Loomis comes in third in Wasatch Powder Keg Skimo Nationals

Adam Loomis got two third places at the Skimo National Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Solitude and Brighton's Wasatch Powder Keg. Photo: Ron Winslett

BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — Park City’s Adam Loomis got two third-places in the Skimo National Championships held March 10-12 at Brighton and Solitude at the Wasatch Powder Keg race, one in Sprint and one in Individual.

Loomis, who placed second and second in in last year’s events, is a member of the USA Skimo (ski mountaineering) National Team and a Skimo coach for the Park City Ski and Snowboard Team (PCSS).

He told TownLift, “Saturday’s Individual Race was super fun, high-octane racing. I raced the majority of the event with or close to Griffin Briley and Tom Goth. As the race went on, we spread out a touch, but were still usually in sight of each other. I was close enough to Tom [Goth] to make things interesting and Griffin was right on my tails too. We lucked out with a bluebird powder day. Although they had to slightly modify the course due to Friday’s storm, it still featured plenty of steep skiing, powder runs, and technical ridge lines.”

John Gaston won first place with a 1:40:11.08 time, and Tom Goth was second at 1:44:54:68. Loomis’ third-place time was 1:45:26:00.

On Friday at a vertical race and in the uphill-only competition, PCSS 17-year-old Griffin Briley, fresh off his World Championships win in Spain, placed second.

• Racers must ascend with skins
• Racers must descend with boots locked and locked into the ski
• Skis must be attached to a pack in 2 attachment points for all booters
• All transitions must occur entirely within the marked transition zone
• Poles must be flat on the ground during all transitions (skiing to skinning, skinning to skiing, skinning to booting, booting to skinning).
• Race and checkpoint officials can require racers to put on jackets at any time

The vertical race took place at Solitude and was 1,500 feet for all racers and categories.

The individual race took place in and around Brighton. The long course (U20 and older) began and end at the Milly Chalet at Brighton, and covered approximately 10 miles and 5,000 vertical feet. Racers had six climbs, including a booter, and a steep chute/tree skiing.

Due to high avalanche danger, the 2023 course was different than in years past.

The Sprint race took place at Solitude. The sprint race is a short-format event consisting of a skin section, a booting section, and a clearly marked gate descent. It’s a very fast race, and is based on completing the total course in approximately three minutes for the fastest racers. The total ascent and descent is about 100m, with athletes starting and finishing in almost the same point.

The first round is an individual qualification with athletes starting one after the other every 20 seconds, after the qualifying round athletes face each other in heats of six. Although the ascent is usually on well packed snow, the descent is supposed to be fun and can be off-piste, with gates and with small jumps. Sprint races typically have qualifying phases, quarter- finals, semi-finals and a final round. Races have a maximum of six athletes per heat.

Required gear:

• Skis – Minimum length: women = 150cm, men = 160cm. Minimum combined weight ski + binding: women = 700g, men = 750g. Touring skis, telemark or splitboards accepted on both long and short course.
• Bindings – Toe and heel piece must be same brand. Must have both lateral and forward release functions. Touring binding accepted.
• Boots – Rubber sole must cover 100% of boot bottom. Minimum weight: women = 450g, men = 500g
• Poles – Of maximum diameter 25mm, and with non-metallic baskets
• Climbing Skins – At least 1 pair, must cover at least 50% of the surface area of the ski and 50% of the length of the ski
• Helmet – Dual Certified Helmets are highly recommended for all (skiing EN 1077, climbing UIAA 106 or climbing EN 12492). A helmet that is certified in either skiing or climbing is mandatory. (Keep in mind that as of 2023/2024 race season the dual certified helmets will be required for all race divisions and USA skimo racers.)
• Beacon – Must transmit on 457 kHz, with three search antennas
• Shovel – Must have separate blade and shaft with handle, i.e,. no snow claws. Minimum total length 50 cm
• Probe – Must be a dedicated sectional probe, i.e., no probe poles. Minimum 240cm
• Gloves – Must cover the entire hand up to the wrist – to be worn the duration of the race
• Pack – Must have sufficient carrying capacity to hold all of the equipment required by the regulations, with two rear and/or lateral fastening straps for carrying skis. All courses have a mandatory boot-pack section.
• Hydration – bottle or bladder
• Whistle
• Rescue blanket / bivy
• Eye Protection – goggles, helmet shield or sunglasses
• Upper Body Layer – total of 3. 2 warmth and 1 windproof layer in pack.
• Lower Body Layer – 2 total, one must be a windproof layer.
• Long course may require crampons. To be determined closer to race day.

Skimo will have it’s Olympic debut in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games.