Unexcused Absences

The US Ski Team came to town this week. There was a pair of FIS (International Ski Federation) slalom races here at Beaver Creek, and the best young college and national team skiers showed up. Big races are always fun, if for no other reason than to watch the athletes out free-skiing before and after the race. These folks can really turn a pair of skis.

FIS Slalom Race Startline

Our friend Scott (youngest member of the US Ski Team) was in town for the race, and we hosted his dad (Shep) in our spare bedroom. The last time we saw them was a little over a month ago in Aspen for the US National Downhill Championships. It’s always a blast hanging out with these two, Shep and I swap stories from back in the 1980’s, and Scott is overflowing with enthusiasm for my favorite/second favorite sport. Scott had a pair of solid, if not stellar, runs in the first slalom race. In his defense this was his first time in a slalom course in about 3 weeks.

Kent gratefully accepts Scott's old GS racing skis

But the big news, aside from the fantastic day of skiing we had (I’ll get to that in a minute), was that when Shep pulled in last night, he said “I’ve got your skis all tuned and waxed,” which prompted a “what skis?” response from me. “We’re giving you a pair of Scott’s GS race skis from last year,” Shep said. A large grin spread over my face. “You can’t be serious?!?” I replied. “Yep, I’ll go get them,” whereupon Shep went out to the car and came back carrying a pair of race-stock 191cm Atomic Doubledeck beauties. These are the same skis that World Cup racers use, a fantastic and generous gift. The general public can’t even buy race-stock skis like these. Very stiff, very stable at speed, pure skiing fun in a 24 pound package.

The next morning was Saturday, race day, but before watching Scott’s races there was some business to attend to. Friday nights the Beav grooms Golden Eagle, a double-black diamond vertical skating rink where they hold the Birds of Prey World Cup Downhill race every year. This is one fun, fast slope, and to top things off, it had snowed a few inches after the grooming machines had worked the slope over last night. Shep and I caught first chair to the top of the mountain, and slid over to the top of the “Brink”, a fall-away pitch that marks the start of about 2000 vertical feet of sometimes brutal steeps. We paused to take in the quiet morning view, untracked snow laid out in front of us, then pushed off into a truly fantastic run of endless turns down untracked powder. Unfortunately Heather and Scott couldn’t join us, Heather because she was working and Scott because he was inspecting the race course.

After watching Scott’s two slalom runs, and grabbing a bite of lunch, we collected Heather and Scott and the four of us headed back to Golden Eagle for another go at the downhill course. Scott was still wearing his 165cm slalom race skis, which are short, twitchy, and very unstable at speed. They are designed for slow speed (~30 mph) and lots of quick turns. An appropriate ski for this slope is at least 190cm, and preferably 215cm (at this point I’m on Scott’s old 191cm GS skis).

If you remember my previous post about free-skiing with Scott, this story will have a familiar ring to it. We arrived at the top of the Brink, and Scott turns and says, “follow me, I’m going to ski the race line,” then points his slalom skis straight down the Brink and immediately accelerates to over 60 mph, through the Talon Turn, around Pete’s Arena, and past the Super G start. What the reader may not realize is that it is now after noon, which means that the slope is no longer the pristine groomed surface of our morning run, but rather is a jumble of snow piles, ridges, ruts, washboards, and moguls. I did my best to keep up, but Scott rapidly pulls away into the distance. And I’m the one with the skis more suited to this slope and speed.

Scott graciously pulls up to wait for me part way down, and then we’re off again, back to 60+ mph, around the Pumphouse turn, big air over the Screech Owl jump, and across the Parking Lot. This time I’m doing a little better keeping up. I see Scott look over his shoulder to check on me, then look back and fly off the Golden Eagle jump. I pre-jump it but still get decent air, then we swoop through a hard right-foot compression in the Abyss, over Bode’s Demise, a left foot turn into Harrier jump, shoot the pitch, and come to a stop at the top of Red Tail jump just above the finish line.  *Whew*.  It’s remarkable what effect peer pressure (from a 17-year old!) can have on a middle-aged, marginally accomplished skier.

After that Scott had to get back to the Team, and Heather, Shep and I spent the afternoon on a full, leisurely tour of the Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead sections of the resort, making some great high-speed cruising laps on Sawbuck and Golden Bear. The final thing on the day’s agenda was a beer on the sun deck at the Ritz, and then we called it quits after a beautiful spring day covering 25,000 vertical feet.