It was snowing for the inaugural Sawtooth Mountain Marathon in 1973, and Sun Valley's JoAnn Levy had to break a little trail like the other 48 contestants in what turned into a ground-breaking event.
Thirty-three years later, Levy is 65 and still skiing.
She is the only skier to finish all of the Boulder Mountain Ski Tour events. And what began as a little winter race for hard-core Nordic skiers in the Wood River Valley has developed into one of the country's biggest cross-country races.
Levy will be among 900-plus skiers who will toe the line Saturday, Feb. 4, at Senate Meadows, near Galena Lodge north of Ketchum, for the 31st running of the Wells Fargo Boulder Mountain Ski Tour. She has done them all and kind of feels obligated.
"It's got a little momentum of its own and I'm afraid not to do it," said Levy last weekend, before heading out on her final long Boulder Tour workout, a two-and-a-half hour ski-around at Sun Valley Nordic Center.
She said, "I feel wonderful about it, knowing I've been in every race. I never would have guessed, back then, that I'd have done it 30 times. But it's given me an incentive to stay fit. All year long I think about it. It's good to have that carrot.
"It's pretty much the highlight of my year, every year."
Levy, well known as one of the costumed Reidy Memorial cross-country skiers at Sun Valley in days gone by, has tapered down her workouts this week in preparation for Saturday's 19.8-mile race.
She finished the 32-kilometer course in two hours and 32 minutes last year, good for eighth place in the 60-64 age class. This time she'll be in the 65-69 age class for the Boulder.
Boulder Tour organizers recognized Levy's achievement last February by presenting her with a special jacket commemorating her 30 Boulder years. Levy plans to wear the jacket to the start Saturday.
She'll have some pasta tonight and try to quiet her nerves. "I don't sleep Friday night, I get so nervous. But I'm able to control those jitters by the time I get to the start, it's so exciting to be there," she said.
Levy, who said she's one of the last locals to switch from classic to skate skiing, considers it bad luck to ski the Boulder Tour course anytime before the actual race. She trains by herself elsewhere before the big day. It's the longest race of her year and she's always up for it.
"It influences everything I do during the year," she said.
JoAnn Levy skis along the Boulder Mountain Ski Tour course, mountains in the background, during the 2004 event. Saturday's race will be her 31st Boulder. The first race was in 1973, and in three years, 1977, 1981 and 1983, it wasn't staged at all. Courtesy photo
