Wednesday afternoon, I tuned in to watch the men’s downhill at the World Alpine Championships taking place at Beaver Creek, Colo., Vail’s sister resort a few miles down the highway.

What I saw was a rerun of the women’s super-G from the day before when Lindsey Vonn finished third after being held up by a wind gust near the top of the course. The top three finished within 15 hundredths of a second, no more than half a ski length. The rest of the broadcast was devoted to shots of blowing snow and course workers trying to clear the track as the men’s downhill was postponed.

Along side the course, snowcats were blading the snow to the sides of the trail. On the course, workers were snowplowing and side slipping the snow to the sides of the run. At one point a course worker was actually walking behind a snow blower, blowing snow over the protective netting that lined the course. I had hoped to watch Bode Miller’s return to action after time off to recover from back surgery. The men’s training runs were shown and Bode’s time was good for 10th place. He is familiar with the Birds of Prey course, as he has run it many times in World Cup races.

Watching the course workers struggling with all the snow reminded me of another set of races where too much snow caused all kinds of difficulties at Sugarloaf. The resort hosted the Junior World Alpine Championships in 1085, and I was on hand to cover the event for the Sun Journal. Because they are so subject to weather changes, downhill and super-G are always first on the schedule, with slalom and giant slalom at the end. The first day of training for the downhill found three feet of new snow on the mountain. Snowcats were used to push the snow from the Narrow Gauge. All the volunteers side slipping couldn’t begin to move enough snow from the trail which had been carefully prepared during the week running up to the event.

That day, I was out on the hill with Chip Carey, who was directing the PR office for Sugarloaf at the time. The snow was not only deep, but heavy. The only way to ski was to stay in the fall line and use a strong up and down motion to turn. With the snow already down and more falling, it would have been impossible to run any kind of race that day. We heard the old saying many times that day and over the week of the championships, “If you want snow, schedule a downhill.”

Fortunately, once the Narrow Gauge was cleared of the excess snow, the track was set and we had sunshine to enjoy the watching the best junior racers in the World.

So far this season, while we have had plenty of snow, it hasn’t reached the point of too much. We had a few weeks in January when we needed snow and colder temperatures to make snow, but now the snow has allowed the snow makers to take some time off. Sugarloaf has a number of races on the schedule with the National Alpine Championships in March.

And, of course, the high school championships will take place vacation week, starting next weekend. Let’s hope we continue to get enough snow to keep conditions good, but no heavy dumps on race days.

Thursday, the men ran the super-G as scheduled under beautiful sunny skies and the announcers focus was on Bode Miller running his first race following the repair of that herniated disc. Showing his usual aggressive style, Bode aced the top half of the course. Of the Birds of Prey runs which are normally bump filled, Red Tail is the easiest, steep but groomed and the other three run into it. Most average skiers ski Red Tail, but only look up at the tougher runs as they ski by. Bode’s times put him into first place as he neared the top of Red Tail and he looked like a winner.

But then, he fell hard, going around sideways and backward with one ski flying away but the other hanging on. Slow motion showed him catching a hand on a gate which threw him into a spin at close to 70 miles-per-hour.

He got to his feet when the ski patrol arrived and once he had his skis, he skied to the bottom as the crowd cheered and his wife and two children looked on. It appeared his back was okay, but a close up of his lower leg showed a bleeding gash on his calf.

If this turns out to be his last competition, Bode Miller’s career is a point of pride for CVA and Sugarloaf.

While snow on race day is not a good thing, the snow we have received this month has all of our ski areas in prime condition and we can enjoy the best skiing of the year as we get ready for the vacation, now a week away.

Next Saturday, you can find me at Sugarloaf for the annual Maine Skiing Heritage Day. We’ll be part of a team manning a booth with displays from the Ski Museum of Maine in the base lodge during the day and at 4 p.m., activities will move to the Inn for a reception, and a silent and live auction.

Join me there, and see you on the slopes.

Copy the Story Link