Ski To Sea: The Peaks and Valleys

Story by Miles Tennant

Illustrations by Sofie Pichler

As spring fades into summer, thousands gather to rush to the water at Marine Park, all trying to catch a glimpse of the first kayak rounding the final buoy. To say it’s a party atmosphere would be an understatement. The sounds of celebration fill the air as kayakers with jelly legs dismount and scrambled up the beach to ring the bell that signals their teams’ completion of Bellingham’s annual Ski to Sea race.

The party doesn’t stop after the first-place finish. All afternoon, the park is packed full of teammates, family, friends and curious onlookers all celebrating and sharing their tales of the race. “You’ve got eight people working toward a really difficult goal,” finish line chair Maureen Stewart said. “When the kayaker comes through and rings that bell, you see it on those teams’ faces. They’re just over the moon.”

One of Ski to Sea’s many standout aspects is the race’s team component. Teams consist of three to eight athletes who tackle a variety of different physical disciplines. Racers begin the day at 7:30 a.m. on Mount Baker with four miles of cross-country skiing. They hand off their timing chips off to teammates who complete the downhill ski or snowboard leg. This is followed by an eight-mile run and then a 41-mile bike leg down Mount Baker Highway, all the way to the banks of the Nooksack River in Everson.

Here, the race hits the water for the first time as teams of two paddle down the river in canoes before handing their chips off to teammates who will complete the penultimate leg of the race, cyclocross. For the final leg, athletes race across Bellingham Bay in kayaks, finishing at Marine Park. In total, the fastest teams finish in just under six hours, with the slowest pushing eleven.

Because of the large variety of athletic disciplines that make up the race, building or finding a team can be one of the biggest obstacles for potential competitors. Former Western Washington University student Javier Santana, who has competed in Ski to Sea, said that “half of the challenge is not racing. It’s putting a team together.”

If you’re looking to compete on May 26 and don’t have a ready-to-go team, the racer forum on the Ski to Sea website is a good place to start, Stewart said. There, you can advertise yourself as an individual or try to find others to do specific legs of the race. Users are able to type a few sentences about themselves and their experience with their discipline, and can also comment directly on other people’s posts to start forming connections.

According to Race Director Anna Rankin, the camaraderie built among teammates – and even other racers – is one of the best reasons to get involved.

“There are stories of people being put on a team together and meeting and then going on to get married,” Rankin said. “It’s special that it builds those kinds of connections.”

Local businesses play a big role in the makeup of the competition. It is common for businesses to sponsor teams, and Ski to Sea promotes such registration with its corporate division, one of many racing divisions offered. Everyone racing in this division must work for the same employer, creating a unique opportunity to connect with coworkers.

“What better way to have camaraderie with your co-workers than to ... be back in the office on Tuesday, just aching and in pain, talking about the experience,” Rankin said.

Businesses can sponsor teams in any division to avoid the registration restriction. The Inn at Lynden races in the competitive open division and chooses to sponsor a team because they want to see the race thrive.

“It is such an important signature event for our region: unique in its celebration of competition, camaraderie and the incredible recreational opportunities this area has to offer,” said Matt Treat, racer and co-owner of the Inn at Lynden. Treat is the only member of his team who actually works for the company.

At the sharp end of the competition, sponsoring a team comes with promotional benefits. Usually the athletes on these teams don’t have any affiliation with the company besides having their entry fee covered – they’re just there to win.

“For Birch Equipment or Beavers Tree Service being first place all the time, their name is known in the community, and a lot of it has to do with this race,” Stewart said.

Birch Equipment are back-to-back race winners after beating out Beavers Tree Service by just 33 seconds in 2022.

For those less interested in traversing any part of the grueling 93-mile course themselves, volunteering for the event is another great way to get involved, according to Rankin. Each year, the race committee needs 500 volunteers to help the event run smoothly. Every leg of the race needs its own support group for the event to function. Volunteers can sign up online and indicate what legs they can help out with. Lunch is supplied on race day, and an appreciation dinner is held after to thank those who participate.

Even with the chaos of race day, Stewart always manages to find time to admire what the event means to Bellingham.

“I stand up on the stage and look down the road ... and I just see an absolute sea of people,” Stewart said.

Whether you’re racing or crowding the sides of roadways and parks to cheer on participants, the event has something to offer everyone. And according to Santana, there’s always room for a “wet hug” at the finishing bell – followed promptly by “a fat burrito and a nap.”