STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Not all of those who took part in the Boulder Mountain Tour were as serious as the first few dozen racers that crossed the finish line.
Four Wood River Valley women proved that, wearing balloon suits that made them look like—well—blobs on skis.
Glo Kimball, Lucy Bourret, Kelly Martin and Lynn Chaldu attracted plenty of attention as they struggled to slip their commemorative racing bibs over their fashionable bodies at the starting line. As the airhorn sounded, began skiing bowlegged down the course.
“We wanted to take part in the Boulder--we knew it was the 50th anniversary so we had to do it. But we didn’t want to get too serious about it,” said Glo Kimball. “We’ve had dogs come up and check us out, children look us over. People are so nice. They say, ‘Do you mind us asking what you’re doing?’ ”
The four deflated their costumes near Russian John until they got to Baker Creek. They crossed the finish line about three hours after they left the starting line.
"It was fun and a lot of work. We stayed out of trouble and got a lot of comments from other skiers. And what a gorgeous day! So, it was perfect for a memorable 50-year anniversary of the BMT!" said Kimball.
The first racers to take part in the Boulder Mountain Tour when it began in 1973 skied in knickerbockers and leather boots. Bob Rosso, one of the founders, won the 1974 tour on wooden skis.
Winners were honored in a lovely celebration at The Elephants Perch Thursday night over chili and tortilla soup around the firepit. EJ Harpham, Mike Sinnott, Julie Gorton, Zack Simons, Janet Kellam, two-time winner Dave Bingham, and three-time winner Gabrielle Anderson, who went on to run a memorable marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, were given framed copies of the race’s commemorative poster, along with yellow ski caps that proclaimed them “BMT Champs.”
“Once a Boulder champion, always a Boulder champion!” proclaimed emcee Muffy Ritz.
Andy Munter, longtime owner of Backwoods Mountain Sports, felt compelled to ski the Boulder Mountain Tour Saturday for the first time in a decade.
“I remember in the late ‘70s they had mas starts and it was so chaotic—fun chaotic. The best thing they ever did was rename it the Boulder Mountain Tour from the Sawtooth Mountain Marathon. That gave hundreds of people permission to ski it in tour mode—it became a community thing.”
SPY IN THE SKY?
The full moon was setting as volunteers began heading north Saturday morning to get the course ready. The full moon this weekend prompted Nils Ribi, who was in charge of erecting the banners for many years, to quip that it might really the Chinese satellite spying on the elite skiers to see what wax they were putting on their skis.
“Enjoy the full moon on Sunday!” he added.