Long Haul Loppet Recap:

This year’s Long Haul Loppet was held on a beautiful sunny March day. JacksonXC’s Ellis River trails were groomed to perfection for touring skiers and racers. Nearly 150 skiers started over the course of the morning in the self-seeded rolling start.

This event has an old school feel to it, with winding trails that have just enough room for a skate lane and classic tracks. The elevation change on this uphill/downhill course is noticeable not online fatigue, but the change in snow conditions, with the upper parts of the course having powdery snow. Meanwhile the lower parts having faster transformed snow, more typical of March skiing. For their efforts skiers were rewarded with another feature of old school skiing – a fun kilometers long downhill to the finish!
Long Haul Loppet photos

Results

See Damian Bolduc’s event recaps for more in-depth coverage of the Long Haul Loppet and the Hard’ack.

Hard’ack Recap by Tyler Magnan:

After the Hard’ack challenge was forced to cancel on the originally scheduled date, it was difficult to decide whether or not to reschedule. It was decided that we should try again, and the racers who showed up on March 5th were very grateful that we did. It turned out to be a perfect day. We got some new snow the day before the race, and it groomed out great to provide perfect firm skate conditions.

Participants ranged in age from 15 to 77, which is what we love to see. The course, with a mix of flat open meadows, challenging climbs and fun descents through the woods, received great reviews. Everyone loved the low key grass roots vibe and got in some extra K’s as the sun came out after the race, followed up by some post race chili and some great awards from our local farmers!

Hard’ack Photos

Results

Rangeley Loppet & Burt Kettle Classic Recap:

The first of several recent dumps of snow made for some fabulous wintry conditions at the Rangeley Loppet and Burt Kettle Classic. Also due to the snow, these events were condensed into one day. Over 80 skiers braved the snowy roads to completed the touring and racing categories in this year’s edition!