Ski Racing - February 27, 2012

MASTERS Speed demon Dasha Kadulova is all smiles after an overall win in Class 4.

field of A/Bs, including perennial speed mer-
chants Franz “Fuxi” Fuchsberger (a Class 6
from Rocky Mountain) and Far West’s Ara Pa-
pazian, who races in Class 4.
“This super G really favored those who could
turn,” said Maxwell, a United Airlines pilot in
real life. “There was about 15 seconds of glid-
ing up top, and then a fun series of high-speed
turns. The field was small, but it was certainly
competitive. Any time Fuxi is racing, it raises
the level of competition.”
Back at the C/D race for the super combined
title, PNSA’s Class 9 Knut Olberg gave up some
time in the super G to Class 8 Jim Ragan from
Northern, but snuck by with the fastest slalom
run of the day to take top honors. Olberg might
be forgiven for not winning the speed portion of
the event, since he was wearing a neck brace
that made tucking a near-impossibility. Word on
the hill was that Olberg suffered a “condo ac-
cident” the previous evening. Friend and rival
Tim Hill was seeking verification at press time.

Among the women, transplanted Class 6
Easterner Lisa Densmore put down one of the
fastest super G runs of the day and survived a
challenge in slalom from Class 2 Beth Sarazine
to take the gold for the women and place fourth
overall in the C/Ds. Densmore is spending her
first winter in Montana and taking advantage of
the western circuit when time permits.
Day 2 of the Regionals saw the groups
switch disciplines as a new cast of characters
emerged. In the A/B super combined, PNSA’s
Class 5 Tim Hill took the top place, capitalizing
on a solid run of super G followed by a blister-
ing run of slalom. He powered past Northern
Class 3 ace Toby Chapman, the fastest man on
the hill in the super G portion of the event. This
was Chapman’s first race of the season, and
he only got faster as the series progressed.
Over on the super G course for the C/Ds, Dens-
more showed that she still has the gift for glid-
ing. She dusted the entire C/D group, including
the men’s winner, Olberg, and men’s runner-