Sports - Ski to Sea

POSTED: Saturday, May. 16, 2009

SKI TO SEA: Team attempting race without use of cars

The Star speckled Banana Slugs (formerly Absolute Zero) has no chance of winning the 2009 Ski to Sea, but they're OK with that.

The team took on the added challenge to compete in the event on Sunday, May 24, completely car-less, and as far as Green Team chair Mariah Ross knows, they're the only team to do so.

"We try to get around without cars as much as we can because of the state of our environment," Star speckled Banana Slugs team captain Jennifer Hoover said in a phone interview. "There's so much congestion in our small Bellingham city. (Ski to Sea) is a recreation event in nature. It's logical to us to try and preserve our natural environment and we like the challenge of it."

The idea of reducing a carbon footprint as a team has been a few years in the making that came together this year. Team members thought independently of how they can successfully execute a car-less Ski to Sea, and together formulated a plan.

The plan makes for a longer Ski to Sea competition. The skiers (Dominic Battistella and Eli Chase), runner (Nicole Bruno) and road biker (Hoover) are going to ride their bikes the night before race day to Silver Fir Campground where they will stay the night. Bruno will ride a tandem bike with a non-team member friend, who will ride the bike back down into town.

Battistella usually commutes with his bicycle but his ride on race day, with the added bonus of cross country skiing, won't compare to his typical outings. He calculated he will ride 47 miles the day before the race to camp and will then ride a total of 63 miles on race day, with four miles of cross country skiing.

"This will be the longest bike to ski adventure," Battistella said.

Mountain biker Kyle Morris, who is the shop manager at the Hub Community Bicycle Co-op downtown, will haul the canoes to Everson, along with his own mountain bike, on a trailer he made to hitch to his bicycle.

Eve Kerber and Sarah Kerber will canoe and another non-team member will step in to tow the canoe back into town.

Kayaker Melanie Swanson will pull her kayak to Zuanich Point with a bike trailer and will retrieve the kayak post-race with her bike.

A Ski to Sea newsletter included information on how to reduce a carbon footprint on race day and challenged teams to do so. Star speckled Banana Slugs' plan was posted on the Ski to Sea Web site as a team who is up to beat the challenge.

"I think it's outstanding," Ross said. "We were exploring the idea of adding a new category this year but we didn't know if that's something people would be interested in. We were blown away when we heard they're going car-less."

Star speckled Banana Slugs will face several challenges during their two-day Ski to Sea adventure, their biggest one being chance. The team is hoping for nice weather for the two days, because poor weather could make for an even longer, and maybe miserable experience.

"We'll barely survive if the weather is (poor)," Battistella said. "On the ride home I hope the weather is favorable. Head wind and rain will be a lot different than a nice day."

The team is still ironing out certain logistics and details about who is going to haul what supplies up the mountain and what those supplies will be. They expect some mistakes to be made, but Star speckled Banana Slugs is out to enjoy themselves and prove to other teams if they can do it, others can, too.

The Ski to Sea Green Team was formed in 2008 to help research ideas to reduce the environmental impact the race has. Last year's Ski to Sea used 15,000 gallons of gas, and that's just from the teams involved, Ross said. The figure does not include gas used by support staff and spectators. The committee strongly encouraged everyone involved in Ski to Sea to carpool this year.

"It is mind boggling looking at the impact so we're really encouraging carpooling for spectators, volunteers and support staff," Ross said. "They can really do their part by taking alternate methods of transportation."

The Green Team is still focused on recycling. The public responded well with recycling bottles and cans, but there was 100 percent contamination in the compost, Ross said. This year there will be recycle monitors to assist in the effort.

Ross hopes Star speckled Banana Slugs sends a message to other teams that some legs of the race can be done without the use of a vehicle. She also hopes other teams in future Ski to Seas step up to challenge Star speckled Banana Slugs. Hoover hopes the same.

"We're hoping to pave the way for future teams," Hoover said. "We hope anyone else interested will come talk to us. We'd love some competition in future years. If we can survive, any one can do it."