Nordic skiers set for first meet

A rainout of last Saturday’s open race at Hoodoo has not deterred the spirits of the members of the Sisters High School Nordic ski team. In fact it will simply make Thurday’s night race at Hoodoo Mountain Resort more exciting, according to coach Lee Fischer.

The Outlaws will host other Northern Division teams on January 5 in a five-kilometer freestyle race at Hoodoo beginning at 4:30 p.m. It is the first time Fischer has hosted an evening meet for high school racers and he looks forward to seeing how it works out.

“It will be a mass start, so with everyone taking off at once it could be interesting for the first two or three minutes as people jockey for position,” he said. “We plan to have a lot of volunteers on the course with lights to help the racers find their way.”

The race will be headquartered at the old lodge and the course will be groomed on a portion of the Nordic ski area. Teams from Redmond, Summit and Crook County are expected to participate.

With a flock of new members on the 19-member squad, Fischer says he will learn a lot about his team once the first race is in the books.

“I’m sure we’ll have some surprises,” he said. “Having everyone start at the same time gives both the athletes and the coaches a chance to really compare racers to one another.”

There is no charge to attend the meet, but an $8 trail pass is necessary to ski on the Nordic trails for everyone not volunteering or racing in the meet.