Wild about Winter?
Courtesy of Winter Wild
Are you feeling a little wild this winter? With Winter Wild you can conquer mountains, make first tracks, and race daylight. Winter Wild is an uphill racing series spread out between eight different peaks in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Yet for those who don’t like going up hills, or in this case mountains covered in snow, you are in luck: finish is at the bottom, so you can go down the mountain too. The question of how you get up and down is entirely up to you — skis, snowshoes, running shoes, snowboard, other. But just like the law of physics, what goes up must come down, so whatever you wear up is what you descend with. However, you may carry something, such as a snowboard, up the mountain to ride down on. Depending on their mode of transportation, participants are categorized into four groups: Track Skis, Telemark, Heavy Metal, and Open. All finishers receive points based on their finishing place.
Any age can participate, and people all over the spectrum of “wild” show up. I wouldn’t consider myself very wild, but after my first race I was hooked. It happened to be Whaleback and my first thought looking at all the different people geared up to race up a mountain before daybreak was: “What have I gotten myself into?” However, as the mass of skis and shoes ascended up the slope, kicking and crunching in the snow, I realized what a unique event this was. How many other opportunities do you get to race daylight up a mountain, catch a quick glimpse of her glory at the top, and then let the exhilaration carry you down the slope to the finish line? How often do you get to say you conquered a mountain and still have a whole day before you? What a way to start your day. Winter Wild is a unique event; it is the perfect combination of drive, competition, fun, and love of the outdoors.
Winter Wild is partnered with the Let’s Move Campaign, so all school-aged children in the area can participate for free. Additionally, the school district with the highest percentage of participation in any combination of the eight Winter Wild events this year will receive a $5,000 donation to its Parent Teacher Organization. Plus, at the end of each event there are awesome prizes and raffles. So maybe at the next race we can assemble a team of Marauders for the wild fun of it.
The first two events of 2013 were on January 5 at Wachusetts, Mass and on January 12 at Suicide Six. The next scheduled event is February 2 at Ragged Mountain. For more information on the coming events, visit www.winterwild.com or speak with Liesel Robbins.
