Third Annual Magic Meadows 7

Round and round, up and down

It was a stellar day for the third annual Magic Meadows 7 as more than 70 Nordic skiers hit the outer and inner sections of the Magic Meadows trail for seven hours of Nordic skiing. The event is set up so that there’s room for all walks of life, from the super-fit, Lycra-clad skate skier to the old-school classic shuffler.
In the end, 45 individuals threw down in the competitive class (though some were a little less competitive than others), with Daniel Gabel firing off 22 laps for a grand total of 93.5 kilometers skied in seven hours. Amy Nolan led all women, completing 20 laps, 85 kilometers total, in seven hours. Beth “Hurricane” Carter rattled off 17 laps (quite a feat for a woman who just turned 64 years young) and Woody Martineau had the top finish among the junior racers, skiing 18 laps.
Amidst all of the fast-paced lapping, there was a strong contingent of casual skiers as well who would ski a lap, sit, eat some chili, drink a beverage and then repeat.
“The difference between those that skied around 20 laps and the others was those people didn’t stop at all, they just kept going and going,” says Crested Butte Nordic director of development and marketing Drew Holbrook.
The Magic Meadows 7 was also the third race of the Mountain Store Citizens race series and as of press time Nolan leads the overall standings as they head into race number four of the series on Saturday, January 17.  
Crested Butte Nordic now has their sights set on the 29th Annual Alley Loop weekend February 6-7 with registration looking stronger than ever this year.
“That’s the focus now,” says Holbrook. “It’s cram time for the Alley Loop.”