• Time to Roll out the Worlds!
• Ryders Eyewear stepping it up for Worlds!
• 6 Time World Mountain Running Champion and 2 Time Olympian confirmed for the Start line!
• Thursday Night Drop In Update!
• Please Help us Billet our International Athletes!!!
• FaceBook and Twitter

Sat Jan 30, 2010
If an event can generate energy then it begins to take on a life of its own, Race Directors can’t make this happen we can only hope it happens. Standing on The Yeti Start/Finish line at Mount Washington there was energy in the air. Over 250 competitors with snowshoes on were ready to take on the challenging yet fun 5k loop either once or twice. This in itself was an exciting moment as Yeti officials believe it was the most participants to ever attend a snowshoe race in Canada.
Mount Washington has received a huge amount of snow this season and is currently boasting one of the biggest snow packs in North America tipping the scales at 350+cm. This makes for an interesting race as the winning times were upwards of 10 minutes slower than previous years due to all the soft snow. In brief, the course starts out with a false flat for about 500meters, then it goes up for at least another 500m of trail with an elevation gain of “man O man my legs are burning”. Once up top it levels out but the 2.5k single track seems to keep coming at you and with that soft surface it can really drain a runner. At the end of the single track you are rewarded with a 1.5km big downhill all the way into the start finish area.

Looking at the start list, Mount Washington had the fastest guy’s out from the West Coast. All eyes were on Jason Loutitt 2008 National Champion and 2009 Yeti Champion. It was not going to be easy with Shaun Stevens Whale, Neil Holm and Stefan Jacobsen all ready to go. At the start Jason went out hard slapping some serious hurt on the first big climb. On the first lap he had gapped the next 5 top men but that would not last with Shaun Stevens Whale was waiting for his time. Going into the second lap the course had been packed by the 250 participants. One competitor said, “it was like a solid hard sidewalk that had become super fast”. As the finish line grew closer so did Whale as he poured it on during the final 200m stretch? It is not super common to see two top athletes in an all out sprint at a snowshoe race but that is what it come down to with Jason running a really strong race but not quite strong enough to hold of Shaun Stevens Whale with a winning time of 58:43. Shawn crossed the line pumping the air knowing that he had given it all and realizing that you have to have a great day to beat Jason who finished 10 seconds behind with a time of 58:53. Another sprint was heating up for 3rd with Neil Holm coming in at 1:01:13 just ahead of Stefan Jacobsen by 2 seconds. It was total excitement watching these top athletes give there all!

In the ladies field we saw an all new top 3 from previous years. Ceri Jacobsen was the fastest in the open women’s category with a time of 1:06:29. Ceri and Stefan have been training together and are looking good for the Worlds. A tight race for second place was unfolding with Kristenn Magnusson just edging out Lina Augaitis finishing in 1:09:49 and third place time was 1:10:00 even. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all The yeti participants that came out and enjoyed the day at Mount Washington, nice work everyone! I would also like to thank Mount Washington for having us making this one of our favourite host Mountains.
The stage is set for a great race on Mt. Seymour on Saturday Feb 27. We will be treated to not only a great World Snowshoe Invitational event but the Canadian National Championships promises to be a thriller.

We would like to send a big thanks out to Dave Silver and John Crosby for taking pictures at Mount Washington this past weekend. John captured some great shots of the Start/Finish area and Dave got out on course for some much needed single track shots. To see more of Dave Silvers pics go to http://www.davesilverphoto.com/190/yeti/
 

Back To Top

Mount Washington has set the stage and now it's time to get ready, and believe me we have plenty of reasons to get ready. This is not just another snowshoe race, this is a snowshoe celebration! If you are a runner, hiker or walker come out and enjoy either the 5km Sport category or the 10km Snowrun event. We want everyone to get on your Red and Whites and cheer on Canada as we make history in Canada at the first ever World Snowshoe Invitational on Mount Seymour Saturday Feb 27, 2010
 

Back To Top

Ryders Eyewear are passionate about getting involved and they have proven that by providing a brand new pair of Ryders Eyewear to anyone that registers for the World Snowshoe Invitational event at Mt. Seymour. Talk about an add value to the racer kit, this is a total break even. If you were thinking about coming think no longer, register today and be part of this Snowshoe celebration with a pair of Ryders up top, big round of applause to the crew at Ryders!

Back To Top

Anyone that is into sport, let alone running, has probably heard the name Jonathan Wyatt. It is with great pleasure that The Yeti can officially announce his participation in The World Snowshoe Invitational. Jonathan took 1st place earlier this year at the 2010 La Ciaspolada in Italy. La Ciaspolada attracts the best and the most participants of any snowshoe race in the World with thousands competitors on the start line. All of a sudden The World Snowshoe Invitational on Mt. Seymour has gone to another level. We are looking forward to meeting Jonathan and having him be a part of our event. Stay tuned for more info as Dave Howells will be posting an interview soon.

Back To Top

It is no secret that the local mountains could use some fresh white up top. The Yeti has always taken pride in offering the best snowshoe experience but even with our great guides and fun outgoing approach to Thursday Nights it’s a tough one with limited trails being open and limited snow on the ground. We have decide to cancel the Thursday Night Drop In session until the conditions improve.
Please stay tuned for updates as our local mountains can receive an enormous amount of snow in a very short period of time. On a side note: The World Snowshoe Invitational is on and our course designer Dave Howells is working some magic with a new course that will take participants to higher ground. Don’t worry, we have it covered, literally!

Back To Top

With hosting the World Snowshoe Invitational and the Canadian Championships during the same time as the Olympics it is tough to find inexpensive accommodations. We have decided to reach out to our great group of Yeti participants to see if we could count on some of you to house these people that are traveling here. They would need to stay for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, we will arrange picking them up at the airport and taking them back. If you can help please email marc@theyeti.ca . We really appreciate any help you can provide here!!!

Back To Top

Sign up for one or for both to stay up to date with clinic/race information, find training partners and to share your snowshoeing experiences. We are also going to be giving prizes away on FaceBook starting in February from some of our great sponsors including Sharkies, Honey Stinger, Ultima, Ryders Eyewear and maybe even a pair of Atlas Snowshoes. All you will have to do is share your snowshoe pics and stories and you could win! Click below to join.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Yeti-Snowshoe/100000485757613
http://twitter.com/yeti2010

Back To Top