Hi,

I was a "racer" who really enjoyed the event. Had only gotten into snowshoeing 2 weeks earlier, so I challenged myself to do it nice and easy.

I was impressed from by the good food and hot drinks before the start, the friendliness and efficiency of the volunteers giving out bibs.

It was very thoughtful to delay the start by half hour due the many participants still slowly making their way up the icy Crest road.

Jeff did a professional job with announcing and timing!

While slowly snowshoeing the course, it was great to see the many dedicated SAR and ski patrol folks cheering us on and making sure we were OK.

Good thing they didn't have a sleigh and reindeer on standby in the last half.

I would probably have been tempted to take a ride back!

Thanks!

Ray, Last but not least

On Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 08:24:52 AM MST, Joseph C. Giles via Volunteers_fosm <volunteers_fosm@mailman.swcp.com> wrote:

FOSM sponsored the Sandia Snowshoe Classic for the 19th time Saturday. The event was a huge success with over 130 participants despite the cold, clouds, and icy Crest Highway at the start of the day. Congratulations to Mike Madden and his organizing team of Silke Bletzer, Steve Roholt, Sim Cook, and Jeff Young. Accolades also to Byron Garner and his team of marshals who readied the course pre-event then made sure participants stayed on the course. Special thanks to Jeff Huser for hauling a trailer-load of equipment to and from the Crest and serving as MC and timing coordinator.

Thanks also to:

Students from Cottonwood Classic Preparatory School, who helped with the timing;
Members of Cibola Search and Rescue, who were there in case they were needed (and thankfully were not);
First responders and Sheriff’s deputies from Bernalillo County, who helped with traffic control and were on standby in case of an emergency; and
DOT personnel who plowed the highway and parking lots.

Those unable to join in the fun Saturday can vicariously experience the thrill via videos and photos posted at https://friendsofthesandias.org/snowshoe-race/. You can see the excitement on the faces of the participants as they proceed from start to finish of the approximately 3-mile course thanks to photos provided by Stefan Martin and Dan Benton. You also can join Dan as he listens to the Grateful Dead on his drive up. Unfortunately, YouTube blocked the Eagles singing "Hotel California” thereby losing the irony of hearing "On a dark desert highway, Cool wind in my hair…” while Dan maneuvers up the icy Crest Highway in the clouds.

Enjoy,

Cliff Giles

FOSM Members/Volunteers
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