John O'Malley Photo Gallery

John O'Malley has put together an amazing photo gallery of The Tour. For those who didn't make it to the race I think it tells the story well.

Below is my favorite photo from the weekend-

Day 1 Photos

The following photos were taken on day 1 of The Tour by one of the marshalls-Remy Driehuis.

Gena and Alexis were pretty dominating on Day 1. They put 10mins on their closes rivels and looked strong

Gary and Tim chased the leaders hard, being a lot closer to Gena and Alexis than they were 2 weeks earlier at the CraigieBurner. They traveled very well together as a team which was key to there success.

I love this shot of Steve and his "speed stance"! All thats missing is a cape.....

The Tour- Overall Results

Day 1 results Day 2 results Overall

Team # Name Place Time Place Time Place time

10 Sibaev/Poilvert 1 1:37 1 1:45 1 3:22

9 Ensor/MacPherson 2 1:47 2 1:50 2 3:37

8 Sherrat/Conlan 3 1:55 4 1:54 3 3:49

2 Lang/Finnigan 4 2:03 5 2:06 4 4:09

11 Tynan/Poulsen 5 2:13 6 2:08 5 4:21

1 Henson/Piper 7 2:27 7 2:24 6 4:51

4 Marsh/Bruerton 6 2:23 8 2:31 7 4:54

3 Scrimgeour/Sinicali DNS 3 1:52 8 1:52

Gena Sibaev and Alexis Poilvert, The Tour 2009 Winners

Photo: Gillian Ensor

Day 1!

Finaly Day 1 of The Tour!

Amazing day with great weather, sun shine, great spring snow and a entertaining course of around 1250 vertical meters.

The start at Cheeseman Ski Area

Ensor & MacPherson, final climb, Tarn Basin

Marsh & Bruerton bottom final climb, Tarn Basin

Day 1 course

Results from day 1-

Team # Name Place Time

10 Sibaev/Poilvert 1 1:37

9 Ensor/MacPherson 2 1:47

8 Sherrat/Conlan 3 1:55

2 Lang/Finnigan 4 2:03

11 Tynan/Poulsen 5 2:13

4 Marsh/Bruerton 6 2:23

1 Henson/Piper 7 2:27

The Final Tip!

The final tip for The Tour! Yeah.

Have Fun!

That after all is the goal of such events, to have a good time. I am sure all the racers will be turn up with there "game face on", but I think it will be hard not to enjoy ones self this weekend.

The weather forecast is looking good, the cafe at Cheeseman will be open and 7am for racers and you'll be skiing around with some like minded folks in the backcountry.

A few things you could do to increase the fun factor-

-Bring a Camel Back or similar hydration system and sun screen. Spring is here! Remember the race is self supported, that means no water stations out on the course.

-Dress light- more than likely its will be hot and over heating is the last thing you want to do. Check HERE for a old tip for dressing right and don't forget the BUFF.

-Wax up your skis and skins. The Swiss kids up at Cheeseman will wax (and tune) your skis and some glob stop type wax on your skins won't hurt neither.

DOC Concession

For those who don't know a pretty large chunk of land is managed by the Department of Conservation, including the area that The Tour will take place.

For us to be able to use the area around Cheeseman Ski Area for this event a concession application had to be filed. The concession application process was an interesting and very beneficial one. Heaps of questions that make you think about what kind of impact your event and actions might have on our environment an dhow we can minimise them. Together with Kirsty from DOC I was able to identify a few things-

-No weeds or animals- Except for an avalanche rescue dog (which we have no plan on using) no animals at The Tour. Other no no is weeds. We ask that you make sure that all your gear is clean before getting up to Cheeseman. While Didymo is a big player in the snow, you can never be to safe- visit HERE to see how you can help stop the spreed of this weed.

-Toileting/ Rubbish- While the "Pack it in, pack it out" method is a good one, I am a big fan of the "Don't pack it in in the first place" practice. Use the rubbish and toilet facilities at Cheeseman before the race, or do take a bag with you for your waste.

Go to www.doc.govt.nz for more information on conservation and ways you can do your bit.

Race Program

The Tour Backcountry Ski Touring Race Program

(as of 14th September 2009)

17^th September- course setting

18^th September- course setting

- 7pm-7.30pm racers check in/pick up race number/gear check – Forrest Lodge (Cheeseman)

- 8pm - pre race meeting at Forrest Lodge

- race marshals gear check and meeting

19^th September- 7am- race marshals meet at Cheeseman day lodge

- 7.30am transceiver checks

- 8am – race start

- 10am-1pm racers finishing

- course setting

- 4.30pm- pre race meeting (for Sundays race)

20^th September- 7am- race marshals meet at Cheeseman day lodge

- 7.30am transceiver checks

- 8am – race start

- 10am-1pm racers finishing

-2.30- BYO BBQ lunch!

- 3.30pm- prize giving starts (Cheeseman day lodge)

NOTE - Race will start and finish both days at Cheeseman Ski Area base area

- Race start times will depend greatly on weather and snow conditions. Early start is to allow for course setting and expected spring warming of snow pack (increased avalanche risk).

-IF the warm weather continues expect a earlier start!

The Tour-day 2

Below is a map of a POSSIBLE course for day 2 of The Tour.

It has slightly change to what I did have, but not much.

The course will be very weather and snow dependent, but if all goes well, the course will be very similar to the following-

The Tour-day 1

So as the snow starts to settle (melt!) the likely route that each days race will take has changed a bit.

After going out today and having a really good scout around this is were we are at, but anything could happen.

If you have any questions re the course, please ask via a comment.

The Teams

This post is to give little insight to the teams that have entered The Tour-

(Remember if you are looking for a team mate, leave a comment HERE)

Team #1- John Henson and Grant Piper

Both John and Grant are active members of the Canterbury/Westland section of the NZAC, with extensive ski touring experience in the Craigieburns (were The Tour will take place) and the glaciers either side of the main divide.

Team #2- Gavin Lang and Andrew Finnigan

Gavin and Andrew have ski toured at all the major South Island hot spots and both have their Avalanche Stage 1 qualification.

Team #3- Carron Scrimgeour and Julie Sinicali

Carron and Julie are the first mix, as well as the first international entry to The Tour.

Carron has raced at the 2008 ski mountaineering world champs as well as the Pierra Menta as a member of the British National team, while French native Julie has raced in some major European races, such as the Trophee Des Gastlosen.

Team #4- Clive Marsh and Steve Bruerton

Clive and Steve will be some of the more experienced ski tour's at The Tour, both having been touring since the late '80's. Both are Christchurch tramping club members and have competed in multi sport events, with Clive having made some notable mountaineering ascents, including the Matterhorn and Mt Cook.

Team #5- Yolanda Barragan and Violeta Casado

The first all woman's entry to The Tour comes from an experienced Spanish team! Both Yoli and Vio have competed in the Spanish Ski Mountaineering Cup, with Yoli also racing in the 2008 PDG short course.

Team #6- Javier Martin and Lorenzo Holzknecht

Currently here in NZ, as part of a Dynafit trip, attempting to break the 18.5hr record for the "Symphony On Ski's", Javi and Lorenzo normally chase each other around at World Cup events in Europe, for Spain and Italy respectively. Between them there is 11 Pierra Mentas and their latest notable results were 5th (Javi) and 3rd (Lorenzo) at the 2009 European Champs.

Team # 7 Dave Manning and Ed Sai Louie

Dave and Ed, both engineering students at Canterbury, will be one of the younger teams at The Tour, not that that will hold them back. Living the student life- backcountry skiing most days of the week and both with Chill pass, these 2 have been getting after it. Dave has soloed the Caroline face of Mt Cook, but his favorite peak is Foggy Peak.

Team #8- Duncan Sherratt and Kath Conlan

Duncan and Kath are our 2nd mix team to enter The Tour and are some of the more experienced NZ racers.Both placed 2nd in the 2007 and 2008 SkiMoNZ race series, with Duncan winning the 2008 CraigieBurner. Duncan will organise this winters CraigieBurner and was the organiser of the 2008 Ohau race.

"Question is will the mixed team of D&K take down some of the boys?"

Team #9- Tim Ensor & Gary McPherson

Tim and Gary have been regulars at SkiMoNZ race's for a few years now and will be a strong team. Gary won the first Temple Basin Rando Rally in '06 and is now Q'town based, skinning regularly pre work at Coronet.

Tim had his break through race last year at the Porters Dynafit Speed Up, placing 2nd and then when on to finish 3rd over all in the SkiMoNZ race series.

Team # 10- Gena Sibaev and Alexis Poilvert

When they aren't hanging off a cliff with drills in hand this pair are lapping big vertical at Treble Cone.

Gena represented his native Russia at the 2006 World Ski Mountaineering Champs and both have strong and impressive mountaineering resumes. After 2nd (Alexis) and 3rd (Gena) place finishes at this years CraigieBurner, team # 10 goes in to The Tour as race favourites.

Team # 11- Mark Tynan and Dave Poulsen

Another quality team, Mark and Dave are top 3 contenders if things fall into place for them on the day. While their ski mountaineering race experience is limited to just 3 CraigieBurners between them, 2 weeks is a long time is competitive ski mountaineering and expect them to be in the running.

Tip # 4- Do the 'Burner

Tip for The Tour #4 is a pretty obvious one (like all of them I guess), but the CraigieBurner this weekend makes for great preparation to The Tour.

I won't go into a heap of detail as there is a load of info on www.carigieburner09.blogspot.com

There are 2 course's, "Lifts" and "Lunges". The Craigieburn Range has been hammered with weather over the last 2 weeks now and things are looking great, with over 50cm of new snow!

Looking forward to seeing you all on the start line.

Gary Mac getting his Burn on last year

Tip #4.1-Book your accommodation for The Tour, as well as book a massage

This is kind like a bonus round.....

I feel like maybe I'm giving out to many tips now, but get in touch with Cheeseman Ski Area ASAP and book your accommodation for Friday and Saturday night (18th and 19th September).

After the first day of racing I would recommend soothing tired legs by getting a massage and a hot spa. You can book a message by contacting Chris via http://www.theburn.co.nz/contact or calling The Burn B & B at 03 318 7559. Remember that there is a race meeting Saturday afternoon when booking your massage.

OK, one more tip- Early entry closes this Sunday the 6th September, after that entry for The Tour will be $260 per team. I'll have entry forms with me at the CraigieBurner prize giving for those that are around.