Posted on 03/05/2012 3:54:18 AM PST by marktwain
MASSENA — Walking into the woods Saturday behind the Massena Rod and Gun Club, 155 Patterson Road, was like stepping 200 years into the past.
Nearly a dozen competitors braved the elements for the first St. Lawrence Valley Primitive Snowshoe Biathlon.
One by one, the racers donned their wooden snowshoes, packed their long guns with black powder and trekked through the snowy woods, stopping only to take aim at several targets scattered throughout the mile-long course.
It was not only a race against the clock, but also a jump back into a world before automatic rifles and snowmobiles.
Contestants as young as 13 and as old as 75, some even donning 18th-century-style clothing, brandished old-fashioned weapons as they lined up the targets in their sights.
“This is a challenge,” Danielle M. Rougeau said as she wrapped up her run through the course. “But challenges are always fun.”
Hosted by a pair of Ogdensburg historical groups, Forsyth’s Rifles Inc. and the Fort La Presentation Association, the primitive biathlon featured 10 participants from New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.
The group was required to make its way through a flat, mile-long course while firing muzzle-loaders at five separate targets.
The sixth and final activity was an ax throw.
Contestants were timed as they made their way through the course. Each target they hit knocked five minutes off their total time.
The person at the end of the two-day event with the lowest time captured the crown.
While primitive biathlons have been popular in the Northeast for years, this was the first race of its kind in the north country.
“This time of year, people get cabin fever and are just looking to get outside,” organizer Frederick J. Hanss said. “It’s a nice thing we can do for the community.”
But racers had to battle more than just the clock as they looked to secure their place in north country biathlon history.
Winds gusted as high as 60 mph throughout the day, wreaking havoc on the shooters as they lined up their antique-style firearms and took aim at the orange targets set up 50 yards away.
“It’s better to be lucky than good,” said racer Harley A. Grice, 75, who smiled as he racked up another bull’s-eye.
The Middlebury, Vt., biathlon veteran capped off an impressive run through the course with two strikes in the hatchet throw.
Having competed in races for more than 15 years and shooting for more than 60, Mr. Grice said the Massena course was nice and much less treacherous than the mountain courses in New Hampshire.
“Except for the wind,” he added.
Proceeds from the biathlon will go to the Fort La Presentation Association campaignto raise funds to build an interpretive center and a replica of historic Fort de la Presentation at Lighthouse Point in Ogdensburg.
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