Nordic newcomers.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

Talk about humble beginnings.

Hellder Lima had never even seen snow, let alone stood on a pair of skis, prior to his first race as the charter member of the Eugene-Springfield high school Nordic ski club in the winter of 2002.

As one might expect, the exchange student from Brazil finished dead last.

But that didn't deter Janice Hatton from continuing to push the idea of cross-country ski racing for high school kids in Lane County.

The Springfield attorney set up a booth during `club day' at South Eugene in the fall of 2002 to further promote the sport, and by the end of the day, she had two names on her list - Jon Frohnmayer and Aiden McGuire.

`We were just happy to have somebody that first year,' recalled Hatton, a competitive skier in college. `But I knew we needed more people.'

The recruiting burden quickly shifted to the students.

Frohnmayer, the son of University of Oregon president David Frohnmayer, coaxed his sister, Amy, into joining the club, and McGuire pulled in his friend, Dan Gusset. The Axemen soon had 10 members.

The club's steady growth continues to this day.

In its fourth year of existence, the local Nordic ski club now has 28 skiers, representing five area high schools. South Eugene still has the largest contingent at 18, but Sheldon, Thurston, Churchill and Springfield all have at least one member.

The local increase in participation parallels the statewide growth of the sport; 234 students registered to compete for 19 high schools in two leagues (Northern and Southern) this year. They compete under the auspices of the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association.

That's a significant leap from the 32 skiers who survived the sport's pilot program five years ago.

`Our goal is participation,' said Bend's Jinny Martin, who founded the Oregon Nordic ski program with her husband. `Other programs exist to develop World Cup athletes, and there are programs for little kids. We're doing this to introduce the sport of cross-country skiing to the high school population.'

It's not an easy sales job.

While most high school students have some familiarity with downhill skiing or snowboarding, the lure of Nordic skiing is more difficult to grasp. Gusset gave a typical response when first asked if he would be interested in joining the club.

`It sounded boring,' he said. `Who wants to go for a walk in the woods on skis?'

He has since changed his tune.

In his third season on the varsity Nordic ski team, Gusset not only trumpets the strength and conditioning benefits of the sport, but he also talks about how much fun it is to be part of a rapidly improving team.

Plus, there are no $40 lift tickets to buy.

`I wish people would be more open-minded about cross-country skiing,' he said. `There's a lot of negativity about the sport from people who have no idea what it is.'

`My first time on skis was my first cross-country race,' added Amy Frohnmayer. `This is my third year and everyone has gotten much better. The team keeps growing, and it's so much fun to watch this happen. ... We all get in great shape and have a lot of fun.'

It takes only three skiers to form a full varsity team.

In the Southern League, which includes Ashland (11 skiers), Bend (24), Churchill (1), Gilchrist (8), Mountain View (54), Sheldon (4), South Eugene (18), Springfield (1) and Thurston (4), there are six races leading up to the state championships, Feb. 25-26, at Willamette Pass.

The weekly competitions usually include a 5,000-meter individual race - using either classic or freestyle technique - and a 3x1,000-meter relay in which three skiers each complete one circuit of the course.

Sheldon is working hard to maintain a full team for the first time this year. The Irish have three committed skiers in juniors Caitlin McKimmy, Elizabeth Butt and Kristen Fauria, but McKimmy will be heading to Chile on an exchange trip one week before state, and they are frantically searching for a replacement.

In the meantime, they're learning how to ski, getting in great shape and having a blast in the snow.

`It's all about having fun,' McKimmy said. `I like going to the snow. That's the best. There's no time to think about the pain when it's so pretty outside.'

For the most part, all of the local high school Nordic skiers work out together. They gather at South Eugene three days a week for dry-land training and head to the mountains on weekends for races and on-snow training.

`The whole thing is run by parent volunteers,' said Charles Wilshire, the husband of Janice Hatton and the head coach of the local Nordic ski club. `Every team will host a race, and that means the parents of that team put on the race, from trail officials and course monitors to taking care of the refreshment stand with soup, hot chocolate and cookies.'

The cost for students to get involved with the Nordic ski club includes two components - team dues and equipment.

According to Wilshire, this year's team dues were $180, which covers liability insurance, transportation, ski wax, trail passes for all races and practices and membership in the Southern League and OISRA.

Equipment costs depend on whether a skier wants to rent a set of used skis, poles and boots - you need a separate set of poles and skis for each style of racing - or if they prefer to buy new gear.

`My wife and I own 25 sets of everything and we rent them out for $150 for the whole season,' Wilshire said. `For those kids that want to buy skis and get fully set up with good racing equipment, it will cost about $600 to $700 for boots, two sets of poles and two sets of skis.'

The biggest obstacle for local Nordic skiers is the lack of snow.

The Central Oregon schools, led by Mountain View, which has the largest team in the state with 54 skiers, have a distinct competitive advantage because they can train on snow during the week.

Some schools even have groomed trails available on their athletic fields during the winter.

`We've never been able to compete with the Bend-area skiers because they have more opportunities for on-snow training,' Hatton said. `Sometimes our first on-snow training is the first race of the season.'

However, that gap appears to be closing.

Although Mountain View's Mike Condon and Catherine Jager dominated the first two races of the year - with first-place finishes at Willamette Pass and Diamond Lake - the South Eugene skiers had breakthrough performances.

On the boys side, Gusset placed second and fourth in the first two individual races, while McGuire was ninth and 11th. In addition, South's Hanna Rosenthal-Fuller was eighth in the girls individual race Saturday.

In past years, the best finish a local skier could muster was 20th.

`Eugene is taking off right now,' Martin said. `It takes two to three years to learn this sport, and those kids are moving right up. ... It's very exciting to watch.'

CAPTION(S):

Mike Condon of Mountain View, winner of both individual races this season, pushes toward the finish line in a team relay race. Sheldon's Elizabeth Butt (left) and Nordic coach Charles Whilshire help Kristen Fauria tie on her relay race bib at Willamette Pass. Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard It might get cold enough to freeze rain on the tree branches, but the cross-country skiers feel the burn over 5,000-meter individual races.