Upcoming Team Santa Fe Events

Training for Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon
Grants, NM
January 26- 27, 2001

Team Santa Fe arranged a training event at Mt. Taylor of Grants, New Mexico for all interested members and non-members for the last weekend in January. Don and Brenda Moden drove from Phoenix, Kim and Jan Bear along with George Broome drove down from Santa Fe on Friday and Ries Robinson and others were coming from Albuquerque early Saturday morning. We were all to meet at the starting line at 9AM.

The weather on Friday was beginning to change to gray clouds and snow. By Saturday morning, there was 2-3 inches of snow on the ground with wind. The Albuquerque group decided wisely to not make the drive down. Since a group was there, the plan was changed to only doing the snow events. Our new Litespeeds gathered snow on the back of our truck, as the bicycling route was snow packed and icy.

Don and Brenda got to see the course from a car until the run-cross-country ski transition. Once out in the weather, it was very cold, and a good opportunity to try out gear that would work and keep you warm. Kim used her Outdoor Research liner gloves and her hands stayed warm in a Hind shell glove. Her feet stayed warm with a ThorLos light ski sock and a Crescent Moon Velcro bootie. Hydropel kept the blisters away. Both Jan and Kim wore Lowe Alpine jackets and the waterproof pants. Brenda also wore her waterproof Lowe Alpine pant making their legs warm and comfortable. Jan used Outdoor Research gators and the ThorLos light hiker sock, which kept his feet warm. The group used Dermatone on their lips and after water froze in the CamelBakâs tubing, it was decided the CamelBak insulated bike valve cover and tube would be necessary to drink water in freezing weather. Everyone wore his or her Native Eyewear sunglasses with different tint lens to clear. This was important as the wind picked up and began to blow snow.

After the cross-country ski venue, the team transitioned to Crescent Moon Snow Shoes. Brenda and Don had their shoes mounted to their snowshoe, which seemed to work really well. Kim kept in her Crescent Moon bootie and transitioned the cross-country boot onto the snowshoe, which helped to keep her feet warm. The bindings on the Crescent Snowshoe make it an easy transition.

Jan and George changed into their running shoes and then easily secured their footing. The Crescent Moon Snow shoes worked great. The snow was deep, but still the snowshoe allowed quick movement. Running down the hill was smooth and the bindings were easy to adjust and secure. The Leki trekking pole with its snow basket provided confidence running down steep Mt. Taylor. This was a good preparation for a Mt. Taylor Quad, especially if the weather is bad!

8th Annual Santa Fe Snowshoe Classic
Hyde Park Santa Fe, NM
January 28, 2001

Team Santa Fe took part in this annual event with the following members: Kim and Jan Bear, Don and Brenda Moden, Ries Robinson, and Eileen Pickett. The snow was deep and the 4+ mile course was challenging with steep grades up and down.

Everyone was wearing Crescent Moon Snowshoes, which made the team feel successful with completing this event. Most used their Leki trekking poles with the snow basket and were again glad for the confidence on the steep exposed sections. Outdoor Research gators were worn by Jan and Kim Bear wore the gloves. Kim again wore her Crescent Moon booties over running shoes that kept her feet warm and with the Thor-Lo sock, blister free. Lowe Alpine jackets and leggings were worn to protect legs and upper body from the cold.

The race was fun for everyone. Several other TSF friends and family enjoyed the chilly outing.

Be sure to check out our ongoing feature - The Racer's Story.
This segment teammate, Slate Stern, trains for North Pole adventure