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New
England Masters: Seasonal Temperatures at Middlebury Snow Bowl Seasonal
temperatures returned this week for the annual MLK weekend trek New England
Masters make to the Middlebury Snow Bowl. Middlebury Snow Bowl has hosted
several NCAA Skiing Championships, and Sise Cup racers were treated to two
days of awesome racing on some of the same challenging terrain. Slalom A collective
groan on Saturday with the realization that Brandon Dyksterhouse, and his 16
FIS points, had arrived. Barring incident, the field would be race for second
place. Dyksterhouse won both runs comfortably and the margin of victory,
well, it was big. Mark George and Bill Zimmerman renewed their class 6 battle
and wound up second and third respectively. Alex Gadbois overtook Terrence
Fogarty for fourth and relegating Fogarty to fifth. Ben Green, a relative
newcomer to Masters, launched a valiant effort to take down Dyksterhouse only
to come unglued by equipment failure within site of the finish. He did,
however, dust himself off to try again in the second run and achieved much
better results. His second run time was more than a second better than
everyone else in the field not named Dyksterhouse. In the
women’s race, it was more of the same this weekend as it had been all season
long. Carolyn Beckedorff continued her dominance of the women (and most of
the men) in slalom. Lisa Densmore skied her way to second place and Lauren
Bennett took third in her season debut. Nadine Price, skiing some of her best
slalom to date was forth and Margaret Vaughn settled for fifth. Giant
Slalom Getting to
run a full length GS on the Allen Trail is a treat for any ski racer. All the
more special for Masters as it has been more than a few years since Mother
Nature has provided enough snow to hold the race. The track held up so well
that only a few gates were moved for the second run. Ron Quesnel and the rest
of the Snow Bowl race staff moved things right along to make their TV
appointments for the New England Patriots game scheduled to start at 3pm.
Dorin Munteanu, the class 8 star and 1968 Olympian from Romania, set an early
pace and would hang onto third for the day with skiing that was simply
flawless. Ben Green, showing his slalom ability was no fluke, served notice
with powerful and efficient skiing for second place. However, the day
belonged to Randy “Road Warrior” Detrick. Detrick drove five plus hours from
northern Pennsylvania and won both runs with textbook skiing on the firm and
fast track. Steve Masur and Alex Gadbois rounded out the top five. The women’s
results were a copy of the day before in slalom. Carolyn Beckedorff won again
with clean, textbook skiing. Lisa Densmore, Lauren Bennett, Nadine Price and
Margaret Vaughn followed in one of the bigger women’s fields that the Sise
Cup tour has seen so far this season. By Brian
Irwin New
England Masters: Battle at Historic Suicide Six The Bunny
Bertram Memorial race honors the man who owned and operated Suicide Six for
25 years, Wallace “Bunny“ Bertram. Legend and lore are abundant at Suicide Six.
Having experienced many of the historic moments of Vermont skiing history,
Class 13 representative Adelbert Ames, born in 1921, the oldest racer on the
hill this weekend can vividly remember many of those “firsts.” The lodge at
Suicide Six is like a little museum of the history of Vermont skiing. Upon
entering the lodge, the wall of history details many memories since 1934,
when Bertram developed the first continuously operating ski tow in the United
States. The wall also memorializes many champions and legends of ski racing
who raced at Suicide Six. In 1936, Bertram moved his lift to topographical
Hill Number 6, “which locals said was too steep - even ‘Suicidal’ - hence the
name.” Prevailing
over all the technical problems that come with being “the first,” Bertram
also saw the need for ski instructor certification and developed the first
test for instructors in 1948, and later in 1954, installed the first poma
type lift for New England. Bunny also helped in setting up the first kids
racing program in the United States. So when one enters the lodge at Suicide
Six, one can’t help but feel and be a part of the history which continues at
this little 650 vertical foot powerhouse of a hill. Carolyn
Beckedorff continued her weekly beatings on the Masters women. Beckedorff,
nearly uncontested by regular masters contenders this season, won the first
run by 1.22 seconds. Placing tenth in the mens race, she took the womens race
by just under a half second on the short Suicide Six race hill over Lisa
Densmore. Margaret Vaughn placed third overall. Anne Nordhoy and Susan Dorn
completed the top five. Hometown
coach Neal McNealus dazzled spectators mixing his run with a combination of
“old school” and current slalom technique. McNealus, a 1976 All American from
UVM and Holderness School alumni, comes from good stock and a family history
of ski racing in Vermont. With his young racers in tow, watching his every
move, McNealus won the first run. He hung onto the lead with a solid second
run surviving attacks by Alex Gadbois and a blistering pace by Terrence
Fogarty. Fogarty posted the fastest second run by over a half second. Brian
Irwin dodged first run snags on “The Face” and returned to nearly duplicate
his first run time while the rest of the field took off 1-2 seconds on the
run to take fourth. Rich Jefferson rounded out the top five on the firm,
chalky surface. Superseed
qualifiers from the first run finishing the race with letters (DNF) instead
of numbers were Mark George and Robert Jaffe, both tripped up on the flats.
Another local favorite and Superseed qualifier, Scott Smith, claimed the
greatest altitude just prior to instant deceleration. Smith suffered the most
spectacular crash of the day only feet from the finish, but was able to
gingerly walk away from the crash. Vlad Krylov
and Doug Carpenter moved up to sixth and seventh. Rick Cesati, Hans
Tuckenbrod and Lane Partridge benefited from the three “DNF’s” and moved into
the top ten. Cesati, the entertainer, engaged in some of the most spectacular
series of linked recoveries in his first run. Commenting on those recoveries,
Cesati said, they “don’t really phase me anymore” because he’s used to
finding his ski near his ear during a race run. A Tribute
to George A very sad
ending to the weekend as Masters racers learned that longtime racer George
Anderson passed away unexpectedly on the eve of the Suicide Six slalom.
George skied both races at Middlebury and would have wanted everyone to race
and to go like hell for him. For years, George took it upon himself to make
sure no one (especially the ladies and the older men) had to endure a cold
chairlift ride. With regularity he organized and carried clothing to the
finish and sometimes it was difficult to see George beneath the monstrous
pile. The mens field on Monday didn’t miss a beat. Not a single coat was
found at the start of the slalom. George would be proud. The first to admit
that he probably would never win a race, he tried with as much effort as the
winner. For that he was a winner. The first time George “podiumed” in his age
group (Mount Snow) he was so happy he was in tears, and so was everyone else
who enjoyed his “victory.” Everyone liked George. A sensitive and
caring man, he will be missed by many. By Barb
Brumbaugh |