U.S. Nationals: Weather threatens downhills

The downhills for the Nature Valley 2008 U.S. Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf, Maine, appear to be in danger of cancellation as a major storm rolled into the Carrabasset Valley overnight Tuesday. After several delays the first set of training runs had to be cancelled Wednesday due to wind and blowing snow. With the storm expected to intensify rather than subside, officials may be optimistic in scheduling training for Thursday. A FIS race is on the calendar for Friday and the national championship races are set to begin Saturday with the downhills.

The downhills for the Nature Valley 2008 U.S. Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf, Maine, appear to be in danger of cancellation as a major storm rolled into the Carrabasset Valley overnight Tuesday. After several delays the first set of training runs had to be cancelled Wednesday due to wind and blowing snow. With the storm expected to intensify rather than subside, officials may be optimistic in scheduling training for Thursday. A FIS race is on the calendar for Friday and the national championship races are set to begin Saturday with the downhills.
    "We tried," said Chief of Race Jim McCormack, "but it got progressively worse."
     And the predictions were for that scenario to continue well into Friday. "We're predicted to get seven inches of snow in the next 48 hours," McCormack said, "and then two to three tenths [of an inch] of icing. And then rain."
    The race jury went ahead and drew bibs for a Thursday training run, but with little hope of actually getting the runs in. At the same time there was discussion of using snowcats to get work crews and coaches up hill in the event winds were high enough to prevent the use of lifts. Winds between 70 and 90 mph are expected.
    The plan is to continue working the downhill track throughout the storm so they won't have to take cats on it and chew up the slick surface below the new snow.
    Among the biggest concerns is getting any accumulated ice off of the safety nets and there are miles of it strung along side the course.
    US Ski Association Competition Director Walt Evans told the coaches it was "very likely" the FIS downhill, a non-title race tacked into the National Championship schedule to provide point opportunities for young racers, would be lost. If the weather forecasts are accurate and it is impossible to run downhill training Thursday, the schedule would be changed to have slalom races set up on a second trail and held Friday, followed by DH training Saturday and the National title downhills held Sunday, the super G races pushed to Monday and Men's GS on Tuesday.  The event would close out on Wednesday with women's GS.