Wildcat/Cranmore/Attitash Test Control, Conditioning
and Courage
Wildcat. The name has to have been devised by a clever marketing man, because it appeals to that portion of the human psyche that responds to challenge, evoking images of savage speed, of the feral and the dangerous, of the predatory. Indeed, the mountain is steep, often cold, and skiers occasionally encounter the odd patch of ice. What a mountain for a SuperG, and what a day! Temperatures were endurable, the sky was blue, and the looming spectacle of Mount Washington was arresting. Kevin Nolan set the course, and it was a corker. Jessie McAleer characterized it as "The best of both possible worlds--scary without being dangerous." Had we been assured that the latter portion of the statement were true we might not have experienced the former. On the speed scale this one ranked at least a 9. One of the officials asked, "Do you think it's too wide open?" Nah. The top was a little turny, but it brought us at alarming speed into a loose "S" through a corridor where you had to ratchet up your courage, because that was pretty much the last turn we needed to make. Officials at the top admonished us to tuck or prejump one of the knolls, but being forewarned did not forearm us, because most people took air anyway. We came careening into the finish area so fast we weren't sure if muscle and bone could reverse the inertia of our mass and velocity, and more than half the field checked, stood up, or threw their skies sideways before the finish line. The bottom two thirds of the course held up perfectly, largely because nobody set an edge. Racers crossed the finish with hoots, cheers and rebel yells, and one man bellowed, "I don't care what my time was, that one was worth the price of my ticket!" The biggest problem for most racers was that we just never ski that fast, so we are unaccustomed to the rate at which the mind at that speed has to make choices, the demands on motor coordination, the hammering heart, the toughness of mental focus. It helped us all understand our limits.
Only 12 women completed the course. Jessie McAleer (whose time was faster than all but 9 of the men) again claimed a Sise Cup victory. Lisa Densmore established a secure second. Patti Lane finished about a half second ahead of Nadine Price, and Class 6's Gay Folland skied fearlessly into a decisive fifth place. In Class 4 Kristin Macomber, former New England Masters Board member and long time SISE Cup competitor, returned to race after many years of absence. She has the talent and experience to pose a threat to the leaders, but unfortunately she prereleased and skidded (unharmed) into the netting.
The men's race brought out the animal in many, as they pulled up the anchor and just let it rip. Tip Kimball hit the finish area a little more than a half second ahead of Sean Florian. Class 3's David Bruhm pulled in about a second behind, and Class 1 men Marc Sorel (who has won this race in the past) and Steven Ouellete were four nano-one-hundredths of a second apart. Class 6 had a close race. Newcomer Rick Walters won, but Kent Dover, Walter Elander and Byron Hathorn were all within 7 tenths of one another. An equally close battle was waged in Class 5, where Kevin Nolan won by a large margin, but Jon Morrison, Neal Melanson, Dana Billing and Eric Martin were within 3 tenths of a second of one another.
The SuperG was the first race of this year's Gibson Cup, an honor awarded to the male and female with the fastest combined times at Wildcat and at Cranmore's slalom. If Wildcat suffered a shortage of gates, Cranmore balanced with an excess of them. But to hit the gates or not to hit the gates, that was the question pondered by our elite slalom racers--whether it is faster if we suffer the slings and slaps of outrageous aggression on the gates or if we take up arms against convention and edge round, quick, and high. The sets this year beg the question, and the jury still seems to be out.
We were treated to the exhibition of forerunners David Lamb (winner of the 2002 Tuckerman's Inferno Pentathlon Event on and around Mt. Washington, a diabolic sporting event combing running, Kayaking, cycling, hiking and skiing Tuckerman's Ravine) and defending Sise Cup champion Chris Johnson, taking the "year off" to rehab his knee (who showed absolutely no evidence of caution or restraint in the way he attacked the course). Those close to the course heard the grunts of athletes at work, as racers found the first run heavy slogging. The set on the bottom flat featured uphill fallaway gates, so if you tried to carry speed into them but got low, you were poling to the finish. Light precipitation of a mutable nature came in for the afternoon run, changing the character of the snow, rendering it slippery in places, catchy at unexpected points, and very rough. The course turned into a tough game of bump and grind, taking out the unready, unsteady and unlucky. Bob Hill, a dynamo of aggressive vitality gifted with balance, feel, and supple strength, launched out of the final flush to nail down a full 5 second combined lead over the rest of the field. The next four male finishers, David Wolff, Scott Berube, Sean Florian and Steve Ouellete, all finished within six tenths of a second of one another.
Jessie McAleer did not have the fastest first run; Carolyn Beckedorff had her by the better part of 2 seconds. But Jessie came out the gate on the second run like a ballistic missile and snaked her way through the flushes and hairpins with sinewy belligerence for the fastest second run and the overall victory. Lisa Densmore, always a tough gamer, finished only eight tenths out in third.
Cranmore always hosts a nice party, the day's aches, rivalries, triumphs and tribulations mellowed out with the aid of liquid refreshment from Shipyard Brewery, and by the rewards of a raffle enabled by sponsors Atomic, Buchika's Ski Shop, Florian Tools, Denby Pottery, Artech, Swix, and Mogul Mountain Travel. The Gibson Cup trophy was awarded, with recognition (and distinctive note cards provided by Class 7's Stefi Hastings [www.Hausfraufoto.com]) to the top 3 men and women. Sean Florian's combined time (he finished second on Friday and fourth at Cranmore) won him the men's honor, more than a second ahead of David Wolff. Wolff was about a half second ahead of Steven Ouellete, and Tip Kimball, Friday's winner, finished up in fourth. Jessie McAleer won the combined and her place in the history of the Cup by more than 3 seconds-ahead of Lisa Densmore, and of formidable competitor, still racing with a metal rod down the length of her shin, Nadine Price.
A classic wintry mix came in Saturday night, depositing 3-4 inches of wet coast powder the consistency of cement. It built up on the sides of the Spillway at Attitash--a condition that is unforgiving--exacerbating the intimidating nature of the top of that trail. Its narrow terrain and proximity to trees induces the unsettling sense that an error at speed places the aggressor at great risk, and although the set controlled speed over the waterfall, dropping over the face feels a little like descending into Dante's Inferno with ice. There is a fine balance between control and a commitment to the speed necessary to carry the racer onto the rolling flats. Both runs featured blind gates and both were haunted by the ghosts of races past as cross-ruts bounced the unwary, jarring them off line. The wind picked up in the second run, and the game became uneven as chance intervened to play a role, buffeting and blinding some hapless racers while others skied with full vision. Although most conceded the clock did not reflect the speed they felt they had achieved, they could not deny the experience was a rush up there with caffeine and chocolate.
Maybe winning streaks self-perpetuate, because it isn't as if she is without creditable competition. Jessie McAleer claimed her third victory of the weekend, her sixth Sise Cup win of the season. Carolyn Beckedorff responded with a valiant challenge in the second run, edging to within a tenth of a second of McAleer, and Brooks Axelson held onto her third place finish.
Nobody got very close to Class 1's Seth Mann in this race, but the race behind him was closely contested, this time by the younger classes, evidencing the remarkable absence of course deterioration. Matt Aeschliman (Class 2), Alex Gadbois (Class 2), David Wolff (Class 3), Eric Tanner (Class 3), and Tip Kimball (Class 4) were all within a combined nine tenths of a second from one another.
Our GS suits packed away, we morphed back into ordinary-looking men and women and drove away from Attitash in snow falling like ticker tape. Each of us was still tallying up the pros and cons of our weekend's performance, every nerve ending alive with feeling, and we all knew the vitality engendered by contending with challenge and the happy weariness born of pushing the limits, of engaging in a sport that adds to life with its power to enlighten and include. We felt absolutely certain of at least one thing in life: that the hours and money we spent getting to these three days of racing were a pittance to pay for the mind-boggling five minutes of descent.
Next weekend the SISE Cup series continues at Mt. Sunapee and Gunstock, where the combined race for SISE points could constitute a big factor in determining the final standings. |