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Posted

Ugh, after hearing that I am kind of thinking it may not be as fun as I thought. I am in the 20-29 category and I know how it gets even on our nastar course by the end of the night.

Posted
Ugh, after hearing that I am kind of thinking it may not be as fun as I thought. I am in the 20-29 category and I know how it gets even on our nastar course by the end of the night.

 

The good thing about MY age group is I run at the front of the pack. The occasionally wont reset the course for the second run, and I've never had an issue.

Posted
Ugh, after hearing that I am kind of thinking it may not be as fun as I thought. I am in the 20-29 category and I know how it gets even on our nastar course by the end of the night.

 

 

Well, women go first, followed by under 21 guys, then oldest to youngest...

 

 

Courses break down for a number of reasons, as you know, with warm temps and new snow being the worst conditions. A few years ago, I raced at Blue which drew over 100 people and I went off about 75th and the course was perfect because it was cold hardpack.

 

The early race at Twood (probably the first weekend in January) is always great and there's usually less than 50 racers. It's not on the schedule yet, but I talked to John Foy, the head ASRA honcho, a couple of days ago and he'll be posting dates for Twood soon. Twood's headwall is actually a good race run and it's cool that you see every turn of every racer, whether you'r on the lift or in the corral.

 

The Elk race will be fun and should hold up on Slalom if it's good weather.

 

I still can't figure out what happened at Belleayre. It was cold as hell, but blue ice by my turn. I was just happy to finish.

 

A course may peak about 15-20 racers in, which is why it's so hard to win a WC technical race. With reverse 30 and everyone on the same line, ruts can be ridiculous by the time the first run leader pushes out on the World Cup. But ASRA racers don't run the same lines and courses are usually just fine until class 5 men (I'm class 4 :banghead )....

 

So, IMO, Bob, check the calendar for any races you might be interested in, then just watch the weather forecast. If it's cold and dry, then go for it.

 

But one warning: BE ON TIME FOR SIGNING UP or prepare for the Wrath of Mel. And don't forget to turn in your bib or be prepared to wear it as a diaper during awards.

 

All in all, I've met more great friends at ASRA races than anywhere else. While there may be some hardcore friendly competition among the rabbits or clubs, most racers are just happy to improve from week to week and LOVE to share tips.

Posted
It sucks..being the 50th person..I'm an early bird gets the worm type of guy...Ski was telling me how he was like 100th down the course at Belleayre..

 

Yeah, but Platekill was even worse. It was cold the night before, so they went all balls out and blew several feet of snow, then the temps hit the mid 50's as a warm front rolled through at daybreak. The ruts were more than a foot deep, which made for some spectacular ejections if you went for it, or some spectacularly slow times if you skied around them.

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Posted
I would like to race ASRA this year... how do I join? WHat does it cost per race?

 

You can sign up on race day. Race fees vary from day to day, but lift ticket + race fees is usually about the cost of a normally priced lift ticket at that mountain, so it works out in the end.

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