It's 8:25 a.m. and a mass of T-shirt-clad cross-country skiers wait inside the chute.

Nervous first-timers bounce in place, counting down the moments until the starting dynamite blast. Confident old-timers stretch in the sun, their skis sliding along the mushy snow.

A last-minute skier dressed as Chewbacca jumps across the barricade, getting himself in place with less than a minute to go.

A crack echoes across the mountain side, launching the skiers into motion.

Ski to Sea 2008 has begun.

HELP WANTED

"Anyone Need a XC Skier?"

That's what David Wight’s cardboard sign asked everyone who walked by him at the ski area lodge.

The Bellingham resident's team had registration problems, leaving the competitor without a team. So, the 36-year-old decided to take a chance and do the early-morning trip up the mountain in case someone needed help.

"I was thinking very positively," he said, adding he wanted to make sure he participated because "it is the amazing race."

By the time the race started, Wight's sign could only be seen in the recycling bin by the registration table. Lucky for him, Exxel Pacific (gonna beat)A Team's cross-country skier had car problems. Wight quickly stepped in to fill the void.

WHO NEEDS PRACTICE

Dominic Tracy's cross-country skis, shiny rainbow-colored pants and snowmen boxers only come out once a year – Ski to Sea race day.

The Ferndale resident has worn the same outfit for the last three years, in an effort to make it easier for his downhill skier to find him in the crowd.

For Tracy’s fourth Ski to Sea race, he thinks he did pretty well, finishing the cross country leg in the top third of the group and only falling once "at high speed."

But the 28-year-old, who was competing for the Peanuts Gang, doesn't practice. He just spends the race "gasping and wheezing."

"I make up for the lack of shape and talent by trying hard," he said.

SPIDERMAN ON SKIS

Spiderman made an appearance at the cross-country leg Sunday morning, even though he's not an avid skier.

"In fact, I haven't stood in cross-country skis in five years," said Daniel Laggner, 27, who wore the suit with pride. "But a superhero should be able to adapt."

The team donned '80s attire, with Laggner's teammates in spandex, metallics and large earrings.

The first-time competitor from Olympia joined his friends on Team Awesome after they couldn't find anyone else to pick up the empty leg.

"No one else would do it," Laggner said.

CAN'T MISS 'EM

If anyone needed a dentist during the race, all they needed to do was look for the Toothfairies.

Bellingham dentist, and first-time competitor, Dave Schneider put together an easily noticeable team: men and women alike wore pink tutus and sparkly wings.

"I've lived here coming up on four years and I just keep hearing about (Ski to Sea) so I thought, 'I got to do it,' " Schneider said.

During a fast curve on the cross-country route, Schneider lost his sunglasses, but he said the hardest part was when the downhill and cross-country skiers had to cross paths.

"You have all this momentum and then you have to stop," he said.