Monday, March 29
Sure enough, on the morning of the first event, racers awoke
to light rain and fog; snow covered the top of the mountain.
Running the super G portion of the race was out of the ques-
tion, but with the help of a robust crew of instructors under
the guidance of ski school director and masters racer Nick
Maricich, the one-run slalom portion of the super combined
for the entire field came off without a glitch.
Bill Skinner said he was impressed with the level of support
from the mountain management throughout the series, espe-
cially during the weather-challenged first few days. “They had
the passion to make this event the best ever, and it showed,”
said Skinner in reference to the legions of ski instructors, who
raked, shoveled and side-slipped to keep the courses smooth.
Tuesday, March 30
Unfortunately, the foul weather did not let up and Tuesday’s
races were cancelled. Some rested while others tested the
newly fallen snow. Class 5 racer Lisa Densmore gave the powder skiing review for the day: “Windblown and unpredictable
on top; beautiful in the middle of the mountain; yucky goo at
the bottom — not all that much fun.”
Wednesday, March 31
Despite some lingering fog, the race crews dug in early on
Wednesday morning and the super G was finally underway. “It
was a great race hill and wonderful course,” said Densmore.
“It was ‘fun fast’ — plenty of speed without being too intimi-
dating. The top was smooth and fast, but when you got to the
bottom where it had been raining, it was all death-cookies
and rough. So you had to ski like crazy on the top and then
hang on at the bottom. But it was the race crew that made it
happen.”
The local guns for hire didn’t waste any time making their
presence known, particularly on a hill they knew so well.
In the super combined, Robin Sarchett (Class 3) and Nate
Schwing (Class 2) finished first and second in Group A
(Classes 1-4), while Erika Hogan claimed top honors among
the women (Group C). The B Group (Classes 4-7) was won
by PNSA racer Tim Hill, but local coach Matt Murphy won
the super G portion, and placed second to Hill in the super
combined. The Group D (Classes 8-13) victor was Victor Roy
of Intermountain, who squeezed by Easterner Bob Andree.
Hogan (Class 1) enjoyed the rush of competing in her first
race since her NCAA collegiate days at Colorado and later at
Utah. “It was awesome to see that the top girls were so com-
petitive; I had no idea what to expect,” said Hogan. “Racers
like Carolyn (Beckedorff ) and Jessie (McAleer) really brought
some depth to the field.”
