Raced the Alpental Vertfest randonee today. Sam was in charge of a bunch of the setup and planning, so I helped volunteer. Overall turnout was close to 100 racers, with all proceeds going to Friends of NWAC. This was my first time using AT gear and it was definitely a noticeable improvement in efficiency compared to my splitboard. Overall I made a few major and minor mistakes, punctuated by a long sliding fall on the skin track that cost me 4-5 places, and a route finding error on the descent. Still, I felt reasonably fit, and my skiing ability seems to be improving. I am dealing with some fit issues with my boots, but I ordered a shim from Scarpa that I hope will fix things up.

Things I learned:

• Starting fast is of utmost importance as passing later is difficult to impossible.
• Take it slow on sections if a fall is possible
• Review the course map