Life Down Under, Part 2

Skiing the Kangaroo Hoppet

With international travel and racing on hold, we reached back 10 years into the archives to share this 2010 update from Garrott during his first trip to the Southern Hemisphere.

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September 2, 2010 

After ten days of murky, overcast Australian skies, I awoke on Saturday morning to bright sunshine streaming through the window. A bluebird day was the ideal backdrop to the 2010 Kangaroo Hoppet. Three feet of fresh powder had fallen on Falls Creek during the previous week and was groomed to perfection under the starry night with the Southern Cross clearly visible above, reminding me how far I was from home. Over 1000 skiers from around the world toed the line for either the 42km Hoppet, 21km Australian Birkebeiner, or the 7km Joey Hoppet. 

The cannon blasted at 9:30am and we were off. The field strung out quickly through what locals appropriately call “Sun Valley.” The front runners took turns at the lead and by the time we came through the first aid station at 7km, there was already a five-skier breakaway, including four-time 

Racers in the Kangaroo Hoppet

Hoppet champ Ben Sim, Continental Cup champ Callum Watson, Australian biathlete Alex Almoukov, Swiss sprint Olympian Valerio Leccardi and yours truly. 

Once we realized we had broken away from the field, the pace settled into a consistent cruise. The local resort television station had a snowmobile documenting the race, making the race feel that much more pro. The first 10km of the 21km loop are very flat, skirting around the Rocky Valley Dam reservoir. The second half of the loop gets hilly, with a 6km constant V1 climb, dubbed “the Paralyzer.” I took the lead up the Paralyzer and was treated to untracked corduroy snaking up through the snow gum trees. Our little group stuck together over the high point and back down through the lap. 

On our second lap, the race got a little more interesting as we lapped hundreds of skiers in the smaller races, darting through gaps and getting cheers from the folks we passed. There was even a pair of beginners who, upon getting passed, called out with Australian accents, “Hey fellas, mind stopping to give us a quick lesson?” Life is full of tough decisions. 

Before I knew it, I was back with the pack and cruising up the Paralyzer for the second time—a little faster than the first. Leccardi hammered over the top and split our little group into pieces. Unfortunately, I was the caboose of the train and almost derailed on the fast descent. It was fun slaloming past the lapped skiers, but the gap between me and the leaders kept getting bigger. 

In the end Leccardi comfortably took the win, with Almoukov, Sim, Watson, and I rounding out the Top-5. Skiers kept coming across the finish line for the next six hours. Among them was my dad, in Australia for the Hoppet—completing his 11th Worldloppet marathon. We kicked back at the finish line, soaking up the warm Australian sun in t-shirts, enjoying kangaroo burgers after an exciting day at the races. 

Kangaroos at Sunset in Mt Beauty

I have another week here Down Under and look forward to enjoying some more sun and ideal winter conditions before heading home. See you on the trail!