Jerome Jackson, second place among M09 men in the 30 km Sonot Kkaazoot (an age group that had only one original equipment knee out of the four skiing), was among the three back-of-the-pack skiers at the top of the South Tower loop along with Dermot Cole and yours truly. He like Dermot was using the “woodel walk” technique. However, unlike Dermot, Jerome woodel walked for 20 km and then decided to skate. The huge spike in heart rate, shown above, resulted from this decision.

In addition to be 70 years old, this is Jerome’s first Sonot Kkaazoot with his bionic knee. Jerome acquired his first total knee replacement this past summer. The rehabilitation is long and arduous after a total joint replacement, but many more years of less painful skiing are possible. More specific skate ski training may be necessary to get one’s heart rate down as low as woodel walking, though. Jerome may be the first documented prove of the value of woodel walking.