The Inside Edge - skiing action sizzles
n Buddy Werner Championships — Named for an American skiing icon, cut down in his youth, this event is the “big dance” for athletes aged 12 and under. It’s the first major regional event these young athletes attend, and as you can imagine, comes with its share of anxiety and excitement. Hotel rooms, banquets, opening ceremonies and special prizes. Each of the 30 teams in the Pacific Northwest Division selects their best and they meet for two days of Giant Slalom and Slalom competition.
This year Mount Spokane was host to nearly 300 athletes racing in open competition. Six local athletes attended. On the girl’s side, Lani Wahl disqualified in Slalom and finished 46th in Giant Slalom. She was one of the stronger athletes coming into the event and threw it down the course, but had some difficulties. Caroline Supigger was 55th in Slalom and 59th in Giant Slalom. All of the boys disqualified in Giant Slalom on a difficult, off camber, course. Cory Diel was the top Slalom finisher with 33rd, followed by Alex Baker at 69th and Chris Cordova in 96th. Michael Demko was in the first seed for both events, but disqualified each time. Championships are tough. Big fields, heightened pressure and tougher venues conspire to test rising athletes. It’s all part of the process.
n Nate Chute Hawaiian Classic — Ashlyn Parker travelled to Whitefish, Mont., to test herself against a tough Bordercross field last weekend. She raced in the difficult “Open Class.” Interestingly, the organizers stacked five women per heat, making it all the more difficult. She battled her way through four heats to land 3rd place and an impressive podium result. Her next stop will be USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
n J2 National Championships — After opening with a silver medal in Downhill, Scott Snow disqualified in both Giant Slalom and Slalom at the J2 National Championships at Aspen, Colorado. But he bounced back to win the Super G crown on the final day. These results earned him a berth at U.S. Alpine Nationals in Alyeska, Alaska next week.
n Jimmy Heuga Vertical Express for MS — Once again Billy Bob Goyen and Brandon Moon brought together a successful fund raiser for this important cause. There was the traditional Giant Slalom competition plus an obstacle course run which combined for a fun and challenging day. Costumes were the order of the day and their were some doozies. The obstacle course was won by Danny Voltz, followed closely by Peter Faletto and Tom Chasse. The Giant Slalom competition was tight, with Alex Wohllaib edging out George Frazier and Danny Voltz. However, once times were adjusted for age, weight, type ski, personal hygiene, bad looks and attitude, George Frazier and Dave Caldwell out-distanced the pack!
n Grom Stomp — Schweitzer hosted its first ever Rider-X and Slopestyle events for athletes aged 6-11. As of press time we were only provided top three finishers in every division, sorry. Azina Taylor had a great weekend in the 8-9 year old division, with Bronze finishes in both events. Sims MacDonald was 3rd in age 6-7 Rider-X. And Theo Icardo won age 6-7 Slopestyle, closely followed by Will Lange. Brennan Powell took Silver in age 8-9 Slopestyle with Zion Hartley taking Bronze in the same event. Andre Kemink also claimed 3rd in 10-11 Rider-X, while Gavin Klein was 3rd for Slopestyle in the same division. Kick Kamp won the 9-11 year old Rider-X and was third in Slopestyle. Other local participants were: Roan Allen, Quinn and Sara Donnelly, Nathan Faggard Dante Kemink, Sam Powell and Bode and Summer Ross.
n Stomp Games — The groomers have been doing extra duty preparing some big air and challenging skier/boarder cross courses on the front side of the hill. This weekend will includes a rail jam, slopestyle and ridercross. Events are open to all pro and amateur skiers and riders. Guaranteed purses for all Pro divisions. More than $10K in prizes! Contact Brandon Peterson at 263-9555 for details.
n Potpourri — Remember all the snow we didn’t get in January and February? It’s here! Start getting those dummies ready — the big race is April 6. Any comments, recommendations or contributions to this column may be sent to Shep Snow by e-mail at “shep@thesnowschool.com.”
The Inside Edge appears every Thursday during ski season in Daily Bee.