Pebble Creek hosts annual Telemark Festival Sunday

Pebble Creek held its annual Telemark Festival Sunday, under the sunny blues skies in Inkom.

For nearly twenty years, Pebble has been hosting the festival. It’s an event that Ski Patroller Tim Arrington says changes on a regular basis.

“We used to do an uphill terrain race and that kind of fell out of favor I think, not a lot of people are too into it,” Arrington explained.

“We used to call it the ‘hike and puke’ because you’d skim from the bottom all the way to the top and then a lot of folks would really struggle with the race later in the day.”

Fortunately for racers, there’s no hike and puke this year.

On average, between twenty and thirty people, of all ages and skill levels, participate, but the number tends to fluctuate according to Arrington.

“You never really know with tele-skiers, whether they’re going to show up late or show up at all, but I’m hoping the sunny day and the huge snow totals we have for the year bring people out,” he explained.

Aside from the competitive nature of the event, Arrington said it’s a pretty relaxed day.

“We do kind of a big round of tie-dying, later on, after the race, and then all just get together in the lodge to shoot the breeze and hang out.”

While the race was going on, some members of the mountain were preparing for next week’s event, the Cowboy Classic.

“It’s been a few years since they have done that race,” Arrington said. “Sounds like it’s going to be pretty exciting.”

Arrington said he’s really looking forward to it since he’s never seen the event before. The mountain said that if it’s a success it could be held annually.

The Cowboy Classic will be held next Sunday, March 17, from 1-5 p.m.