The Great Ski Race 2010 - Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Funraiser

I actually woke up this morning with every intention of skiing the course from Tahoe City to Truckee, CA.  I last participated in the race at least 10 years ago. But this year was again not to be since I decided to take out the camera and shoot the start. Once all of the racers crossed the starting line, I kind of bailed on the race and instead jumped in my car to see if I could make it to Truckee to photograph the winner crossing the finish line.

The top skiers are amazingly fast.  I made it to the finish line at the Cottonwood Restaurant only 5 minutes before  the winner, Adam Swank of Duluth, MN came flying down the final hill.  Adams time was a blazing 1:11:30. While not a course record, it is impressing none the less.

Well, after photographing the first 3 finishers, the skiers kept coming and I decided to keep shooting.  I think I was able to photography just about every skier until the awards ceremony started. That was about 1000 skiers over a 4 hour period.  I found it quite entertaining with great spirit, costumes, and some impressive crashes.  I think Matt Lund took the prize for one of the most dramatic finishes.

Keep in mind, Matt has not been on skate skis in years.  He crossed in sub 2:30:00. Not bad for off the couch.

So, I posted a web gallery of some of the choice shots from the day.
Check out the Gallery Here.

I will eventually be posting everyone's finishing photos on another gallery, so check back or email me with your bib number and name for a direct link.

I was very impressed by the number of young skiers this year.  A 9 year old made the journey with true style and many 11-13 year olds put in some good times.

Maybe I'll put the skis on next year.