A First-Ever Today in Vail
Today in Vail: I am having a nasty time trying to see enough of the videos and racing from Levi to make any comment yet. I did see a few things I think are worth mentioning and will get to it as soon as I can see a few more runs. But I can tell that Grange is back and as good as anyone. I know that Hoeflehner feels bad because he knocked out his best slalom guys on run one. I know that Will Brandenburg has the speed to ski World Cup slalom. And I also know that Ted does not have confidence in his slalom set-up. Whether it is boots or skis, I do not know. But I can tell he is not comfortable. Ted would call it “pussy-footing it.” I call it lack of confidence and a lot of that comes from what is on your feet at that level.
But moving on to the training scene at Vail. Our Mission Ridge Ski Team camp is set up in Manor Vail, just across the street from the training venue at the Golden Peak Race Arena run by Ski and Snowboard Club Vail. As usual, they have been doing a fantastic job getting snow made and setting up the hill. This morning we were greeted by nine inches of snow at the base area and over a foot at the GS start. After an hour of open skiing on the hill at 7:00 AM the groomer hit the trail and knocked down the tracked out powder. We were able to get ourselves an excellent session of GS sections on the lower half while the U.S. Ski Team set up for their FIS race to take place this afternoon. The grooming effort set-up all parties to succeed today. All the groups who needed it got their training in and the race went off without a hitch. All day long I saw the ski team coaches out on the hill with rakes and shovels and side-slipping to make the race happen. Some extraordinary volunteer work from Ethan Korpi of Nordica and a couple of unidentified Ski Club Vail coaches helped to make it happen too. By the time the race came around at 1:30 PM, the first ever single-panel GS FIS race commenced and it ran perfectly. I am proud to say that Mission Ridge Ski Club was one of the clubs out slipping and making the track the best it could be along with GMVS and Ski Club Vail.
At the end of the day, the winner was Robbie Dixon. He was super-solid Robbie, as usual. There were some grooves that developed by the gate and a couple rough turns on the steepest pitch, but overall it held up well after that much snow. Tommy Biesemeyer of the U.S.A. was second and Jonathan Nordbotten (NOR) was third. U.S. Ski Team D Teamer Nick Daniels won the second run and enjoyed a very nice FIS result.
All in all it was a great day and congratulations to everyone who made it work. And it is obvious, at the very least for snow-clearance purposes that single panel GS is the way to go.
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Greg “Grande” Needell grew up ski racing at Stratton Mountain,
Vermont. After graduating from SMS he skied for NCAA Division 1 St.
Lawrence University in Canton, NY where he was co-captain in 1986. Greg
returned to SMS to coach there for five years serving as the Head
Women’s Coach as well as the Head J2 Men’s Coach. He then moved to
Mission Ridge in Wenatchee, Washington in 1992 to become the Program
Director and Head Coach of the Mission Ridge Ski Club. In 1997, Greg
became the Head Coach at Mammoth Mountain, California.
In 2002 Needell was asked to join the U.S. Ski Team staff as a World
Cup SL and GS coach. From 2002 to 2008 Needell helped lead the U.S. Ski
Team Men to 43 wins, 105 podiums and 264 top ten finishes. Now at the
helm of Alpine Race Consulting, Needell offers his knowledge and
experience to clubs nationwide.
About the Author: Pete Rugh
