Team NOLS PNW dominates Ski to Sea 2010!

The PNW in-town staff got a chance to display their athletic prowess in the annual Ski to Sea relay race in Bellingham, WA on Sunday.

This epic relay, which spans 90 miles from Mount Baker ski area to Bellingham Bay, consists of seven legs (cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, running, road biking, canoeing, mountain biking, and sea kayaking).

Four hundred sixty-four teams competed in the Memorial Day race, and the NOLSies represented in their first-ever appearance with style. Team NOLS PNW (mistakenly reported in the online race results as Team Hoka…) dominated the Recreational-Mixed division, finishing 15th out of 95 teams (219th out of 464 overall). The team also earned a 1st and 3rd place finish in the individual legs in the division.

Race day started with a bang (literally, for PNW outfitter and road bike contestant Laura Zippel) at 4:30am with the first carpool van to Mount Baker. It took three separate vehicles and quite a bit of logistical analysis to shuttle all eight racers to their designated staging areas, yet the drop-offs went smoothly given team’s ability to thrive under pressure.

Cross-country skier Greta Olafsen from the rations room started the team off at the head of the pack. Flying through the four-mile loop in a whopping 13 minutes 21 seconds, Greta finished the first leg of the race 1st in the division and 57th overall.

PNW Program Analyst Andy Wise then took off on the downhill ski. The ski leg, which mainly consisted of a footrace to the top of the slopes, was no challenge for this former NOLS instructor who took 16th place in the division.

Operations Manager John Harnetiaux manned the running leg of the race. John clocked the eight-mile run (which dropped over 1,000 feet in elevation) in just under 48 minutes, bringing the team a 3rd place finish in the division. John’s legs are still recovering.

The first three legs gave the team a tremendous edge for the first half of the race. Laura Zippel of the issue room took the road bike leg and, despite a nasty fall incurred on the PNW stairs Sunday morning, still raced 38 miles like a pro. Next came the canoe duo of cook Kelly Larson and the issue room’s Chris Sellars, who maneuvered the raging Nooksack River with ease to seamlessly avoid all in-stream obstacles.

Program Analyst Alexis Alloway tackled leg 6, the mountain bike. Alexis sprayed mud (and probably a few expletives) at the competition, passing other bikers left and right. Finally, NOLS instructor Lynn Petzold, fresh off a Kayaking Instructor Course, joined Team PNW for the last leg of this epic quest. Lynn skillfully read the water conditions and finished the race in style.

After an impressive showing in the competition, the PNW has its sight set on next year’s event. Interested future participants may send resumes to 2011 team captain Alexis. Ability to withstand a significant amount of trash-talking is required.