Sun/Gun Fun, February 8 and 9, 2003
I think that finding Sunapee is a good way to start things off. I'd also suggest that it's good to be feeling the front of the boots in an athletic stance moving through the aisles between the tables.
On the hill, it was sunny and cold with a prevailing strong spirit in all directions. Sunapee gave us a great giant slalom, and, if there were a competition for the best Masters GS, Sunapee would be in the running.
My feeling was that knolls or rolls didn't best describe the Lynx trail, and Peter Dumont told me, "they're undulations," i.e., like waves. Things went smoothly and quickly through the upper part. Then, somewhere in the middle, there were one or two turns on steep pitches where it was something of a challenge to arc around the next gate. Larry Young, who had a great first run, told me that his pressuring the skis before the rise helped keep his skis from getting light from the rise on the downside. The lower part was the most fun, where one could load the skis and feel the snap. I think that Doug Wisse characterized it well as a technical race. Interestingly, the sheet says that there were four fewer gates in the second run, but eight of the top ten men and nine of the top ten women had longer times, albeit not much longer, in the second run.
There was good viewing from the bottom, and, after carrying coats, it happened that I watched Paul Berton, Mark George, Doug Tucker and Bob Hill. To me, Paul and Mark were finesse, Doug was strength and power and Bob was pushing close to but not over the edge.
Matt Aeschliman had the fastest first run, and Bob Hill the next, but Bob had the fastest second run, and it put him in first place overall. Matt was a quarter of a second ahead of Tip Kimball in the first run, but Tip's second run was three quarters of a second ahead of Matt's, so Tip took second and Matt third. David Wolff was 0.6 behind Matt for both runs combined, placing him fourth. Then, Andy Lussier came in fifth by 0.12 seconds longer than David. All so close. Then, from among the usual suspects, Sean Florian, Biria St. John, Mark George, Jim Thompson and Doug Tucker, in that order.
Jessie McAleer's first run was faster than all except four of the men. She was first among the women, and Carolyn Beckedorff second. Third, fourth and fifth were not separated by much with Lori O'Brien ahead of Margaret Vaughn by half a second, and Margaret ahead of Nadine Price by a third of a second. Next, were Sue Jefferson, Patti Lane, Meg Nutter, Caroline Elander and Gay Folland.
Going to the classes, 12 was won by Nate Grifkin, 11 by Duffy Dodge, 10 by Larry Voelker, 9 by Larry Young, 8 by Anne Nordhoy and Bob McKee, 7 by Sue Boulter and Dwight Conant, 6 by Meg Nutter and Hans Truckenbrod, 5 by Margaret Vaughn and Bob Hill, 4 by Sue Jefferson and Tip Kimball, 3 by Carolyn Beckedorff and David Wolff, 2 by Jessie McAleer and Matt Aeschliman, and 1 by Jim Thompson.
We remarked that Phil Brodt skied well for his first time out with us this year. We hope that Tracy Boulter recovers soon and is back with us soon. I remember when I introduced myself to Tracy at the Western Regionals a couple years ago and asked her if she was any relation to Sue.
After the second run, I went free skiing with one of my daughters, and I saw that others were also enjoying the trails off the quad. It was fun, and, after a day out in the cold, the hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookie tasted good. I noted that others had something slightly different upstairs.
The raffle and awards were outdoors on the porch, and Bill VanAtten won an attractive Denby bowl, with the hint that it might possibly be suitable for his nice wife for Valentine's Day. Al Sevigny said that I should sign this article Bob "Lucky" Butler, but I have not adopted his suggestion because, surprisingly, my name wasn't drawn this week. In the course of things, Eric Tanner told us he was taking Rishlene Mooney to Gunstock for their honeymoon. Sounded OK to me.
At Sunapee, the race lodge was relatively spacious for us, and we had it to ourselves. It is situated so that when you look out you can't see the parking lot.
Both slalom courses were set for smooth skiing and carried the momentum through the less steep portions. Stefi Hastings told me that she liked the slalom here, and I agreed with her. In the first run, some of us, myself included, missed gate 28 after the flush, and some also missed gate 34, which was in shade near the finish. In a way, these two gates were a little extra test that led to some undoing.
By the time I got ready to watch after my runs, the women had skied. So, with my apologies to the ladies for a lack of alacrity, I saw: Dwight Conant, smooth arc to arc; Mike Rooney, scrapping with the gates; Bill Brennan, working hard in the last turns; Number 76, into the fence in the finish area with a smile; Bob Hill, skis way out but in balance; Tip Kimball, going arc to arc; Derek Griggs, aggressively forward; Sean Florian, always in an arc; Alex Gadbois, always close to the poles; Judson Bartlett, a lot of extension; Bryan Reimer, working the course; Jim Thompson, amazing speed.
For the results, ladies first. Jessie McAleer was ahead of Carolyn Beckedorff by 44/100, with Sue Jefferson third. Then, a nice showing by Meg Nutter, a quarter of a second ahead of Margaret Vaughn, who has fast skis. Next, were Gretchen Gandini, Kim Wolff, Sara Sherter, who has a Rossignol jacket that I like, Stacey Weston and Patti Lane.
Judson Bartlett was first among the men; he was the slightest one one hundredth of a second ahead of Bob Hill for both runs. Third, was David Wolff, 0.27 behind Bob; fourth, Matt Aeschliman, 0.40 behind David; and fifth, Sean Florian, 0.31 longer than Matt. Then some more familiar names, Alex Gadbois, Jim Thompson, Mark George, Mark Budreski and Eric Tanner.
Those who went to the head of their classes: 1-Jim Thompson and Gretchen Gandini; 2-Judson Bartlett and Jessie McAleer; 3-David Wolff and Carolyn Beckedorff; 4-Tip Kimball and Sue Jefferson; 5-Bob Hill and Margaret Vaughn; 6-Bill Brennan and Meg Nutter; 7-Dwight Conant and Sue Boulter; 8-Klaus Haas and Anne Nordhoy; 9-David Britton and Wendy Hill; 10-Al Sevigny; 11-Duffy Dodge.
In the middle of things, I rode up the lift with Anne Nordhoy, and she told me about skiing in the races at Fai della Paganella and Courmeyeur in Italy with Glenn McConkey. Glenn won Class 7 in the Nationals last year, and she trains hard, races hard and tutors children gently. Anne finished ahead of Glenn in one of the four races they entered, quite an accomplishment.
Sunapee and Gunstock are also a combined race, and the combined times are scored as an additional race for Sise Cup points. The top five men and women for the combined were: first, Bob Hill and Jessie McAleer; second, David Wolff and Carolyn Beckedorff; third, Matt Aeschliman and Sue Jefferson; fourth, Sean Florian and Margaret Vaughn; fifth, Tip Kimball and Meg Nutter.
As always, we appreciate: Sunapee and Gunstock for being our hosts; the course setters, course starters, gate keepers, race officials and those who hand out and collect the bibs; the Masters who explain the courses to us; our sponsors - Artech, which sells the highest quality ski racing products at the lowest possible prices, Denby Pottery, Buchika's Ski & Bike Shop in Salem and Haverhill, Florian Tools (go to www.FlorianTools.com), Swix wax and related items of interest, and Atomic Skis (a pair of which I am a lucky winner).
To your health (and luck)! |