2005

24T- I TRIED IT AND I LIKED IT
by Abigail Larson

So what’s a skier to do between ringing in the New Year and the Pepsi Challenge? The obvious choice is Twenty Four Hours of Tidemark, better known as 24T! But don’t get scared off by the name; you don’t actually have to ski for 24 hours. There are lots of races to choose from, there is a 3, 6, 12, or 24 hour option and you can go solo, as a duo, or part of a team of four or six. The 24T is hosted by Telemark Lodge, the starting point of the Great American Birkie and a stop on the NorAm Supertour Series. The immediate proximity of lodging, hot tubs, food, and spirits makes for an ideal location. What a blessing to be able to finish skiing at 11 pm and take a quick soak and nap before your next leg of the race. In addition to the amenities found at the lodge there is also a hearty supply of volunteers making food, counting laps, grooming the course, and seeing that skiers are well-tended to.

This is an event that caters to the full spectrum of talent, ability, and age. People come out in everything from race suits, warm-ups, parkas, knickers, and costumes to make a day – and night of it. There are classic skiers, skate skiers, and skiers that do a bit of both. The “race” is timed and laps are recorded but it’s really more of an adventure. Some skiers have outcome goals such as; time, place, or category awards but a lot of them just do it because they think it’s a good time. No one leaves the 24T thinking about “if they had only used a higher fluoro-carbon wax” or “if they had just been able to beat so and so in their age group”. People leave Telemark thinking about how epic it was to ski from 3 to 5 in the morning, or how beautiful the sunrise was, or how great that beer tasted after they finished their last lap at 10 am. The uniqueness of this event is highlighted by common behaviors such as eating hamburgers and drinking coffee at 1 am and then skiing for two or three hours with a headlamp or finishing five laps, tagging off to your race partner and then babysitting his child for the next two hours.

Twenty-four hours of Telemark was an experience that I wasn’t planning on having. Originally I just wanted to be a spectator and volunteer but at the last minute a couple of guys from Wisconsin needed two other people to make a team of four. Generally I’m just about game for anything, so my friend Pete and I decided that it could be fun, albeit a bit sadistic, to ski through the night. I had a riot. It wasn’t about racing, it was about doing something that under normal circumstances would be totally unappealing but for some reason under 24T circumstances was memorable and even fun!

Abigail Larson has a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and is member of the Subaru Factory Team and on the US Marathon Cross Country Team.