Snowshoe racing a hit at Western Winter Roundup

SANDPOINT — The Western Pleasure Guest Ranch was the site of the Western Winter Roundup on Jan. 24, featuring both the second Snowshoe Roundup and the first Western Winter Nordic ski races. Attendance was good at both events in spite of a warm and rainy weather forecast.

In the snowshoe event, a total of 33 snowshoe racers from Idaho, Washington and Montana signed up to compete in either the 5K or 10K distance, with nearly equal numbers in each. Both race courses were challenging and consisted of a combination of hills, meadows, forests and open areas on machine groomed, track groomed, and snowshoe packed trails.

Even though many of the top spots went to out of town racers, local racers competed well. Forrest Boughner from Missoula won the men’s 10K in a time of 44:47 with Mike Ehredt from Hope placing third and Conrad Young from Sandpoint in fourth place. First time snowshoe racer Amy Fairly from Sandpoint placed first in the 10K female division in 1:04:08, with Barbara Brown-Crockett from Sagle in ninth place, followed by Donna Griffin of Sandpoint placing 10th.  

The 5K race was dominated by racers from Washington state as they won the first four spots. Ryan Brown from Richland won the men’s 5K event in 27:20 with first time snowshoe racer Timothy Douglas from Priest River in fifth. Lori Bartol from Richland, Wash., was the ladies 5K winner in a time of 35:40 followed by Celeste Grace of Sandpoint in sixth place and Debbie Van Dyk in seventh.  Racers ranged in age from 27 to 72 years-old.  

The Western Pleasure snowshoe races are sanctioned by the United States Snowshoe Association as qualifiers for the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships being held this year in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in late February. There are four snowshoe racing regions in the United States with Idaho being in the Western Region.  

In order to qualify to participate in the National Snowshoe Championships, racers must compete in a regional qualifying race somewhere in the U.S. and post a qualifying time based on age group placement in their selected race. Prior to last year, the closest regional qualifying races in our area were in Cle Elum, Washington, Mt. Hood, Oregon, and Bend, Oregon.  

Boughner, the 10K race winner, was the only racer who opted to qualify this year and will be competing in Nationals in the 10K and the inaugural half marathon events.

Snowshoeing has existed for a long time as a means for humans to get around in snow country, either out of necessity or for recreation, or occasionally both. The idea of snowshoeing for most people generally conjures up images of large wooden and leather snowshoes that are heavy, difficult to handle, and awkward to use.  

However, over time snowshoes have evolved into the more modern styles used today that are typically smaller, lighter, and made from metal or plastic with various types of synthetic webbing. The result has been that more people are using snowshoes as a means of venturing out in the winter to enjoy the outdoors.  

Snowshoe running and racing, on the other hand is relatively new, especially locally. As in most athletic endeavors, it has also become a way to meet the challenge of competing with others in organized races.   

In recent years special snowshoes have been developed that are made specifically for running. They are smaller and lighter than regular snowshoes and accommodate a running stride without hitting together or otherwise hindering the user. Normal running shoes are typically used and slip easily into the bindings. Gaiters or some type of bootie may be used over the shoe depending on the weather and snow conditions. Although easy to learn, it is also easy to imagine that running and racing in snowshoes is a very strenuous endeavor.

In the local area, we have all the ingredients for great snowshoeing and snowshoe racing—snow, an endless variety of places and terrain features to explore, and world class scenery.

• Dennis Aslett is the director of the snowshoe race.