2,400 Feet of Schweitzer raises more than $160,000

Longest Giant Slalom course in the nation draws 85 racers

SANDPOINT — A chance to race on the longest Giant Slalom course in the United States, while also raising money for Cystinosis, brought out 85 participants for the 2,400 Feet of Schweitzer event on Saturday.

The annual 24Hoursforhank fundraiser changed formats this year, switching from a round-the-clock 24 hour event to a grueling 2.5 mile Giant Slalom course, and with great results, both in fast times and fundraising.

All told, more than $160,000 was raised for Cystinosis research, a rare genetic disease that affects local Henry Sturgis, which made the event a rousing success as skiers turned out in hopes of helping find a cure. The annual event has now raised more than $1.2 million dollars to cure Cystinosis.

The GS course started at sunrise at the Sky House Lodge amid a blizzard, and finished 2,400 feet below at The Outback Lodge, a leg-burning course to say the least, raced two hours before Schweitzer opened to public traffic.

“It snowed a lot. Everybody really enjoyed how we changed it up, bringing a race competition to it. It brought a lot of new people to the event,” said organizer Brian Sturgis, who wished to thank Schweitzer and the entire community for their support. “To be able to ski as the sun rises was pretty awesome too.”

Ian Bray was the fastest finisher, clocking in at 3 minutes, 28 seconds to post the fastest time among the 46 men, followed closely by Matt Gillis (3:31) and Rudy Kadzejs (3:41). Baden Brennen, 15, turned in a solid performance with a time of 3:48 to finish 6th.

Gillis, who had won the event every year he’s ever raced, raised the most money again at more than $34,000. Luke Buoy raised more than $20,000, huge efforts as the racers gather pledges.

“Matt has won the event since we started it. It was super tight. It was really fun, it brought out a lot of people to challenge that,” said Sturgis, noting there was only three seconds difference between first and second. “There was some tight racing going on. It was cool to see all the younger guys doing it. Matt’s been the top fundraiser for quite a few years, which is obviously the most important award for us.”

Courtney Altringer, 24, was tops among the female finishers in 4:03, followed by 16 year-old Morgan Wohlaib (4:29) and 65 year-old Carol Bray (5:21), showing the wide age range among the 21 women competitors that makes the event unique.

Evan Moore was the top snowboard finisher in 5:23, while James Flocchini clocked a 6:08 as the lone Telemark skier.

Slate Fargoso won the Boys under 15 division, clocking a 4:21 to edge Crosby Schmidt by 10 seconds. Emily Rasmussen won the girls Under-15 division in 4:18, nine minutes ahead of second place finisher Laura Boge.

The annual event also features two-person and four-person teams, and plans to return with the same format next year.

Sturgis said Henry is doing well and is very compliant with his medication, which includes taking 45 pills a day, and hopes that stem-cell therapy might be approved soon as an option for Cystinosis in the future.

For all of the results, for more information, or to make a donation, visit www.24hoursforhank.org.