Mikael Shiffrin top ten in Are World Cup Slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin (age 16):
"I'm really excited about racing in Schladming. It feels goodt to be top 25 in the world, but honestly, I've been dreaming about winning World Cup races since I was five years old.
Sometimes it feels like, 'man, it's about time' and I have to take a step back and realize that some of these girls have been the fastest skiers in the world for ten years, so I need to fight every single run. It's hard but it's also really exciting.
I'm happy becuase I broke the trend I've had going of not making second runs and that it was one more top 10. I was only .39 out of first, so it was a really close race and I know that I have some faster skiing in me.+
Read more about her race here!

Ryan Cochran-Siegle Strikes Second Gold Medal at Jr. World Championships

Read about Ryan's Second Gold
Medal here!

Vonn Locks-up Overall World Cup Title with GS Win

Click Here to read about her win and the title!

Weibrecht Qualifies for World Cup Finals...

Read about Andrew here...

Determination Pays Dividends as a World Cup Podium for Risi Steigler

Determination pays off...(click here)

5 Whitefish Athletes to Attend Championships

The Western Region of the United States Ski Association has invited five Whitefish Alpine Ski Team athletes to race in the end of the season age group championship events.

Whitefish invitees include Nevada Kramer 15, Piper Howeth 13, Kelly Shea 13, Oliver Van Everen 13 and Britt Walton, 13

Kramer will attend the Western Regional Championships and Howeth, Shea, Van Everen and Walton will attend the Western Region Jr. Olympics.

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.

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.

Coach Pete Collins commented: "All of these athletes are in the first year of their age group blocks and it is a real accomplishment to qualify to one of these events your first year."

Ryan Cochran-Siegle Wins Jr. World Championship DH

Click here to read about Ryan's Win

Lindsay Von a Rare Runner-up

Click Here to read about Lindsay's GS

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.

Large Whitefish Team with Strong Showing at Big Sky GS Races

A strong contingent of Whitefish ski racers, ages 8-13, competed in two GS races recently held at Big Sky Resort, along with 180 other racers from throughout Montana. With team members battling illness, cold wind chills and a strong field of competitors, they performed well and had a lot of fun along the way.

Podium finishes for the Whitefish team included: Gardner Dominick with two 1st place finishes in the 7-8 year old boys group, Marina Kramer with a 3rd place in 7-8 year old girls, Colter Upton with two 3rd place finishes in 9-10 year old boys and Cameron Welch with a 2nd place in 13-14 year old boys.

Newcomer Liam Nelson finished with a strong 4th place finish on Sunday in the 9-10 year old boys division. Pixie Moore continues to move up in the highly competitive 11-12 year old girls bracket, breaking into the top 10 with a 9th place finish on Sunday. Other racers competing for Whitefish included James Thompson, Stella Eddy, Walt Hollensteiner, Kristin Van Everen, Caroline LeCompte and Story Crossett.

Upcoming YSL Race information: Great Divide/Discovery

Here is a bit of info regarding 2 upcoming YSL Races; 1 at Great Divide and the other at Discover, near Anaconda.

Great Divide YSL
DATE; February 18 and 19, 2012
EVENT: Slalom - Saturday, and 2 Technical Combi Races - Sunday
RACERS ELIGIBLE: JIII, JIV, JV, JVI
LOCATION: Great Divide Ski Area, Marysville, Montana - 25 miles northwest of Helena, Montana.


Discovery GS Series

Events: GS, Saturday, March 3, 2012 – Morning and afternoon run
GS, Sunday, March 4, 2012 – Morning and afternoon run
Class: Men & Women - Youth Ski League - Classes J3 and younger
Registration: 8:00-9:00 a.m. Discovery Lodge 2nd Floor, Discovery Ski Area
Lift Tickets: Racers 12 and under $10 per day. Racers 13 and over $19 per day. Purchased directly by the coach. Payable by check. Parents and spectators must show their season pass in order to receive discounted lift tickets.



If you plan to go to either of these, let me know and I will place you on the list.

Both are great races...

This is who I have to
Great Divide: Kristin; Story and Colter
Discovery: Kristin; Story, Colter, James and Liam.

Both the La Quinta in Helena and the Fairmont Hot Springs have asked us to make our reservations quickly...(within the next week)


Helena Lodging (La Quinta)
Name: Whitefish Ski Team
Contact: Roy Loman

Arrival Date: February 17, 2011
Departure Date: February 19, 2011

6 - 2 queen bed rooms
Rate: $83.00 plus tax
Cancel by 6:00PM on date of arrival
Hotel Phone number to call for room block reservations: 406-449-4000 Individuals make own reservations and responsible for own room charges. Please make your reservations ASAP.



Discovery Lodging
Fairmont Hot Springs
1-800-332-3272 1500 Fairmont Road
(406) 797-3241 Fairmont, MT 59711
(406) 797-3260 FAX bbrown@fairmontmontana.com
Rate: $114