Sunday, March 6, 2016 is the date of the 39th anniversary of The Great Ski Race®. This jewel, offered to us by Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team (TNSAR), presents us with the challenge of skiing from Tahoe City to Truckee, and the good we’ll feel from helping to fund an amazingly important local service. If you don’t want to race, but simply donate, you can do so here. If this is your event, here are more details for you.
The Great Ski Race is one of the largest such races west of the Mississippi. All funds raised are used mostly for purchasing equipment for this volunteer team of dedicated experts, as well as to support survival and avalanche training and education offered by the team. Over 100 members fill several different functions, which include rescuing lost alpine or cross-country skiers or stranded hikers and climbers, locating downed aircraft, and educating the public about mountain safety. What the team does can make the difference between life and death in our area.
Starting with approximately 60 racers, the event has had as many as 1,100 registered racers and over 1,000 race finishers. Many exciting goals have been reached and surpassed over the years. In honor of Jack Starratt’s mail route, founder Skip Reedy and friends created this memorable and lengthy ski race.
If you’ve never done the race, you’ll want to know the following facts and figures. It’s challenging:
- The length is 30 kilometers (almost 18½ miles)
- The course is machine-groomed with skating lanes and double tracks
- You can run or walk the course (snowshoes required), but skis are “highly recommended”
- There are two soup stations, with snacks and drinks, but consider bringing extras
- The fastest time accomplished in this race was 1 hour, 6 minutes, 51 seconds
Are you up for it? Excited? Early registrants—up to February 20—can take advantage of a $60 registration fee. The fee goes up $70 after that, and to $110 on race day. If you’re under 18, the fee is only $25. To find out more about The Great Ski Race, or to register, please visit this Web page.
This list was accurate at the time of publication; please check directly with the venue(s) to ensure dates, times, and locations remain the same.
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