With a lack of snow plaguing the Northwest, most people have packed away their skis and snowboards and traded them for hiking boots and bikes. However, there are some people whose skis are still out — and are year-round.

One of these people is Wenatchee High School sophomore Moses Lurbur, a nordic (cross country) skier headed to Truckee, Calif., on March 6 to compete in a week of competitions at Cross-Country Skiing Junior Nationals. Lurbur is competing at nationals with the Pacific Nordic Ski Association (PNSA), a division of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association that includes Oregon, Washington, and Western Idaho.

Lurbur races in kilometers instead of miles, and said that there are distance races, up to 5k, and shorter races, sprints, at 1 or 1.5k. In addition, there are two types of races: skate, which Lurbur says is “like ice skating” in terms of motion, and classic, more similar to running. Lurbur competes in both.

Lurbur is one of the top three skiers in the PNSA for his age group. This is his second year heading to Junior Nationals. Last year in Stowe, Vermont, home of the famous Von Trapp family, he ranked approximately 40th out of 170 skiers in his age division.

Lurbur says his strong suit is the 5k skate, and that he has been on the podium for the entire year in the PNSA region. Despite the fact he will be competing against friends and the top skiers of his age, Lurbur said he wasn’t as nervous for the competition as he is for the snow quality.

“I’m excited, [but] I think I’m more nervous about the snow than anything else. I had a blast last time, the snow was amazing, and you can’t have a good race without good snow.”