"Conditions were a little cold with fresh snow, but overall it was a great day for a ski race and the crowd was filled with the usual cast of enthusiastic Nordic skiers," said race organizer Rick Kapala.
Kapala, head coach of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation's Junior Nordic ski team, referred to Saturday's 36th annual Winterstart Nordic kickoff event at Galena Lodge 23 miles north of Ketchum.
SVSEF J1 (ages 16-17) racer Max Durtschi logged a solid race with a winning time of 27:24 on the 9-kilometer course to build on a good start to the season. The course was from Galena Lodge to Prairie Creek.
Durtschi was followed closely by 51-year-old speedster Jon Engen (26:56) and the intrepid Park City Nordic adventurer Dave Knoop (author of online series "Nordic Dave").
Women's 9k winner Alexa Turzian (27:24) posted a promising return to racing after a long summer and fall of rehab following hip surgery. She was clearly one happy camper as she pulled on the race bib for her first race since last winter.
Muffy Ritz (31:19) glided to a solid second-place overall while SVSEF racer Makayla Cappel (32:09) threw down a podium finish with a third-place result.
Kapala expressed his thanks to Eric Rector and the Blaine County Recreation District/North Valley Trails crew for trail grooming, and also to Erin Zell and Don Shepler and Galena Lodge as hosts.
He added his appreciation to Bob and Kate Rosso and The Elephant's Perch for raffle prizes and their consistent support of cross-country skiing; and to the SVSEF parent race timing crew for their help.
Check results on B-5 of the Idaho Mountain Express.
XMas Classic is Saturday
The SVSEF will be hosting its annual "Christmas Classic Cross Country Race" Saturday, Dec 27 at the Lake Creek trails three miles north of Ketchum. Pre-register by emailing Nordic Program Director Kapala at xcolaf@mindspring.com.
Entries need to include your name, date of birth (not age), gender, USSA number if you have one, hometown and contact phone number.
You may also register Saturday from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Lake Creek ski trailhead. Entry fees are $5 for J3 (12-13) and younger, or $15 per person for J2 (14-15) and older $15. Make checks payable to SVSEF.
Course distances are 1 kilometer for the J5 (8-9) and J6 (6-7) classes; 2k for J4 (10-11); and 3k for J3 and the Novice Class. The J2 boys and girls plus J1 girls, Older Junior Women and Senior and Master Women will go 5k. The J1 boys plus OJ, Senior and Master Men go 10k.
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2008 Winterstart Nordic results
Dec. 20, 2008, the 36th annual Winterstart cross-country races starting at Galena Lodge 23 miles north of Ketchum—hosted by Galena Lodge, The Elephant's Perch, Blaine County Recreation District and the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation cross-country team. A total 61 skiers, 32 female and 29 male. Finishing times in minutes and seconds, age after name. Next Nordic races: The Christmas Classic Saturday, Dec. 27 at the Lake Creek trail system. Check the svsef.org Website for more details.
9 KILOMETER: Galena Lodge to Prairie Creek
Female racers
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1—Alexa Turzian, 20
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27:24:00
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2—Muffy Ritz, 51
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31:19:00
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3—Makayla Cappel, 17
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32:09:00
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4—Bronwen Raff, 17
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33:22:00
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5—Maggie Williams, 13
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33:41:00
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6—Claire Bowman, 15
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34:42:00
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7—Emily Williams, 15
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34:51:00
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8—Julia Bowman, 17
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35:33:00
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9—Sloan Storey, 14
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37:10:00
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10—Morgan Atkinson, 15
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37:23:00
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11—Dorothy Wallace-Senft, 38
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38:14:00
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12—Jen Schwartz, 38
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38:56:00
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13—Keller Gibson, 17
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39:08:00
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14—Brenda Spackman, 51
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39:15:00
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15—Kaitlyn Landis, 14
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40:02:00
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16—Mia Jones, 34
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40:47:00
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17—Vanessa Fry, 43
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42:46:00
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18—Charil Slowonski, 34
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42:50:00
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18—Phoebe Pilaro, 42
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42:50:00
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20—Julie Siegel, 42
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46:57:00
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21—Carol Monteverde, 62
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48:14:00
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22—Francette Labatut, 55
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50:28:00
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23—Jan Toohey, 64
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51:26:00
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24—Chrissie Huss, 38
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51:58:00
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25—Hilary Sinnamon, 46
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53:10:00
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26—Tracy Bay, 57
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55:00:00
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Male racers
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1—Max Durtschi, 17
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25:08:00
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2—Jon Engen, 51
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26:56:00
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3—David Knoop, 50
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27:28:00
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4—Scott Schoen, 16
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28:01:00
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5—Scotty Phelan, 17
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28:03:00
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6—Chase Caulkins, 16
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28:37:00
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7—Del Pletcher, 64
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28:39:00
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8—Bob Rosso, 61
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28:50:00
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9—Will Spiller, 16
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29:26:00
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10—Andrew Pfeiffer, 15
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29:37:00
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11—Brandon Wade, 15
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30:08:00
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12—Don Shepler, 35
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31:25:00
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13—Bill McCann, 39
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31:48:00
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14—Zachary Lindahl, 14
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32:07:00
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15—Leigh Mallory, 57
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32:30:00
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16—Ketchum Wilt, 14
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32:53:00
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17—Jackson Long, 14
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33:33:00
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18—Bruce Rogers, 49
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34:01:00
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19—Jon Holmquist, 55
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34:54:00
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20—Greg Wilt, 45
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36:59:00
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21—Tulio Celano, 66
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38:57:00
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22—John Kanellitsas, 46
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40:19:00
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23—Roger Miller, 65
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43:26:00
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24—Peter Maier, 67
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45:24:00
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25—Averell Tian, 14
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47:34:00
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2 KILOMETER: To Hawk Hill
Girls
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1—Katie Feldman, 12
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6:23
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2—Kailey Wilt, 12
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6:50
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3—Sarah Williams, 13
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6:51
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4—Brooke Lawrence, 13
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7:07
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5—Elana King-Nakaoka, 13
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7:17
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6—Emily Siegel, 10
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8:39
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Boys
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1—Stephen Pfeiffer, 12
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5:22
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2—Ty Reinemann, 13
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5:43
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3—Nate Nasvik, 12
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6:16
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4—Jake Adicoff, 13
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6:19
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Muffy Ritz is ready for racing, and also for Christmas. Photo by Willy Cook
