Screaming Snowshoers make waves on mountain

Barbara Lawlor

02/15/2007 - Darrin Eisman swears it’s true, as true as the Yetis, the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. He says he has heard the legendary tribe of screaming snow people; that, in fact, one snowy, bitter cold night, when he was lost and delirious, they saved his life.

  So convinced was he that he owed something to the Yeti-like critters who helped him out, that he named a race after them, a snowshoe race, that is—the only Front Range snowshoe race, The Screamin’ Snowman.

  On Sunday morning, at the Eldora Nordic Center, close to 300 snowshoers, many of them beginners, lined up at the bottom of the hill. Some of them were screaming. Most were shivering (dressed lightly because of the heat they create) as they waited for the start.

  The 10K took off first, up the slope that parallels the beginner hill. They were more serious, flinging snow off their big feet as they sprinted up the hill.

  Five minutes later the bulk of the racers, the 5K runners and walkers, took off, dressed in reds and limes and purples, creating a spreading artist’s palette against the white canvas of the snow.

  The course starts uphill, then winds over a lot of track, into the trees, through deep snow with powder flying behind the racers.

  The Screamin’ Snowman 5K & 10K has been selected for the fifth year as one of the Rocky Mountain Regional Qualifying Races for the National Snowshoe Championships to be held in Minneapolis in March.

  Local runner Brian Hunter said it was the fifth year he has entered the snowshoe event. He finished in the top 20 every year.

  Scott Fliegelman of Boulder stretched in a Yoga-like position before the start. He was on a mission. “Last year it was Eldora-1, Scott-0. I am going to even the score this year.”

  About 30 minutes after the start, the first 5K racer blew through the finish and fought to catch his breath. Kevin Noleen of Castle Rock said, “Man, it was tough. There were ups and downs and lots of powder. I didn’t think it would be that tough.”

  The walkers said it was beautiful once they got into the trees and out of the wind.

  There is a warning in the Nordic Center lodge telling people to be aware that moose have been spotted near Zarlengo and Buckeye Loops and that they can be dangerous.

  At the end of the race, there were no reports of moose, or Yetis or Loch Ness Monsters. But there was a Big Foot at the end of a microphone, greeting people as they arrived at the finish.

  Dave Felkley, otherwise known as Big Foot, is the local snowshoe guru who announces most sporting events in the mountains.