track. It was almost all up and down, with lots of 50m bumps. At about the 30km mark I passed my polish friend Piotr. We chatted and went back and forth while I tried to down an energy bar. The most challenging part was getting the wrapper off. Eventually I managed to get it down and even passed Piotr. There were lots of feed stations along the course. They had lots of energy drinks but very little food. By about the second last feed I discovered dried apples and chocolates were on the tables and I helped myself. What a great way to finish a race. The last 6km consisted of a series of downhills leading to the finish. A few minutes after crossing the finishline Piotr also crossed the line and shook my hand in congratulations.
The next morning it was race number 2.
Forty-two km of skating isn't that difficult unless it follows 42km of classic. The skate race is a much smaller event, with barely one third of the participants. It follows the same "Ideal Start" system. For skating races this is even more crucial because skate skiing takes up even more track space. With fewer skiers the track opened up much quicker. I was able to ski at my own pace almost from the start. I new what to expect around every corner, and it helped me pace myself for a gorgeous sunny ski in the mountains of south western Poland. After the post race meal of pasta with fried cabbage and onions, (only in Poland) I got my passport stamped and headed back to the Pension. I was told that the award ceremony would be after dinner at about 8:00pm and that I had won the house challenge. When Piotr had told me that the woman who owns the Pension gives a cup to the winner every year I expected a coffee mug of some sort. When she handed me my trophy and cracked open a bottle of champagne I was speechless. It just goes to show you that competition exists at all level even among a bunch of sports minded middle aged old men.

Swiss Adventure
The next stop, Switzerland. Our group of skiers reconvened in a rented cabin in the picturesque Engadin valley of Switzerland for our next World Loppet. I skied the Engadin Valley two years ago when my first attempt to complete my Global Masters was washed out due to a lack of snow in the Czech Republic and much of Europe. This high altitude (1,800m) valley has some of the most reliable snow in all of Europe. It also happens to be one of the prettiest spots on earth. All of this leads to the Engadin Ski Marathon as being one of the most popular World Loppet races. With over 10,000 skiers, it is the biggest skate ski event. You would think that the logistics might be compromised. The Swiss are famous for precision watch making and a train system that matches their obsession with punctuality. My previous two trips to this venue showed me how the Swiss pull this exercise off. The race is broken up into waves of 1,000 skiers, which is bigger than most races back home. The track is about 50 skiers wide along a good portion of the 42km course. There are very few bottlenecks and only a couple of minor climbs. Only one tricky descent exists at the"Mattress Forest". Originally the trees on the fairly easy downhill were wrapped with mattresses to protect them from the skiers. Today they are wrapped in safety-orange crash pads.
We had the better part of the week to familiarize ourselves with the valley and adjust to the altitude. It was easy getting used to sunny mid-March weather and immaculate grooming on the trail. The cheese, chocolates and pastries were just a bonus.
Race day was just another sunny day in Switzerland. The trains took us to the start line at 7:00am. The trick here with such a massive start field is to place your skis in your start pen as close to the front as possible and remember where you placed them. Then time your walk to drop off your warmup clothing bag in the appropriate army truck. The challenge is to time your 3km return to the start pen so that you don't get too chilled before the start. It sure helps having done this before and remembering the details.
One by one the waves set off with the precision of a Swiss clock. The main strategy in a mass start of this scale is to stay out of trouble and find the fast bits of track. At this time the sun was just peeking over the mountains and warming the left hand side of the track. That is where I skied. The warmth of the sun and the melting night frost made the skiing spectacular. Experience is a valuable thing. Knowing what to expect made this a most enjoyable event. Even the "Mattress Forest" was easy. I knew the safe line though and avoided being run into the ice and trees by other skiers. All along the valley villagers and tourists gathered with cow bells and other noisemakers to cheer on the parade of skiers. There were even Alphorns trumpeting our excursion though the valley. At the finish I met up with my friends, changed into my warmup clothes and headed back to our cabin.
After a shower, some dinner and a little sleep we loaded up our rental cars for a trip to the airport in Munich at 2:00am to head to our final skiing destination, Norway.

Norway
Lots of skiers ask me what my favourite World Loppet Race is. There is no one race that I can choose as my favourite. I have numerous favourites, however if I have to choose one skiing destination as a place where all nordic skiers have to go to experience cross-country skiing at it's finest I have to recommend Norway, and the Birkebeiner Rennet. There is a reason that they call it Nordic skiing and Norway is the reason. My group of international skiing friends have rented a cabin in Sjusjoen in the mountains above Lillehammer. From here some 1200km of groomed ski trails spread out over the mountainous plateau interconnecting numerous towns and villages. That's why they call it cross-country skiing. This is my second time skiing this amazing race. It commemorates the rescue of the infant king Hakon Hakonson and requires all skiers to carry a backpack weighing a minimum of 3.5kg to represent the healthy weight of little king. The registration this year was closed at a record 15,000 skiers making it rival the Vasaloppet in Sweden as the biggest ski race. But unlike the Swedish race this event features wave starts allowing all the participants to ski at their own pace.
The talk all week was wax. There was lots of snow on the trails but it was old transformed snow. Klister was the obvious choice with the complication of the occasional bit of fresh snow at higher elevations. Race day started with temperatures at freezing. We arrived at the start and tested our wax to find that we needed even stickier klister. So, from violet to red, was the solution. But how would 15,000 skiers change the track and what would happen as the day warmed and the elevation climbed? The course from Renna to Lillehammer climbed over two mountain passes. At 9:02 we headed out. The wax was working along the slight uphill off the start with the occasional slip. Ten km in and it was obvious that the track had transformed and the wax was barely working. The waxing service station at the next feed station was so backed up with skiers I could only hope that things would improve as the elevation grew. One thing that numerous classic ski races have taught me is how to cope with imperfect conditions. It always reminds me of 2 FAQ's that I get when I ski back home.
Q. How are the trail conditions?
A. Lousy.
Q. How's the skiing?
A. Fantastic.
Conditions have nothing to do with my enjoyment of skiing and I was going to enjoy this ski day no matter what the conditions. So I pushed on over the first mountain pass and an exciting descent over candy wrappers, bottle caps and discarded ski pole parts. At the bottom the struggle continued up the next pass where I spotted a waxing station that was devoid of skiers. I handed my skis to the Swix wax technician. A pass over the klister roller extended a longer wax pocket with clean sticky klister. Even with the last mostly downhill 15km to the finish I had renewed energy and easier climbs. It is great to finish strongly. The steep descent to the stadium in Lillehammer was made safer with the wet sticky 10C snow. At the bottom the sound of the stadium faded into consciousness and the long winding path around the stadium, over the bridge and across the line unwound. Another stamp in the passport and the completion of my second WL Gold Masters. More important than the stamps and the books, a new chapter in life's encyclopedia.--Saul