TGFS!!! The race of the year

Ever been to Cochran's ski area? A small family ski resort, perhaps the only one left with a rope-toe, where "durable gloves" become essential protective gear for a lift ride. A spot in Central Vermont that invites guests to be as comfortable as skiing on one's back yard and brings back memories of how skiing used to be before the era of giant profitable resorts. Cochran's is one of a kind ski experience, small, with limited terrain, but home to a wonderful elite of US ski racers and to the newly popular TGFS slalom.


The Thank God For Snow-making race is also a one of a kind event, since its debut last year after a huge grass roots effort finally brought snow-making to the family resort and Cochran's Ski Club. No other race I've attended recently included 4 Olympians as forerunners and several US ski team members, right back from Vancouver and Nationals in Lake Placid, on the start list.


Despite a cloudy and snowy day, and a limited number of photographs, it was a wonderful event and a very fun time.

US National Championships, the Downhill

National Championships generally begin with the speed events. A typical sequence includes three days of DH, starting with a training day and followed by a FIS race, the Championship DH race and the SG tagged at the end of the series. But the weather at Sugarloaf forced an inversion of the event order, leaving the downhill for last.














The summit



Downhill discipline requires both rigorous mental and technical discipline. It involves the highest speeds in ski racing, thus representing a higher risk of serious injury in the event of an accidental fall.

In speed events like the DH, most coaches pay as much (if not more) attention to the mental preparation of the athlete as they do to technical development. In other words, extreme focus on precision of execution is needed, at speeds reaching 75-79 mph, for time-periods over one minute, with no room for error.



















Results had apparently already been printed after the first 60 competitors of the Championship Downhill, only to be re-figured when Thomas & Miles, wearing bibs 70 & 71 respectively sped down to finish 9th and 10th.

At the speed trap they recorded a blistering 77 and 78 mph (not an easy event for spectators to watch... since anything over a minute is too long to hold one's breath)



w/Marty















The combination of results meant the silver for the Overall Title, an important accomplishment at J2 Junior Olympics
























Finally, a sincere thanks to Sugarloaf for placing safety as such a high priority and to the Kelly Brush Foundation for the incredible support and leadership it continues to provide in guaranteeing the attention to safety of all athletes taking on this exciting, challenging sport.

US National Championships, GS

Sugarloaf, ME


The Giant Slalom




The GS is the other technical event.
This discipline typically involves a vertical drop of 250 to 450 m, a width of approx 40 m, a course-line signaled by alternating blue and red gate pairs (each pair having an inside and an outside gate) and impacted by terrain features and combinations (changes in line direction).













The resulting pattern thus involves a variety of short and longer radius turns, with the number of gates varying between 56-70 and direction changes that depend on the VD (vertical drop) of the course.






The course











First run











































Second run
























The finish













W/Sandy

US National Championships, days 1-3

Having been intrigued by Sugarloaf for years I ventured to this Northern resort this past early March. It was the right time to visit. A sizable storm had coated the East Coast covering this mountain with high quality snow.


The upper fields maintain a consistent steep pitch (Eastern US standards) for a good portion of the 2820 feet of vertical. The summit (where I stand on photo below) sits at 4237 ft (a more impressive number than the equivalent 1291 m, a low elevation by many standards).

In fact, the pitch, the low traffic and the new snow manicured by two days of wind, provided excellent skiing, Western style. Add three consecutive days of delightful sunshine and the perfect skier-days unraveled.



(a view of the back snowfields from the top of Sugarloaf)

But in reality, I did not drive to Maine for a weekend getaway. I was attending the Junior Olympics or J2 National Championships, an event gathering top skiers representing the three US ski regions: West, East and Rocky Central (well a few foreigners raced too).





Managed with excellence from the very first race (a soft snow SL on a warm day), this event showed the perfect balance of camaraderie, professionalism and dedication.

The SuperG


phenomenal snow surface, revealing careful care and preparation of slope for some time, topped with superior grooming.

Good combination A and B netting providing a very safe triple fence at key points of the course (picture of lower section taken below headwall)

Approaching the speed trap @ 70 mph













Skiing the flats, carrying speed from the head wall





































After finishing two events...








An award in Slalom



















And a happy Thomas and Miles






After the race was over... I managed to sneak into the perfectly groomed hill and feel the speed, once again (it had been a few years). It was the best experience of the winter thanks to great gear, properly tuned edges and I must admit, fairly good conditioning (for which I can take credit)