Catching up with current, former ski racers
• Big League report — Olympic years have a real impact on the World Cup competitors. It’s truly the big show and they are all vying for the few slots available to each nation. The elevated intensity makes these the best seasons for ski racing fans. The season is still young, but the World Cup circuit is well under way. It started at Solden, Austria on Oct. 25 and is now in North America. Two-time overall World Cup Champion Lindsey Vonn is at it again and atop the 2010 standings. She won two Downhills and took Silver in Super G at Lake Louise last weekend, and The Edge had the pleasure of watching it live.
On the Men’s side, the big buzz is about Bode Miller returning to the U.S. Team after three years of competing independently. We’re betting there were a number of concessions on both sides to close the deal, but the addition of Miller can do nothing but elevate everyone’s game. Although he didn’t start training on snow until four weeks ago, he posted an impressive fourth place finish at the Birds of Prey downhill in Colorado last week.
• Where have all the racers gone? — We thought it might be fun to hunt up some recently departed FIS racers and let you know what they’re up to. Probably the most notable Schweitzer alumni is Will Brandenburg. I’ve run into Will several times this autumn and he’s pretty fired up about the Olympic year. As you know, he’s on the U.S. Ski Team and made a real splash upon arriving there three seasons ago. Within a year he got his first World Cup start, but then the problems started. Over time he suffered myriad small fractures in his tibia, below the knee and last year he had to leave competition mid-season for surgery and recovery. After a summer of strength training at the state-of-the-art facilities at the team headquarters in Park City … he’s back. Will opens the season at the NORAM tech races at Loveland Park, and is currently at Lake Louise for the NORAM speed series. His tech skiing is really strong and his goal is a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for Vancouver in 2010.
Will’s running mates at SARS, Ryan Farmin, John Guthrie and Ian Bray are in college. They all raced in Division I programs for a year or two, then hung up the skis for other pursuits. Erik and Drew Anderson are both at the University of Idaho and race for the club program there. Last season Erik posted some great results winning several races and leading his team. Courtney Nova is finishing school and got married last summer. Chelsea Nova chased the dream to Colorado for two seasons, but is now attending college in Oregon and coaching little racers at Mount Bachelor on the weekends.
• Junior news — Time flies and we have a new local Junior racer emerging, Lani Wahl. Lani will be a first year J3 this year after several promising results last season. Her father, and ex-World Cup racer Reidar, has come out of retirement to coach the J3 group for SARS. Lani trained hard this summer, including a camp at Whistler B.C. and has already been on snow (er, ice) at Panorama for a week last month. We’ll be reporting her progress this year. Scott Snow returns after a banner season in 08-09. He’s been on snow for seven weeks in Europe, Colorado and Canada this Fall, including a session with the U.S. Team. His season kicks off this week with the NORAM downhills in Lake Louise. Full report next week.
• SARS Holiday Camp — This camp is a great way for young skiers to jump-start their ski year. The camp is for athletes 5-12 years-old and runs from Dec. 27-31 (five days on snow). Cost is $199. Contact Jamie Landwehr at (208) 946-7859.
• Schweitzer Junior Race Series — Get off your duff and sign up! Time is flying by and this one fills quickly. Whether you are experienced or have never raced before, this series is for you. Last year’s program was a huge success and we already have more than 80 percent of the kids returning. The racers will be organized into seven, mathematically equal teams based upon NASTAR handicaps. Each team will have two coaches. The first day (Friday, Jan. 2) will be a coached, “learn to race” clinic followed by timed runs through the NASTAR course. The following three Friday evenings (Jan. 9, 16 and 23) will center around the race course, with some coaching on the side. Each member of the winning team receives medals and everyone gets a neat T-shirt at the final party. The goal is having fun and making friends. A great deal at a very low price ($38), registration is limited to 80 kids, so act now! Registration forms are available at local ski shops or contact Shep Snow at 263-3552.
Shep Snow’s The Inside Edge appears every Thursday during ski season in the Daily Bee.