Janelle Smiley a Ski Mountaineering champ

Four local skiers qualify for U.S. team headed to worlds

Crested Butte resident Janelle Smiley knocked off the biggest names in women’s U.S. Ski Mountaineering racing to win the 2011 U.S. Ski Mountaineering Championships in Jackson Hole on Saturday, January 8.
The win secured her spot on the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team headed to the world championships in Claut, Italy February 17-25. Bryan Wickenhauser, Jari Kirkland and Travis Scheefer will join Smiley on the team with their efforts over the weekend as well.
Ski-mountaineering racing, aka randonnee racing, is gaining ground nationwide and with three men’s and three women’s spots on the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team up for grabs at Jackson Hole, the field of racers was stout.
Wickenhauser was a member of the 2008 and 2010 U.S. team and saw the competition at Jackson as the best ever at the U.S. championships.
“It was the strongest field I’ve ever seen,” says Wickenhauser. “There were so many guys in suits—30 guys on the line fighting for those top spots.”
This year’s course was daunting, with 7,600 vertical feet of climbing including a boot pack/ladder climb straight up the famed Corbet’s Couloir.
Adding to the experience, a storm rolled in and racers were met with howling winds up high.
“It was reasonably warm out but the winds were nuking,” says Wickenhauser.
Smiley’s no stranger to the world of randonnee racing, having competed in a few races last year, but this was her first trip to the U.S. championships.
“All my friends were telling me I gotta go for it,” says Smiley.
Heading in to the race she knew who her competition was—specifically Sari Anderson and Monique Merrell—and planned accordingly.
“I knew to make it to the Worlds I had to be top three, so my goal was to get on their tails and stay there,” says Smiley.
Smiley jumped on Anderson’s tails from the start and the two racers traded off in the lead throughout the entire course. Anderson was first up the ladder but Smiley was right behind her and once out of the couloir, she was smacked by the intense winds.
“As soon as you popped your head over the lip it was just blasting,” says Smiley.
A brief climb along the ridge continued to pound racers with cold before they dropped into a long, 4,000-foot descent.
With no glasses to shield her eyes, Smiley then jumped on the tails of Johnny Biggers to make her way down.
“I just did exactly what he did,” says Smiley.
She passed Anderson during the descent but the two were neck-and-neck on the ensuing final 1,000-foot climb.
It was there that Smiley got her break as Anderson suffered climbing skin issues and Smiley charged into the lead and took off from the final transition with a slim lead and pointed it for the finish, completing the course in a time of three hours, seven minutes and 21 seconds.
“I just tucked it through the mogul fields,” says Smiley. “It was super tight and there was no room for error.”
Smiley crossed the finish line somewhat in disbelief at the fact that she had just won the U.S. Ski Mountaineering championships and earned a spot on the U.S. team.
Anderson is “a stronger racer, I just had a better day,” says Smiley. “I feel like I left it all out on the course. It’s such a gift, I can’t believe it.”
As for the rest of the local crew on hand, Kirkland finished in fifth among the women. Wickenhauser led the local men, taking fifth place; Jon Brown finished in 19th; Johnny Biggers in 25th; and Mark Smiley took 33rd place.
The following day, they all lined up for the Grand Targhee Ski Mountaineering Classic. It was a second shot for the rest of the local crew to make the U.S. team and three of the Gunnison Valley racers punched their ticket to Italy.
Smiley traded places with Anderson, coming in second place at Grand Targhee. Travis Scheefer, who dropped out of the Jackson Hole race, came back to take second place in Grand Targhee and earn a spot on the U.S. team.
Wickenhauser took fifth place again to get him his third trip to the world championships and Kirkland finished in fourth place and will make her second trip to the World Championships. In the end a grand total of four local racers made the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team headed to race in the world championships in Italy in February.