SILVERTON – Skijoring skied – and galloped – into Silverton again this year, drawing near-record crowds and determined participants.
Skijoring, derived from the Norwegian word “skikjøring,” meaning “snow driving,” is described by organizers on the event’s website as “a single horse typically guided by an insane person occasionally called a cowboy, cowgirl or a rider, pulling a crazy person on skis who simply hangs onto a tow rope in a manner similar to water skiing, but at 35-45+ mph.”
More than 90 racer-and-rider teams navigated a snow-covered track Saturday along Blair Street in historic downtown Silverton, collecting cheers and hollers from the crowd – and losing a few gloves to rope burn. A run generally averages between 15 and 25 seconds.
Jim Harper, president of Silverton Skijoring, said the event provides an opportunity for the community to come together each year.
“One of the fun things about skijoring is, because we’re a smaller community, everyone stays inside,” he said. “This is our excuse to come out and play.”
Though the competition is a main source of connection for Silverton residents, it also attracts plenty of out-of-towners, Harper said. This year, participants came from across Colorado and from as far away as Montana.
The matches, which took place Saturday and again Sunday, covered four categories: novice, sport, open and junior, in which a rider and skier must both be younger than 12.
Only one pair of 12-year-olds tried their hand in the juniors category.
Longtime skijoring rider and event organizer Richard Weber entered the expert-level open category and pulled two advanced skiers on various runs. His first ever experience with skijoring was in the Silverton competition, he said.
He rode two of his longtime racehorses – Franks and Beans and Lick ’Em for Luck – in this weekend’s competition.
“It’s just such a crazy, unique, wild sport,” he said. “The amount of (stuff) that can go wrong in 17 seconds is unbelievable. Like, hundreds of things. I mean, thousands of things. Every time you go to a race, you see something else, and (you’re) just like, ‘Whoa, I’ve never seen that happen before.’”
Breckenridge resident Joey Lane has skied in the event for the past three years, towed by his sister-in-law, Delphine Eytel, on her horse, Legs. Joey, Delphine and Legs competed in the intermediate “sport” category this year.
When the run begins, everything else fades away, Lane said.
“It’s just exhilarating,” he said. “You’re getting pumped full of adrenaline, you’re going fast – but you kind of get in the zone, and just bite down and ski.”
Silverton resident Pete Maisel, who helped bring the competition to town with Rob Conaty in 2010, said the event is an opportunity to bring together two cultures and sports that otherwise wouldn’t meet.
“What makes it special is the people, getting those two cultures together – the cowboys with race horses and the really good skiers and even the novices that just try it,” he said. “Those two cultures don’t normally break bread, right? I think that synergy is cool.”
The city has been snowblowing like mad to generate enough snow for the competition amid an unseasonably warm February, Harper said. Two snowblowers were brought from Telluride and blew snow onto Blair Street in 12-hour intervals for six days leading up to the event.
“This is the largest winter event for Silverton, for San Juan County, and it’s happening at a time when we desperately need it most,” he said. “The (phrase) around town was ‘life support.’ Everyone was saying, ‘We’re just on (economic) life support,’ and this is what was going to make or break a lot of their seasons.”
Silverton Skijoring, which is a 501(c)(3) and collects its profit through entry fees and donations, does not charge admission to the family-friendly event.
The competition was presented by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Golden Block Brewery and the Grand Imperial Hotel. More than 45 additional businesses and organizations partnered with Silverton Skijoring to help put on the event, including Durango Harley-Davidson, Jimbo’s Towing, Ska Brewing Co., Silverton Fire & Rescue and the Lacey Rose Saloon.
Harper said $23,000 was raised in 12 days for the event, mostly from local sources in Silverton.
“Skijoring is the best of everything that Southwest has to offer,” he said. “It’s our Western heritage, our cowboy heritage, and bringing in the super awesome, fun ski culture. Everyone comes together, and everyone has fun.”
epond@durangoherald.com
