Great Glen- Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure - RIP

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Amicus

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Messages
1,145
Reaction score
112
Location
New England Avatar: Bay Circuit Trail
Alas, bad news to some of us, but it shouldn't come as a major surprise. The press release speaks for itself.

I'm happy that some friends and I were able to participate in the last two they held, as were some other VFTT'ers.

I thought I was done with the Stowe Derby as my annual X-C competitive fix, but this may force a reprise.

---

"Dear Nordic Adventurer,
We have some news regarding the Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure. I'll let the following press release do most of the communication. It was a hard decision to make.


For Immediate Release: March 27, 2007

Contact:
Ryan Triffitt
Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center
Office: 603.466.2333 x 177 / Cell: 207.837.5045
[email protected]


Martha Wilson
The Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods
603.278.3366
[email protected]


Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure
Reaches its Finish Line


Pinkham Notch, NH—Because of the uncertainty of the race course and other factors beyond the control of race organizers, Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center and the Bretton Woods Nordic Center have announced they will no longer hold the Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure.

“We love this event,” said Howie Wemyss, General Manager of Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center. “But a significant portion of the course was always such a question mark, and it always will be. When we conceived of the event, we realized there would be challenges to pulling it off each year, but we didn’t foresee some of the ongoing issues that we’ve had to face in the 6 years of holding or trying to hold this great event.”

The course for the Nordic Adventure utilizes a number of trails not normally maintained for cross country skiing. While the course begins on the trail system at Great Glen Trails and finishes 50 kilometers later at the Bretton Woods Nordic Center, the route from one touring center to the other includes Forest Service roads, hiking trails, a power line right of way and a rail trail. Those other trails are subject to multiple uses that are not conducive to cross country skiing, including logging and snowmobiling.

“The Forest Service, the Department of Transportation and the snowmobile clubs that maintain the trails have been very cooperative,” said Wemyss. “But the snow quality on those trails was always well below what cross country skiers need and desire. And because of the multiple use aspect of those trails we couldn’t prepare and groom the surface until the day before the event.”

Additionally, the wind along the power line and rail trail sections of the course, which parallels Route 2 in Randolph, perennially causes damage to the snow pack. The lean snows of 2006 and wind in this section led to the cancellation of the race that year, and without some timely snowfall in the days leading into the event this year, the point-to-point course could not have been used.

Sue Wemyss, Event Director for the last 6 years adds, “We very specifically named this event the ‘Nordic Adventure’ knowing that this was going to be an unusual course with unusual ski and snow conditions, but when we work all year long only to have the very real possibility of a last minute cancellation or a change to a loop course at one of the touring centers, it just doesn’t make sense to continue.”

“One of the biggest draws of the event was its point-to-point nature, people just loved the feeling of actually going somewhere when they took part in this event. From the Forest Service trails to the long climb up Jefferson Notch Road, there was no other event like it,” said Wemyss. “But the course was also the biggest liability. It’s sad to see it come to an end.”

The Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure was part of New England Nordic Ski Association’s (NENSA) New England Marathon Series and the American Marathon Series, which includes the famous American Birkebeiner.

Both Great Glen Trails and Bretton Woods Nordic look forward to putting the time and energy spent on the Nordic Adventure into new events in the future.

For more information about the Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure, go to www.greatglentobrettonwoods.com.

(end of press release)


It has been tremendously rewarding to hear from you the skiers how significant skiiing in the GG to BW Nordic Adventure could be. Some of you told us how this was your first attempt at a long distance skiing event. Some of you told us how you entered with others and the group of you trained together because of the commitment you made. We heard how some of you invested in new equipment, took lessons to improve technique, skied more often throughout the winter. Some of you entered other events. Some of you came back year after year, challenging yourselves to bettering your time, moving up in your age group, making it to the top of Jefferson Notch with "more juice". Some of you rejoiced in the camaraderie of skiing several hours with like-minded individuals. All of this made me personally very happy. I love the sport of cross country and I love to hear about others getting more involved with it, and having a wonderful time with it.

The Nordic Adventure was not an easy challenge. I' m sure I don't have to tell you that! Knowing this and seeing you cross the finish line, be it the 25 or the 50 KM, well, it was kind of like being a proud parent. That you entered, prepared for, came and skied our event made us really happy and glad that we put on the GG2BW.

We hope that we will see you again at some other events that both we/Great Glen and Bretton Woods put on. While Great Glen and Bretton Woods created the event, it was the folks involved in the Nordic Adventure that brought it to life. Thank you very much for your participation and your support of the Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure. Good luck with your skiing, and we'll look forward to seeing you again, out on the trails.

Sincerely,
Sue Wemyss
Event Director, TD Banknorth Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure"
 
It's a bummer that this was the last year for the GG to BW, but it had a great run! It was a really well-run, fun race with great volunteers (and good raffle prizes too!), and gave me the chance to try my hand at endurance skiing. I remember the first year of the race, doing the untimed 25 km with Snowman and it being a HUGE deal.... I had never skiied that far! Then, I was inspired to try the 50 km, and over the past few years have really enjoyed having the race in March to urge me to get out as much as possible on my skis :)

Anyway, I had a great time doing the 25 km this year, and I'll miss not having the race next year. Maybe there will be another fun endurance event in the area planned in the future for all us crazy skiers :rolleyes:
 
Top