Masters Moments: Reports from across the country

By Published On: January 25th, 2008Comments Off on Masters Moments: Reports from across the country

Seasonal temperatures returned this week for the annual MLK weekend trek New England Masters make to the Middlebury Snow Bowl.
New England Masters
Seasonal temperatures returned this week for the annual MLK weekend trek New England Masters make to the Middlebury Snow Bowl.
    Slalom: A collective groan on Saturday with the realization that Brandon Dyksterhouse, and his 16 FIS points, had arrived. Barring incident, the field would be racing for second place. Dyksterhouse won both runs comfortably and the margin of victory was big. Mark George and Bill Zimmerman renewed their class 6 battle and wound up second and third, respectively. Alex Gadbois overtook Terrence Fogarty for fourth, relegating Fogarty to fifth. Ben Green, a relative newcomer to Masters, launched a valiant effort to take down Dyksterhouse only to come unglued by equipment failure within sight of the finish. He did, however, dust himself off to try again in the second run and achieved much better results. His second run time was more than a second better than everyone else in the field not named Dyksterhouse.
In the women’s race, it was more of the same this weekend as it had been all season long. Carolyn Beckedorff continued her dominance of the women (and most of the men) in slalom. Lisa Densmore skied her way to second place and Lauren Bennett took third in her season debut. Nadine Price, skiing some of her best slalom to date was forth and Margaret Vaughn settled for fifth.
    Giant Slalom: Getting to run a full length GS on the Allen Trail is a treat for any ski racer. All the more special for Masters as it has been more than a few years since Mother Nature has provided enough snow to hold the race. The track held up so well that only a few gates were moved for the second run. Ron Quesnel and the rest of the Snow Bowl race staff moved things right along to make their TV appointments for the New England Patriots game scheduled to start at 3pm. Dorin Munteanu, the class 8 star and 1968 Olympian from Romania, set an early pace and would hang onto third for the day with skiing that was simply flawless. Ben Green, showing his slalom ability was no fluke, served notice with powerful and efficient skiing for second place. However, the day belonged to Randy “Road Warrior” Detrick. Detrick drove five plus hours from northern Pennsylvania and won both runs with textbook skiing on the firm and fast track. Steve Masur and Alex Gadbois rounded out the top five.
The women’s results were a copy of the day before in slalom. Carolyn Beckedorff won again with clean, textbook skiing. Lisa Densmore, Lauren Bennett, Nadine Price and Margaret Vaughn followed in one of the bigger women’s fields that the Sise Cup tour has seen so far this season.
    — Brian Irwin

New England Masters: Battle at Historic Suicide Six
The Bunny Bertram Memorial race honors the man who owned and operated Suicide Six for 25 years, Wallace “Bunny“ Bertram. Legend and lore are abundant at Suicide Six. Having experienced many of the historic moments of Vermont skiing history, Class 13 representative Adelbert Ames, born in 1921 and the oldest racer on the hill this weekend, can vividly remember many of those “firsts.”
    The lodge at Suicide Six is like a little museum of the history of Vermont skiing. Upon entering the lodge, the wall of history details many memories since 1934, when Bertram developed the first continuously operating ski tow in the United States. The wall also memorializes many champions and legends of ski racing who raced at Suicide Six. In 1936, Bertram moved his lift to topographical Hill Number 6, “which locals said was too steep — even ‘Suicidal’ — hence the name.”
    Carolyn Beckedorff continued her weekly beatings on the Masters women. Beckedorff, nearly uncontested by regular masters contenders this season, won the first run by 1.22 seconds. Placing 10th in the mens race, she took the womens race by just under a half second on the short Suicide Six race hill over Lisa Densmore. Margaret Vaughn placed third overall. Anne Nordhoy and Susan Dorn completed the top five.
    Hometown coach Neal McNealus dazzled spectators mixing his run with a combination of “old school” and current slalom technique. McNealus, a 1976 All American from UVM and Holderness School alum, comes from good stock and a family history of ski racing in Vermont. With his young racers in tow, watching his every move, McNealus won the first run. He hung onto the lead with a solid second run surviving attacks by Alex Gadbois and a blistering pace by Terrence Fogarty. Fogarty posted the fastest second run by over a half second. Brian Irwin dodged first run snags on “The Face” and returned to nearly duplicate his first run time while the rest of the field took off 1 to 2 seconds on the run to take fourth. Rich Jefferson rounded out the top five on the firm, chalky surface.
    Superseed qualifiers from the first run finishing the race with letters (DNF) instead of numbers were Mark George and Robert Jaffe, both tripped up on the flats. Another local favorite and Superseed qualifier, Scott Smith, claimed the greatest altitude just prior to instant deceleration. Smith suffered the most spectacular crash of the day only feet from the finish, but was able to gingerly walk away from the crash.
    Vlad Krylov and Doug Carpenter moved up to sixth and seventh. Rick Cesati, Hans Tuckenbrod and Lane Partridge benefited from the three DNFs and moved into the top 10.

A tribute to George
A very sad ending to the weekend as Masters racers learned that longtime racer George Anderson passed away unexpectedly on the eve of the Suicide Six slalom. George skied both races at Middlebury and would have wanted everyone to race and to go like hell for him. For years, George took it upon himself to make sure no one (especially the ladies and the older men) had to endure a cold chairlift ride. With regularity he organized and carried clothing to the finish and sometimes it was difficult to see George beneath the monstrous pile. The men’s field on Monday didn’t miss a beat. Not a single coat was found at the start of the slalom. George would be proud. The first to admit that he probably would never win a race, he tried with as much effort as the winner. For that he was a winner. The first time George “podiumed” in his age group (Mount Snow) he was so happy he was in tears, and so was everyone else who enjoyed his “victory.” Everyone liked George. A sensitive and caring man, he will be missed by many.
    — Barb Brumbaugh

Pacific Northwest Ski Association
Crystal Mountain Alpine Club did a great job putting on two races in one day, which included more than 30 on-site registrations for a total of more than 70 racers. While many areas care not to organize two races in one day, the Crystal Mountain crew pulled it off.
    A challenging gate at the bottom of the knoll kept everyone on their toes … sometimes literally. Racers detoured into soft snow that either dumped speed or dumped racers. Tamera Lauba was the fastest woman for the day. John Phillips and Knut Olberg kept it close with Phillips coming out on top in both races.
    The weather taunted racers. At times, sunshine poked through the clouds, and then fog, snow and wind kicked in for variety, but for the most part, the races ran with good visibility. The steep headwind added interest on the flats.
— Karin Kilian

Midwest Masters: Central Championships
Marquette Mountain hosted the Central Masters Championships for the fourth year in a row, from January 18-20. Last year’s event was ham
pered by a lack of snow. This year, despite temperatures in the 50’s two weeks earlier, timely snowfall and subzero temperatures made a phenomenal racing venue (if you didn’t mind temperatures below 20 with the wind chill).
    Friday’s Super G started from the top and included the “Waterfall” first pitch that couldn’t be used last year. Mike Shklovski (class 2) had the fastest first run by a margin of 0.03 seconds over Peter Maxwell (class 3). Ben Bernard (class 1) missed the second fastest overall time by 0.01 second. On the second run Bernard claimed the fastest time, followed by Shklovski 0.23 behind and Maxwell 0.11 out of second. The fastest woman of the day was Jeanine (the Koominator) Kooman (class 1) finishing 1.12 seconds ahead of the next fastest woman Lindsey Shields (also class 1). In the second race Kooman extended her margin of victory to 1.82 seconds over Shields. Kim Ziegler (class 5) finished third overall in both races. Gary Konsza, whose most recent medal was a Silver in Super G at Valle Nevado, Chile, was able to hold off the field in class 7 by 0.83 second to claim victory in both races.
    Saturday’s slalom was the coldest day of the event. The first course featured a combination extravaganza — a flush followed immediately by a hairpin followed by a delay two gates later. Those unsure enough not to look ahead added a hike to their run. The first times in that run came in Class 3 with Peter Maxwell winning by 0.55 seconds, followed by Nick Sargent, then captain Stevo 1.14 seconds from second. Both fast girls from Class 1 hiked one run, leaving Kim Ziegler (class 5) overall fastest with Laurie Shaw (class 4) in second place.
    Lindsey Shields went down in the first run – re-injuring a recently dislocated shoulder. Scott Larson held off Greg Abel recovering from a recent ankle fracture to win Class 4 by 3.45 seconds. Ben Bernard took overall fastest honors this race, finishing 1.56 seconds ahead of Class 3 Nick Sargent. Judy Woellner (class 3) finished first in the ladies division.
    Sunday’s first GS race featured a tricky delay off the first pitch. Local Ben Bernard (class 1) crushed the course finishing fastest overall by 0.28 seconds ahead of Peter Maxwell (class 3). David Buyse got on the podium in Class 4 finishing third in class. Kooman (class 1) again posted the fastest time for the ladies. The second GS race featured a drop-off on the initial pitch – followed by an offset series of gates on the face. How low can you go and survive the run was the question asked by many. Jack Thune found out on one hip but survived to finish second in Class 5. David Buyse gave his “training shorts” to Scott Larson, who promptly went down on his hip as well, but survived to finish third in Class 4 behind Buyse. After finishing second overall in the first run with a turn three centimeters from the last gate, captain Stevo DNF the second run, leaving Maxwell first overall followed “closely” by Jamie Close. The Koominator dominated the women’s side by finishing three seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
    Props to our 2 competitors in class 12 who did every run despite the frigid temperatures. Al Mercier beat Richard Masters for the overall title in that class.
    — Peggy Konsza
 
Intermountain
The first event of the 2008 Molecule F National Speed Series (NSS) will be hosted by Intermountain as part of the three day Loritz Cup at Park City on Jan. 25. The next NSS event will be a SG at Mammoth Mountain of Feb. 2, followed by the Western Regionals SG at Winter Park CO on Feb. 8. Molecule F National Speed Series is back with 12 events in five divisions, the most ever. Check the schedule below. Season long awards will be presented to the overall fastest woman, younger man (59 and under) older man (60+) with custom belt buckles going to the top three season long age class winners. Final awards will be given out at the Mammoth Nationals.

Jan. 25 Park City, UT SG
Feb. 2 Mammoth Mtn. CA SG
Feb. 8 Winter Park, CO SG (Regionals)
Feb. 11-13 Soldier Mtn. ID DH/DH
Feb. 15-17 Aspen, CO SG/DH
Feb. 22 Schweitzer, ID SG
Mar. 7 Whiteface, NY SG/SG (Regionals)
Mar. 17-20 Mammoth Mtn. CA SG/DH (Nationals)

Rocky Mountain Masters
Ski Cooper hosted another great entry level downhill. Many racers braved the bitter temperatures on Thursday and Friday to train with Coach Ron Emery , and from all reports it was well worth it. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, The Wolf Cup Downhill attracted a great turn out. The winners, Carol Davis and Graham Smith, will be added to this prestigious trophy. Complete results are posted on our website, www.rmmskiracing.org.
    The fun didn’t stop there. The inaugural Fuxi Super Combi, sponsored by Franz Fuchsberger and FuxiSports, took place on Monday. Erik Klemme walked away with a three-second lead and first place. Special recognition goes out to Jennifer Kaufman, the only woman who finished in the top-10 Elite Class after the super G, and fourth place, overall. Awards, raffle prizes, food and music rounded out the weekend. The event raised money for Ski Cooper’s Cloud City Ski Club and was a huge success thanks in large part to Rocky Mountain Masters racers.
    As usual, none of this could have happened without the help of many people: Our hosts, Jeff and Marge Maddex and the entire Ski Cooper crew; Ron Emery and his tireless efforts and expertise; our race sponsor, Hans Wolf and SwissAm Racing; race officials, Chris Hoss, DJ Tengdin and Don Johnson; Fuxi, Cameron, and their entourage of Fuxi Sports equipment specialists.
Next stop: Keystone. This weekend's races kick off with the Paul and Paula Valar Memorial GS on Saturday, Jan. 26, sponsored by Victoria Valar. There will be trophies awarded to the fastest man and woman at the post-race party on Saturday.

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About the Author: Pete Rugh