Busy Weekend
Tass Kelso '75 wrote to tell us about skiing with some friends over the Washington's Birthday weekend:
A 3,000-mile cross-country ski, anyone? That's what the joint exertions of some 50 Dartmouth skiers amounted to over the course of the 11th annual two-day 100-mile Canadian Ski Marathon. The Hanover contingent of the 3,800 participants included representatives from Dartmouth Outward Bound, the DOC, the ski and crew teams, the Geology Department, and the Medical School.
The 160-kilometer course, which starts in the Laurentian mountains outside Montreal and extends to Ottawa, is one of the toughest ski marathons in the world. In order to earn the coveted Coureur de Bois award a skier must complete five of the ten-mile sections before a deadline each day. Those not wishing to keep up such a grueling pace may opt for shorter distances, but since the course is a wilderness one, it's only possible to halt at the ten specified check points.
Skiers hoping to complete the entire course woke up at 3:30 a.m. in order to be on the trail before dawn. Local high schools provided floor space for sleeping bags, and volunteers served endless bowls of high-energy foods to nylon-suited racers nervously discussing wax conditions and their own special food concoctions that would enable them to push their bodies through ten or more hours of skiing. We were bused to the start, and at 5:45 a.m., under the eerie light of red and green flares, the long line of skiers thrust forward.
For those who completed the entire course a previous year, the ultimate challenge is to earn a Coureur gold medal by not only skiing the 100 miles but by also camping out and packing along all the necessary food and equipment.
Some of our group deserve special commendation: Charlie Roots '78 skied his tenth marathon this year and received his second gold medal. While camped out in the — 10-degree cold Charlie found his socks had frozen. The resourceful Canadian chewed on them, however, until he could pull them over his feet. Put Blodgett '53, also a veteran of previous races, earned his gold medal in spite of frostbitten fingers and the race officials' pleas for him to quit. And Hanover's Frank Fetter, 78 years old, skied 40 miles in a tribute to a healthy body and young spirit.
We had 12 additional skiers, about half students and half alumni, qualify for the 100-mile Coureur de Bois awards, and some 35 others completed lesser distances ranging from 40 to 90 miles. It all adds up to a total over 3,000 miles of effort.
All who participated agree that the achievement means most on a personal level. In spite of the exhaustion, frostbite, blisters, flu, bruises, broken skis, cuts, and aching joints, all of us seem to have returned exhilarated by the experience and deeply infected with marathon fever. The Canadian Ski Marathon was an affirmation of joy in the winter way of living. Anyone for 4,000 miles next year?
