Those Mounds of Snow at Mt. Telemark!

Silent Sports Magazine Via Michael Gibbs

Dear Birkie Lovers and Worriers: We are all aware of what Winter 2024 has wrought on our ski events. If you watched the January 29th Q. & A. with Ben Popp and Kristy Maki - great job! - you know Birkie event changes are likely. We also know that because of the thin and still-thinning ice on Lake Hayward, along with the 7 to 10-day weather forecast, there will be no Main Street finish, sad to say. But as Kristy and Ben made clear, with all the advancements the ABSF has made, and foresight, real hope abounds that a meaningful Birkie Week will happen.

The Q. & A. session showed a brief and cool drone video of a human-made snow pile (Mountain)! And Michael Gibbs, who does great work with CAMBA, generously (thank you!) went to the Birkie start area and took photos of two such mountains of snow, along with some size perspective. With temps in the 30s and 40s coming up, these snow piles should self-refrigerate to minimize loss. The ABSF in 2024 is doing amazing things. Its hard work makes a meaningful 50th Birkie Week more likely to happen. With tons of thank yous to Michael, please take a look at these photos, below.

Thank you, Bruce Steinberg, Managing Editor, Silent Sports Magazine

Michael Gibbs: Attached are three shots of two massive snow piles at Telemark. They both have peaks over 20 feet high and are each easily over 100 yards long. I tried my best to give them a relevant scale.