Mount Sunapee GS - February 9, 2002 175 racers skied in this race. Action speaks louder than words, and
that says articulately that the New England Masters is a strong group. The
cordiality, helpfulness, humor and dignity made it very nice for the group
and their spouses and children. The spouses, Allison Voelker, Connie Wisse,
Carl Sherter, Pat Dodge, Briggita Brodt, Linda Crabtree, to name just a few,
always have a lighthearted and encouraging word. And, the a capella solo by
Pete Donaghy was quite a surprise, would you say a little tour de force?
I had never been to Sunapee before, and was pleased that I made the
turns to get there, all the while hoping that I would also make the turns on
the hill. I noticed that we bulged the aisles between the rows of tables in
the Goose Feathers Lodge. Thank goodness we're all svelte and trim in the
front and the back.
I thought it just a little nippy going up for the first run. But before
I went up for my run, I watched Anne Nordhoy in a sleek tuck in the latter
part of the course. By the way, Anne won the women's overall in the Kandahar
Masters Slalom at Courmayeur on February 3rd. As I awaited my turn, I saw
Patti Lane and Margaret Vaughn carve their turns over the knoll at the top
where there was the sharp turn to the right. After my first run, when I was
carrying coats and midway down the hill, I watched Doug Tucker skiing with a
great carved, round arc. While I was in the same position after my second
run, I watched Derek Griggs adjusting very well to the rolls in the course.
From outside the fence at the finish, I saw John Pierce skiing with
seemingly unlimited speed.
In the first run, Janice Dahl was the first woman by more than a second
and only one of the men, Tip Kimball, was ahead of her and then only by one
one hundredth of a second. I think that's possibly just the bat of an eye
or a letter on a ski. In the second run, the young women went after her,
and Jessie McAleer, Callie Phillips and Carolyn Beckedorf had faster times,
placing Jessie first, Janice second, Callie third and Carolyn fourth among
the women. The rest of the top ten women in order were Susanna Whitcher,
Margaret Vaughn, Barbara Brumbaugh, Patti Lane, Lori O'Brien and Anne
Nordhoy.
Jim Harding was the first among the men and the first overall. This was
only the second time this year that Jim has raced with us, and you can't be
better than first. I'd like to see you with us more often, Jim. I mention
that as one who isn't yet in close competition. After Jim, the rest of the
top ten men in order of finish were Tip Kimball, Sean Florian, Chris
Johnson, David Lamb, Doug Tucker, John Pierce, Alex Gadbois, Eric Tanner and
Andy Lussier. Bob Sardelli almost made the top ten. Bob told me that he
manages a place to stay on the Mountain Road at Killington, called Mountain
Sports Inn. With the Killington race coming up, you might be interested in
the web site, www.mountainsportsinn.com.
It's a great thing when someone accomplishes something that they haven't
done in the races so far this season. Sara Sherter took first in Class 5
for the first time this year. Congratulations, Sara. You may not know
this, but Sara and I studied skiing together at Rod Taylor's Woodbury Camp
between Christmas and New Years, although Sara's attendance was better than
mine. Another first for the season was Tom Calder taking third place in
Class 7. Tom is also a fellow Woodbury alumni who had
superior attendance. In addition, Nate Grifkin, Mike Hoar, Jerome Guerard,
Susan Jefferson, Caroliine Elander and Mal-Sun Marletto were in the top
three in their Class for the first time this year. Also in the nice new
accomplishment category was Bob Wilson being second in Class 9 in the first
run.
I think it's also a terrific thing when someone goes back for the second
run and significantly outperforms what they did in the first. Improving
their second run over their first by five seconds or more were Phillip St.
Pierre, Bruno Janicki, Jim Cooke, Charles Rodgers, Larry Voelker, Philip
Larkin, Mike Rooney, Michael Carreira, Stephen Crimmin, Cameron Fadjo, James
Huston, Haldor Reinholt, Kevin Nolan, Alexander Zavorski and Bob Hill,
and Jennifer Peters almost did it.
With Valentine's Day almost here, I'd like to offer some suggestions.
While perhaps not a saucy gift, Reusch Nor Am Mittens from Artech could warm
your significant other (603-632-9360). The Iron Clad Washable Gardening
gloves from Florian Tools (www.floriantools.com or 1-800-275-3618) might be
better for Valentine's than the Landscape Rake. You could carve some red
Swix wax in the shape of a heart. Buchika's Ski & Sport (www.buchika.com)
in Salem, NH and Haverhill, Mass. might have some long underwear bottoms.
Incidentally, Buchika's was recently named National Ski Shop of the Year by
Ski Magazine. The Denby pottery in the raffle at Cranmore was richly
colored and suitable for our casual life style, and Maidli Hill
(Maidli@HillSpecialty.com) is the sales representative for New England.
Denby is available at Kitchen,Etc. and Filene's, and Maidli will have
catalogs at future races. Then, there's my recipe for planter's punch. To a
cocktail glass, add chilled ice, then add Mount Gay Rum. If you feel that
you didn't get the proportions right the first time, you may want to try it
again.
|
Bob Butler is a class eight racer residing in Wilton, Connecticut, whose first ski race was a New England Masters race at Sunday River in 1994. He had been a recreational skier since the mid 60's and after the Sunday River Race became more or less hooked. A long time runner and road racer he started attending some race camps and more New England Masters races. Bob, an attorney, recently retired as the Chief Litigation Counsel for Union Carbide Corporation. |