The snow stuck to the ground last Saturday, perhaps providing the potential for some early snowshoe or ski orienteering fans to take up some practice, but everyone (well most everyone - note picture below!) stuck to their feet and had fun doing it...

[1]
Ken and Peter Beckner sprint, and perhaps slide, into the finish just before time is up.


On the short course, Kristin showed she still was in running shape by preloading the control spotters into the stroller and then proceeding to handily get all the points and back with a good five seconds to spare under time! Ken and Peter Beckner gave her a slippery run for her money tho, and came back with a minute to spare but having carefully judged a couple controls wouldn't be worth the risk. Peter gave the snow a good flop after finishing his run in. Karin, fresh from the Anza Borrego meet but with a lingering bad cold, gave the course a go anyway to keep warm and turned in a very respectable third place time, even if Jeff forgot to tell her how much the penalty was. Dondi, the better half of Jeff, tackled the course too and made a go for all the controls, and Jeff's subconscious communication apparently also goofed on the point penalty note. Andy and Elijah made for the most energetic round, generating some serious snowball production in the process and coming in a wee bit overtime. Karin had to defend herself vigorously from the sneaky Elijah around the start zone. No doubt the beginner course covered in snow made for a real winter O fest.

The long course naturally pulled Sergey in from his new San Jose climate, where Jeff's extra 5 minutes for snowy conditions proved right at his limit. He managed to snag every point with just a few seconds to spare and set the usual first place bar high. Doug LaMott, first time codirecting headed out on his own and strategically skipped a mere 5 pointer on the northwest corner of Julia Davis park, giving him a close second. Not far behind, however, was the increasingly experienced Michael Bading, who has been practicing his thumbing and took some novel route choices on the road across the parks (even crossing Ann Morrison bridge five minutes before the max) to make a strong third place finish after garnering every control. Rumor has it both Sergey and Michael both crossed the frozen ice between ZZ and GG to save time. Jay Morgan arrived again, unable to resist the pull of the park meet, and gave a very nice fourth place run with some selective control choices. Jeff Decker, who also missed the secret Jeff morse code communication about point penalties and max time, proceeded to get nearly all of them (and hence keeping warmer), with a hefty time penalty pushing him into fifth. Returning newcomers Greg Davidson (who tried a couple of these before) and Melanie Schuster (first time out) had a great time balancing time and points and returned only a bit overtime. I think they'll be back.

Results (5 points deducted for each full minute over time):

Short course: 9 controls, 100 points, Ann Morrison map, 30 minutes max	
				Time	Points	Penalty	Final
Kristin Ritzenthaler and family	0:29:55	100	0	100
Ken and Peter Beckner		0:28:33	80	0	80
Karin Didesse			0:32:54	85	10	75
Dondi Black			0:36:00	95	30	65
Andy and Elijah Hill		0:39:12	80	45	35
						
Long course:  18 controls, 190 points, Ann Morrison and JD/BDU maps, 45 minutes max
				Time	Points	Penalty	Final
Sergey Velichko			0:45:27	190	0	190
Doug LaMott			0:46:33	185	5	180
Michael Bading			0:47:33	190	10	180
Jay Morgan			0:49:27	165	20	145
Jeff Decker			1:01:42	180	80	100
Greg Davidson, Melanie Schuster 0:50:03	80	25	55

Sergey's control order:
PT-QQ-CC-ZZ-GG-DD-AL-BB-HH-
MR-FF-JD-LM-MM-LL-XX-XF-RN
(HH to MR crossing Capitol street instead of using the Greenbelt)

[2]
Kristin Ritzenthaler and family after snowplowing to some controls.


Great thanks go to co-director Doug LaMott, who hung out in the chilly conditions helping start and finish (it's a lot colder when you're sitting around) and picked up half the controls. Many thanks also to Jeff Decker who picked up the other half.

Looking forward to seeing you in two weeks in an even snowier McCall on the newly expanded and labryrinthine Bear Basin ski trails. Karin Didesse will direct on Sunday, February 10th. Rumor has it both ski and snowshoe are legit choices again.

Jeff Black