Whitefish Skiers at Great Divide

A group of Whitefish Mountain skiers travelled to Helena last weekend to compete at Great Divide’s alpine races. They were treated to blue skies and pleasant temperatures as they raced through a two-run slalom race Saturday followed by two, single-run Kombi races on Sunday. The Kombi race is a combination of tall and short slalom gates and GS panels. That along with the snow conditions made for a wild and challenging course for the racers.

Whitefish was led on the podium by J5 racer Colter Upton, who had a 1st place finish in one of Sunday’s Kombi races along with a 2nd place in the slalom on Saturday. Nine year-old William Lewison also competed in the 9-10 year old boys division and moved into the top 10 group, with 9th and 10th place finishes in the Kombi races.

The team had good representation by both Kristin Van Everen and Pixie Moore in the J4 girls division. Kristin had 2 top ten finishes on Sunday (9th and 9th), while Pixie had a 10th in one of Sunday’s races as well.

Athletes from this YSL team are all part of the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation, a race team that strives to develop a lifelong enjoyment of the sport while supporting personal development. This year 53 athletes ages 5-18, have been supported by a great group of 8 coaches. The Foundation would like to thank their season-long sponsors The Base Lodge Clinic (North Valley Hospital) and The Sportsman & Ski Haus, along with the on-going support of Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Team Skis Well at Red Lodge JO Qualifier

Four Whitefish alpine ski racers attended the USSA Northern Division Junior Olympic Qualifier Series held in Red Lodge, February 24-26. 2 giant slaloms and a slalom race were held as the final events of a season long series that will qualify the Northern Division team roster to the Western Region Junior Olympics and the Western Regional Championships.
Age Class results from Red Lodge are as follows.
Scott Kahle, 16: 9th - GS #1, and 10th - GS #2
Jacob Welch, 15: 10th – GS #1 and 9th – GS #2

Britt Walton, 13: 4th – GS #1, 1st – GS #2, 3rd - Slalom
Austin Oberlitner, 14: 14th –GS # 1, 14th Slalom

The Western Region Junior Olympics will bring together the most qualified 13-14 year olds in the western us to compete at Bridger Bowl and Big Sky resorts, March 15-18.
Schweitzer Basin, Idaho will host the Western Regional Championships March 6-11. The WR Championships bring together the fastest 15-19 year old ski racers from the Western US.

Erin Tabih Scores Slalom Result in FIS U

Erin Tabish scored a great Slalom result on Wednesday, 2/22 at Bridger Bowl in a FIS University Competition. The race, rescheduled from Alaska, allowed Erin an opportunity to compete against a strong field of NCAA women.
Erin started bib 42 and finished 34th with an excellant 107.02 point result. Her ranking going into the race was 130.49.

Whitefish Skiers at Big Sky Haul Home Hardware

Britt Walton Skys the Jump at Big Sky

Six Whitefish Alpine Racers traveled to Big Sky Resort February 10-12, for a USSA Northern Division Junior Olympic Qualifier Series. Three Super G races were contested on the difficult Hangman’s Trail. A sizeable jump was constructed on the course, giving the racers even more challenge.
The Whitefish group proved to be up to the challenge of the speed and air time, returning to Whitefish with multiple medals; aka “Bringing Home the Hardware”.
Due to the difficulty of the track and the jump, Friday was scheduled as a training day to acquaint the racers with the challenge. Two races were held Saturday followed by one on Sunday.
Results for the three races are as Follows:
Jr. 2 Girls
Erin Tabish: 3rd, 4th and 5th.
Jr. 2 Boys
Nevada Kramer: 2nd, DNF and 4th.
Jacob Welch: 8th, DNF, 11th.
Jr. 3 Boys
Oliver Van Everen: 2nd, 4th and 1st
Britt Walton: 4th, 5th and 2nd
Cameron Welch: 16th, 12th and 11th.

Showdown at Bridger YSL Super-G

Six young Whitefish Mountain ski racers competed this past weekend in a GS/Super G Kombi race held at Bridger Bowl. It was a great introduction to a “speed” event in which components of a Super G race were added to the traditional Giant Slalom platform. Pleasant temperatures and blue skies were welcomed by the 150 racers that competed in 3 separate, one-run races. With just 6 racers competing from Whitefish, they had impressive results, fielding 6 podium finishes and 3 top ten finishes in the 3 races.

With passionate coaching provided by Roy Loman and Zak Anderson, the team continues to be inspired to perform with excellence both on and off the hill. Both coaches felt the team really stepped up and pushed themselves to move to the next level. Coach Loman said, “In the 30+ years that I have been coaching, never I have seen more improvement from a team of athletes. Our group was so able to focus on what they needed to do to move to the next level; and we saw that work in their improvement for every individual on the team. It is seldom that you get that kind of focus and execution from an entire group."

A tenacious ten year-old Colter Upton topped the podium with a 1st place in his age group on Sunday with an aggressive run, following his two 2nd place finishes on Saturday. Eight year-old Marina Kramer demonstrated solid consistency, earning three 3rd place finishes throughout the weekend, in the 7-8 year old girls bracket.

A determined nine year-old Douglas Mercer had 3 top ten finishes--10th, 10th and 7th in his group. First year nine year-old racer William Lewison made fantastic improvements throughout the weekend, finishing more than 6 seconds faster in his final race.

Team leaders Story Crossett and Kristin Van Everen competed in the competitive 11-12 year old divisions and were both good examples of persistence and diligence for their teammates.

The next scheduled Youth Ski League races will be at Great Divide and Discovery followed by the season finale championships held at our very own Whitefish Mountain Resort March 23rd-25th. Wish the Whitefish racers good luck.