That chilly Vancouver-like monsoon has passed. The forecast calls for the return of normal Prince George winter weather and that's good news for a couple hundred cross-country ski racers.
They're about to cross paths at Otway Nordic Centre for two days of racing today and Sunday, the first event of the season on the Teck B.C. Cup schedule.
Although city streets were left a soggy mess that froze overnight Friday morning, the snow conditions at Otway should be perfectly fast for today's free technique sprint races, which start with qualifying at 9 a.m. A minimum temperature of -9 C was expected overnight and the low is predicted to dip to -15 C early Sunday morning.
"The groomer was looking at it [Friday] at 3 a.m., and after he got down an inch or two in the snow there was still water in it, and they went out and groomed and it was just super," said Cal Benson, chief of competition. "The snow is very skiable and it will be great conditions for the races. It will be easy to wax for grip [for Sunday's classic races] but it could be hard to find the right glide wax, especially with this much moisture around."
Sprint heats in 14 age categories are set to begin today at 11 a.m. with racing expected until about 2:30 p.m. Sprints vary in distance from 200 metres for younger racers to 800m for the veterans. Most of the action will take place close to the stadium area, which means the clubhouse is an ideal location for spectators, who can also watch from various spots along the course as long as they don't interfere with the races.
The sprint course will follow the newest trails at Otway, built for the biathlon events in the 2015 Canada Winter Games. The course offers steep pitches and tight technical corners, and with fast conditions expected that poses a tough challenge for the skiers.
"[The course] is more suited to the type of skiers that are here for this race because most of them are young developing skiers or older skiers," said Benson.
Classic racing is featured Sunday with interval starts every 30 seconds beginning at 10 a.m. Race distances will vary from one kilometre for atoms to 10 km for senior racers.
Forty-nine of the 204 registered racers this weekend are from the host Caledonia club. Other clubs represented include: Black Jack (Rossland), Bulkley Valley (Smithers), Hollyburn (North Vancouver), Larch Hills (Salmon Arm), Nechako Nordic (Vanderhoof), Nelson Nordic (Nelson), Overlander (Kamloops),Sovereign Lake (Vernon), Spud Valley (Pemberton), Strathcona Nordic (Courtenay/Comox) and Whistler Nordic (Whistler).
Benson said the Caledonia club's decision to hire Andrew Casey in 2012 as a full-time coach has had a significant impact in encouraging more recreational skiers in the club to pursue competitive racing.
"We have 25 per cent of the skiers here, which is a bit more than what we've been used to having, the difference is we now have a full-time coach and Andrew has been doing a fine job," said Benson.
The races are an unofficial test event for the 2015 Canada Games. The real test for local organizers will happen Feb. 13-16 when the Caledonia club hosts the Haywood NorAm/Buff Sprints Western Canadian championships.
