Pendleton would have liked the slalom ski race on Saturday at Park City Mountain Resort. Brett Pendleton, the 49-year-old Masters racer who crashed and died while training for a race last winter, would have liked it a whole lot.
Intermountain: Brett Pendleton Memorial “Saturday” Slalom
Pendleton would have liked the slalom ski race on Saturday at Park City Mountain Resort. Brett Pendleton, the 49-year-old Masters racer who crashed and died while training for a race last winter, would have liked it a whole lot.
It’s not just that the slalom race carries his name. Or even that a traveling trophy designed by his Masters buddies and bearing his image will be awarded to the fastest male and female skier this year and every year thereafter.
     No, Brett would love the simple fact that the slalom is being run on Saturday, which is typically GS day on the Masters circuit. Or church, if you were Brett. And that meant he never got to race slalom. But this year, displaying their usual unlimited commitment, Masters coaches Bill and Bob Skinner, who run one of the best ski programs in the country, are honoring one of their fallen with the Brett Pendleton Memorial Slalom race on Saturday. Brett would have liked that, and he would have been a contender.
     A tireless skier, Brett brought everything anyone could ever want to the game: humor, heart, skill, courage, style, and then still more humor. His mantra in life was “Make every day count.”
     “I miss him dearly,” said Keith McCauley, one of Brett’s closest friends in the Masters program. “It’s been more than a year now and I still look for him skiing. He was a tremendously nice human being.”
     McCauley, a former Air Force and commercial pilot, made the pedestal of Brett’s Memorial Race trophy by hand. He also built the tribute of crossed skis and a carved wooden sign reading “We Love Ya’ Man,” which stands in the aspen grove where Brett lost his life alongside Payday run.
     Forerunning Saturday’s slalom was Brett’s wife, Shawna Pendleton, who knows how to rip up a slope herself. She did it unarmed. “I looked for Brett’s slalom gear where he always put it, but it wasn’t there. It should have been there. I don’t know where it is,” Shawna said, adding that she would have to make sure she didn’t hit any gates.
     There was a time, before the X Games were established, when Brett and Shawna spent a decade competing in the scare-your-mother sport of para-skiing, which combines precision sky diving over the European Alps followed by a couple of days of ski racing. They were the American team, and they became world champions. But given the couple’s low-key lack of ego, you’d have to know Brett and Shawna for a long time before they’d ever tell you that.
Brett often chided Bill with a laugh, asking, "When are you going to have a slalom on Saturday?
Saturday’s race was held on Picabo. “It was a fun day of ski racing,” Shawna said. “And Brett would love that.”
The winners of the inaugural Brett’s Memorial Race trophy were the usual suspects: Dana and Ryan Leach.
     The award will stay at Shawna’s home. Local merchants had chipped in raffle prizes, including a new pair of Atomic boots. Those were first won by Dana Leach, but hubby Ryan, a Fischer rep, used persuasive, non-verbal facial expressions to convince her to give the boots up. In the re-drawing, Pam Sheeler went home with the boots.
     Saturday’s bluebird skies were the last glimpse of sun for the weekend. A major storm was predicted to blow in early Sunday morning. “Everyone walked in wide-eyed to the idea that a storm was coming,” said Skinner.
     By the time the GS course opened for inspection, shot-sized gropple was dropping down in bursts. The race crew kept the course in great shape, but the winds began to pick up, and after much discussion, the second run was canceled. It was a good decision; the winds closed the Eagle chair before the second run would have started.
     Dana and Ryan Leach were again the overall race winners, though Ryan’s closest rival, Michael Falk, was less than a second behind.
    The next few races will decide class winners, so everyone is ramping up their game. The next stop is at Wolf Mountain, March 1-2, with another Saturday slalom.
    For complete results go to: https://www.ussa.org/magnoliaPublic/ussa/en/news/masters/bulletin1.html
    — Gerry Wingenbach and Wina Sturgeon
 
New England Masters
After a weekend off for the holiday, New England Masters resumed racing on bulletproof surfaces at Loon Mountain, N.H., for a giant slalom and then headed to Crotched Mountain on Sunday for slalom.
     It took all season for Carolyn Beckedorff to be challenged by her fellow competitors. After the first run, Beckedorff found herself sitting in third behind Katie George and Lisbet Rauh. In typical Beckedorff character, she quietly buckled down and won the second run by 1.64 seconds and the race by 1.43 seconds over George, a USCSA All-American and past Junior Olympian. UMass Ski Teamer Rauh, from Princeton, Mass., held onto third only 0.82 off second place — a very respectable podium.
     Coming out of fourth place overall in the first run, newcomer James Tautkus, held onto second behind eventual race winner Tip Kimball. Like Beckedorff, “Tippy” hunkered down and turned in the fastest second run. First-run leader Troy Watts lost some time to finish out the race in third overall. Watts, an occasional visitor to masters racing, competed at the World Cup level and on the U.S. Pro Tour, and hopefully will become a regular on the Masters circuit. Maxime Masse, second after the first run ended his day in fourth overall, just over a half second off the podium.
     There was a traffic jam on Mapquest the night before the Crotched Mountain race. Just about everyone who attended the race had to first figure out the best way to get there. There is no direct route. Upon arrival though, the Crotched crew genuinely welcomed racers and their families and rose to the occasion.
     Beckedorff, who has already clinched the women’s overall title, laid down the fastest times in both runs. Katie George skied solidly to hold second while Kerry Brennan in her favorite event saw that 3.58 seconds might not be all that insurmountable. Brennan went in for the kill, surviving the dreadfully tight and cranky second run, but losing 1.63 seconds to Lauren Bennett. Brennan held off Bennett by nearly a second to take third overall.
     Coming off his first USSA win the day before, and skiing with confidence, Ben Green creamed the field in both runs of the men’s slalom. In a NHARA event the day before, Green entered the race with 113 USSA points and pulled out a 66.84 point result, cutting his point profile in half. Yes, folks, we have some great skiers in Masters.
     Vlad Krylov, finally skiing healthy and strong, survived not only the highly off-set and gnarly course, but also an attack from Dave Wolff, who claimed third for the day. Mark George pulled out the second-fastest second run but it wasn’t enough to pass Wolff who took third by nine hundredths of a second over George.
     Next weekend, the New England Masters head to Sugarbush, Vt., for the Sise Cup Finals, and the highli
ght of the weekend is the Denby Pottery for age-class winners. With the women’s title already decided, the men’s title is up in the air as the top three men are separated by only 50 points and one of those racers only has eight finishes. Stay tuned.
    —Barb Brumbaugh
 
New York Masters
Two days of racing and up for grabs were a load of points as New York racers gathered at Bristol Mountain on Friday for a double super G and Swain on Saturday for GS, SL and a combined. New York keeps it simple: it’s all about the racing. Nothing fancy, no-nonsense, not much in prizes, and they always double up on the races.
     Megan Thayer and Jim Thoman were the big winners. Thayer said before the race that she was “a little nervous about the possible speeds” on her little 170-centimeter GS skis. It was apparently not a problem as she took the first race from Margaret Baleno by almost 4 seconds. Angela Schneurch followed in third. It was much the same result in race two as Baleno narrowed the gap to just over three seconds, leaving Schneurch over six seconds off the pace. Thayer also landed herself in third overall behind Thoman and Solly in the second race. Someone please find this woman a pair of SG skis for Nationals.
    The men’s results were as tight as they get as Thoman took the first race by one tenth of a second over fellow Class 2 racer Tim Dyer. Joel Solly was only three tenths behind in third. Greek Peak racer Mark Knapp making another cameo appearance, claimed third in the second race. Thoman and Solly, pushing each other, took the top two steps of the podium.
     Like Bristol, Swain is another regular stop for the New York series and is always Masters-friendly. Si Axtell has been welcoming Masters racers for years and can run a double event and still get racers hoisting their brew before lunch is over.
     The day started with giant slalom as Thayer again took the race followed by Schneurch and Kate Schwartz in third. The men kept the times close as an energized Solly won both GS runs bumping Thoman to second followed by Lou Moore.
     Kate Schwartz narrowed the interval to 0.68 in the slalom behind Schneurch, and Thayer once again took the race by more than six seconds. Tyler Sprockhoff demonstrated how to generate slalom speed on a flat course as he blistered the track in 57.54. Thoman and Solly kept the race competitive, keeping their times under one minute as the rest of the field went over the minute mark.
     The Swain race also counted as a combined event giving racers five opportunities to score overall points.
    — Barb Brumbaugh
 
Pacific Northwest Masters
Three days of ripping fast skiing highlighted by sunshine at Schweitzer. Not having a fog day for Schweitzer is a major hoorah! OK, we had a little fog in and out for GS and a bit of snow for Slalom. But that just makes the racing a little more exciting ….who are we kidding?
     Anna Nystrom skied magnificently. She was the fastest woman in all five races – and skied into the top half of the men’s events. It’s really great to see Anna back on the snow. Other women who pulled off multiple top-three performances were Jan Gerards, Peggy Konsza, Debbie Coleman and Soonok Morrison.
     The leading group of men had the usual suspects; Dennis Wilhelmsen, Willi Scroggins, Knut Olberg — with an enthusiastic horde right behind them. Cody Smith, Don Walde and Chris Maxwell also pulled off some podiums.
     Several racers flew in from Colorado in their search for valuable Molecule F National Speed Series points. We’re not too sure how many points they garnered as they generally got whooped by the locals. Two super G’s, two giant slaloms and a slalom made for some tired racers on the way home.
     The hill conditions, race management, banquet and awards were the typical Schweitzer high quality. One can always count on Ann Ozuna and her band of volunteers who put on a fantastic event. Complete results are available at https://www.pnsa.org/
    — Richard Zimmerman

Rocky Mountain Masters in Vail for The Duke Cup
More than 100 racers took to the slopes at Vail this past weekend for one of Rocky Mountain Masters most popular events of the season — the Duke Cup. The race featured two days of GS, held on Vail’s Golden Peak. The course offers something for everyone: steeps, flats and rollers, not to mention some light snowfall and occasional flat light to add to the challenge. The race crew and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail did a tremendous job with race logistics and course maintenance, contributing to a highly successful weekend.
     On Saturday, the men’s first run was a very tight race for the overall with Richard Bradsby (M3) taking the run, closely followed by DJ Otto (M1) and Broc Thompson (M4). With the top three separated only by a few tenths, the highly anticipated second run saw a DNF from Bradsby and some hiking from Otto. Thompson charged the second run to take the lead and overall victory for the day with a combined time of 2:01.76. Robert Andree (M7) and Pepi Neubauer (M8) (both from Eastern Division) followed in second and third overall with combined times of 2:03.00 and 2:03.40 respectively.
     In the women’s field, Jennifer Kaufman (W3) took the overall lead with a combined time of 2:07.15, followed by Alyssa Wedgwood (W1) with a 2:08.94 and Vail’s own Carol Levine (W7) in third with a 2:15.50. Class 6 boasted the most competitors in the women’s division and saw Melody Loar take the lead for W6 followed by Reiko Suzuki in second and Carol Wert in third. Also of note in the women’s age class results: Patty O’Brien took women’s class 8, followed by Carol Rymer Davis.
     Sunday’s race once again saw Thompson (M4) taking the overall in the men’s race, this time followed by Franz Fuchsberger (M5) in second and Neubauer (M8) once again in third place overall. In the women’s field, Kaufman (W3) again led the charge, followed by Susan Roberts (W4) and Jeanette Saylor (W6.) Carol Levine posted a great race, winning women’s class 7 and coming in only a few tenths behind Saylor in the overall results. Patty O’Brien also continued her winning streak with another first in women’s class 8.
     The Duke cup overall winners are determined on an age-adjusted basis (sportage.) Competitors must complete both days of racing to be eligible for the sportage award. For the women, the overall sportage results went to Carol Levine (W7), followed by Jennifer Kaufman (W3) and Susan Roberts(W4). In the men’s field, the sportage overall went to Pepi Neubauer (M8), Robert Andree(M7) and Bill Gooch(M7).
     For complete results and a schedule of RMM Races, please visit our Web site: www.rmmskiracing.org
    — Jennifer Kaufman