Mark wrote:
My 12th Birkie experience will definitely go down in my personal
archives as one of the most memorable. It's not the results (a DNF),
but it's the extreme selflessness that two Birkie skiers showed
during the race to help a fellow skier.

Geez Mark That's a rough one for sure. Were you Bib #145 from the Elite
Wave by chance ? I saw that skier being snomobile rescued after 00.
That sounds really rough.

By the way, there were far too many foil wrappers littering the trail.
I don't recall seeing so much litter in years, since many skiers have
gotten away from foil in favor of the little fueling jugs. It bummed me
out to see the beautiful Birkie trail & Creation treated that way by
skiers, who as a lot, are all about nature. We need to re-think goo
foils. AT LEAST take your feeds before the aid stations & litter there
were it can be picked up. Next best: stuff it in your race suit for
later disposal. It's easy to not litter. Not only is it "litter" but
it's also clearly a safety hazard (witness Mark's tale above) and I
recall Nathan Schultz skiing over a goo pack @ the TC Vasa and getting
a klister effect for half the race, which wasn't fast. Either way, it's
avoidable & it needs to stop.

I had a far less rough race, but still not my most fun one. The story
is on fasterskier.com for whatever it's worth. I think Jay T got me, he
split the FrontRunner & myself. Seems like Jay Wenner had a real solid
race, into the Top 100 was it ? Good job Jay W & Jay T. Just get more
lycra, eh ?