Oops, I had some misinformation. It turns out that the event is actually
slated to be on Saturday the 18th of Feb. That does conflict with the
Quadrathlon. Sorry -- I didn't schedule the event. It is usually the
day AFTER the Quad...

Also, Che Johnston's phone contact in Chama is:
(505) 756-8250

And there is an event website at:

www.chamaski.com





On Wed, 8 Feb 2006 11:29:16 -0700 Clay Moseley <tclaynm@...> writes:
Hi all,

I just wanted to get the 2-minute warning alert out about this year's
Chama Chili Classic in Chama, NM. It is on Feb. 19, the day AFTER the
Mt. Taylor Quad. The Chili Classic is one of the nation's(!) oldest xc
ski events, with last year's edition being the 30th annual. It's on
President's Day weekend.

Dave Wykoff and I are going to head up Friday afternoon to groom the
course for both skate and classic skiing on Saturday for a preview.
Then, we'll groom it for classic skiing (traditional xc skiing, no skate)
Saturday evening for Sunday's event.

The course is north of Chama on Cumbres Pass -- it's at a giant pullout
on the left side of the highway as you're headed up the pass. Yes, they
do have snow...amazingly. It's actually pretty decent too, as they're
usually in that same storm path line as Wolf Creek. The snow is not
nearly as deep as last year, but it's good enough.

The course starts just off the highway and winds it's way over the
rolling terrain just northwest of the highway until it intersects with
the Cumbres & Toltec railroad line. There, it turns directly west for a
while (you ski right on the railbed) until turning south, working your
way back through the valleys and woods until you turn back toward the
highway and the start/finish. The event will offer both a 10km (2 laps),
and a 5km (1 lap).

I'm not 100% certain as to how the registration is being handled, but I
do know that they usually just sign everyone up at the race start on the
morning of the event.

The event is promoted by the Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce and either
the Rotary or Lion's club, along with the Southwest Nordic Ski Club. The
event director is Che Johnson, and his number is:

505-756-4057

Here's your chance to get in some good skiing in New Mexico at a most
spectacular location.

Chama's website (with a tiny, little bit of info on the Chili Classic)
is:
http://www.chamavalley.com/

and another small website with more Chama info:
http://www.off-the-road.net/?page_id=47

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]