Soldier Hollow Nordic Center’s annual Schutzenski Festival will host biathlon and cross-country ski races this week with top athletes trying to qualify for the World Cup team. This may seem like business as usual except for one minor detail: the lack of snow.
Team Soldier Hollow’s Senior Sports Manager Gerrit Garberich said there’s a good reason for that.
“That’s because the World Cup season starts around Thanksgiving," he said. "So there's not that much time to do it on snow and the places where there is snow that early are kind of hard to get to. So they just found that it's easier to do it on roller skis and do it in October in Utah.”
Despite the lack of snow, the festival will have plenty of great events for these world-class athletes and the community.
“Friday, there will be biathlon races that qualify athletes for the World Cup teams," said Garberich. "And then also an open-class race that any citizen biathlete can do who can roller ski around our roller loop safely. And then Saturday, there is a running race and open roller ski races, just cross country.”
There will also be an athlete meet and greet on Saturday. “Big names who will be racing this weekend include Jessie Diggins, world champ last year and Olympic gold medalist in Pyeongchang and silver medalist in Beijing," he said.
Spectators can join in the fun as well on Saturday morning with a 5K and 10K, and a memorable 1K Kids Dino Run led by an inflatable T. Rex. And that afternoon there’s a free “Try Biathlon'' clinic where the public can take their best shots with an Anschutz rifle, the same kind used by 97% of World Cup biathletes.
And for anyone curious about the festival’s name –Schutzenski– there’s a funny answer for that.
“It’s supposed to be kind of like Octoberfest," said Garberich. "Biathlon has really big German roots. And yeah, I think ‘shoots and ski’ was to make it look German, but make it sound American.”
The best of both worlds but it will be the Americans leaving their mark on Soldier Hollow’s slopes this week.
