Race Dates Announcement
We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming dates for our exciting winter events! Mark your calendars for an unforgettable season filled with adventure.
WESTY’S WILDSIDE WESTERN 2025 SERIES
Friday, January 10th
Thursday, January 30th
Friday, February 28th
Registration opens on November 1st.
VERTFEST @ ALPENTAL
Saturday, February 15th, 2025
(USA Skimo National Cup Event)
Registration opens on November 1st.
WY’EASTER SKIMO RACE
Saturday, March 29th, 2025 (Individual)
Sunday, March 30th, 2025 (Sprint)
(USA Skimo National Cup Event)
Registration opens on December 1st.
KULSHAN RANDONNÉE
Saturday, May 17th, 2025
Registration opens January.
The SnowGoat Races gets a Race Suit
While we all love the "get 'er done" attitude with whatever ad hoc speed clothes we can find, looking the part can boost our confidence and make us feel FAST. Plus, purpose-designed clothing just performs better. We’re partnering with Crazy Idea from the Italian Alps to create a SnowGoat-themed race suit for you to purchase. Although we don’t have a mockup design yet, expect lots of goats, blues, and fun color. Check out last year’s design by Cripple Creek for inspiration.
We need to submit the order amount soon to have them in hand by January, so you’ll have one week to make a reservation. This pre-order will be non-binding, so if the design isn’t your style, don’t worry. Once they're gone, they’re gone, so make sure you reserve yours today!
Seattle Skimo Kick Off Party on 12/10
Join us for our annual Kick Off Party on December 10 at Old Stove Brewing Co (Garden) in Seattle starting at 7 PM! This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow community members and learn about exciting new announcements for the upcoming events. Plus, every beer purchased will donate $1 to our organization, helping us continue to run these events. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
Board of Directors Update
Skimo Northwest, our 501c3 nonprofit that oversees the SnowGoat Skimo series, just saw its third birthday this fall! Two of our initial founding members, Esther Opersteny (Secretary) and Seth Davis (Treasurer) have stepped aside as their 3yr terms expired. If you see them out shredding laps at Snoqualmie, please give them a big high five and a thank you for all the work they put into creating this organization! We couldn't have done it without you.
And now to welcome our new members on our Board! First, we altered our structure so that each individual Race Director has a seat on the Board. Skimo Northwest aims to be a "race cooperative", where the races and their individual organizers band together to put on top notch events. In such a niche sport, we are stronger together than each race operating on its own. Rich Bennett joins our Board as the RD for Vertfest and Westy Ford as the RD for Westy's Wildside WESTern. The other RDs are already on the Board (Matt & Richard). Lisa Green also volunteered to join and will assume the vacant role of Treasurer. We have such a great crew of people who are passionate about skimo and events. It is a great pleasure working with all of you to make these happen!
If you're interested in learning more about our structure, everyone's roles, and who is behind the curtains here at Skimo Northwest/SnowGoat Skimo, check it out!
Expanding Uphill Advocacy Outreach
When Skimo Northwest formed, we wanted to be more than a race company. For the sport to flourish, we need not only races, but places to train. If you look at any regional ski resort's current Uphill Policy, you'll find a confusing and wide range of allowances, times, and protocols. In essence, it is difficult to properly tour uphill at most resorts, and we aim to change that.
The last four years we've worked with the Summit at Snoqualmie to help identify what issues they're concerned with regarding uphilling, communicate to them what uphillers are looking for, and suggest possible improvements to operations and marketing that benefit all stakeholders. We believe that creating designated uphill lanes that are accessible during all operating hours for a reasonable season's pass fee is the way to gain reliable and continued access. Uphilling inbounds can be compared to a rock climbing gym, with a lower barrier of entry than the backcountry, with accessibility, facilities, safety, and skills progression prioritized and a fee associated. While progress can be hard to measure some years, we've been proud to see the Summit adopt an Uphill Program with continued daily access, multiple and interesting uphill tracks that can be linked up, parking prioritization, lessons, and events.
New for the '24/'25 Season, we are expanding our advocacy outreach to many other regional ski areas! Locals who have a vested interest in their backyard ski hill have stepped forward as representatives of Skimo Northwest to work with the ski areas. Thank you to the new members of the team!
Summit at Snoqualmie - Travis Nesse & Rich Bennett
Skibowl/Timberline/Mt Hood Meadows - Matt Hasenohr & Joe Marquez
Mount Bachelor - Lisa Green
Crystal Mountain - Michael Warner
Mission Ridge - Grant Chong
Stevens Pass - Ben Peters
