The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We’re looking forward to hitting the snow"
The Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team is gaining steam heading into its second year of existence with several returning athletes, new programs and numerous events lined up for the 2009-2010 season.
Mountain Sports Team director Drew Cesati and members of his coaching staff have the kids outside already warming up for the season with a rigorous series of dry land training sessions. While last year only a handful of kids participated, this year Cesati and his crew have as many as 20 kids lunging and crunching well ahead of last year’s schedule.
“I think being established for a year has helped,” says Cesati. “We’ve tried to hit it a little earlier this year. There are some comps early season that are weighted pretty heavily so we want to be ready.”
Once the preseason is over, the team is full-on with numerous home hill events, road trips and a variety of opportunities for rising shredders to get premier coaching right in their back yard.
Alpine Skiing
Cesati is heading the alpine race program with Brett Wagenheim returning from last year as well. In addition, Connor Lynch and Nate Cote, both of whom helped out last season, will be stepping into coaching roles and Louise Lintilhac is coming to Crested Butte fresh off a career racing for Middlebury College.
The Mountain Sports alpine program is adding two components this year, both at the younger ages and at the older elite level.
Cesati is hoping to get the kids ages six to seven on snow in the J6 program and start building the program at the early stages.
“We want to fuel our development ranks and start from the bottom up,” says Cesati.
The Mountain Sports Team offers race coaching and instruction from the J6 level all the way up to an elite J2 level, with local J2 racers Cole Byron and Mick Osmundson in the elite program.
“They’re a two-man wrecking crew hitting the elite circuit,” says Cesati. “We’re hoping they can also generate some excitement among the younger kids.”
Furthermore the Mountain Sports Team will be offering their Christmas Camps again, with a Christmas speed camp and a race camp.
The speed camp will develop fundamentals of speed skiing. And athletes will have private access to the Paradise lift for closed-venue speed skiing. The speed camp will be available for J4s and older.
The race camp is designed for athletes visiting the area on their Christmas break looking for some volume with a coach and a fun training group.
As far as alpine events, in addition to the time honored Prater Cup in February, Crested Butte Mountain Resort is hosting a USSA GS age class race January 2-3 and J2 slalom races on January 16-17. The J2 slalom races will serve as qualifiers for the J2 Nationals.
“We’re looking for some great attendance,” says Cesati. “It’s a qualifier so it should bring a lot of racers in.”
Freeride Program
The freeride program includes both big mountain skiing and park and pipe, with some gate training thrown in as well.
“I like to have a broad base of skiing for the athletes,” says coach Woody Lindenmyer. “Get them to see where they really shine and then hone in on their skills.”
Lindenmyer returns from last year to head the program with Hans Von Briesen joining the fray.
“We’re psyched to bring Hans back in,” says Cesati.
In addition, Alex Albers joins the coaching staff fresh off several years of competing.
“Alex brings in a lot of comp experience,” says Cesati.
Last year the team had 25 athletes and Lindenmyer is looking to see it grow this year with 24 signed up already.
“I’m hoping to bust 30,” says Lindenmyer.
“The freeride ski program is growing exponentially,” adds Cesati.
The team had a breakout season last year with a couple of titles and numerous top-three finishes in both big mountain comps as well as the park and pipe events.
Highlights include MacKenzie Mailly winning the adult telemark freeskiing competition here, as well as the freeskiing event in Snowbird. Hillari Spencer was the national champion in the skiercross in her age group 16-19 year olds and Aaron Blunck tested the waters of the national scene in the park and pipe circuit when he took second place in the junior halfpipe jam at the US Freeskiing Open Championships last March.
“We saw success across the board,” says Lindenmyer. “I was blown away.”
Lindenmyer hopes to build upon the experience from last year to continue the training and preparation of the team athletes this year, including opening up some more athletes to the national scene. In addition to adding another big mountain competition to their schedule, Lindenmyer hopes to get Blunck into the Gatorade Freeflow tour, an avenue to the prestigious Dew Tour.
Snowboarding
Assistant Mountain Sports director Christian Robertson is back to lead the snowboard program, which will encompass training for racing gates, park and pipe and a big mountain aspect to create the complete snowboard athlete.
Joining Robertson will be veteran rider and former coach John Chorlton, Royal White and Ryan Callison.
“The new blood and younger coaching demographic can lead by example on the snow,” says Cesati.
“We’re bring him in as the young gun,” says Robertson of Callison. “He’s an incredible rider.”
They’re expanding the program to offer coaching to eight and nine-year-olds as well, with Chorlton and White heading that group.
“We got a grom crew,” says Robertson.
Last year, the team had 12 riders, with several qualifying for the USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain last season. Mountain Sports Team athlete Colleen Healey was the overall USASA national champion in her age group.
“She’s coming in psyched,” says Robertson.
This year Robertson hopes to bring close to 20 riders to the program.
“We’re growing the program.”
In addition, Crested Butte Mountain Resort will host a regional competition series, the Southwest Series, again this year, bringing in athletes from all over the southwest and some from the Front Range.
“We’re psyched to have the Southwest Series back,” says Cesati. “We’re looking to grow that.”
The series involves five weekends of competition, opening on December 19-20 with slalom and GS races for snowboarders and closing on March 12-14 with a halfpipe, boardercross and skiercross event.
“It’s the route to go this side of the [Continental] Divide] if you want to get to Nationals,” says Robertson.
The Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team hits the snow this weekend, with athletes traveling to Summit County for some snow workouts at Copper from November 5-8.
“We’re looking forward to hitting the snow,” says Cesati. “We’re hoping to get 25 to 30 days on snow before our first comp.”
For more information on the Mountain Sports Team check out skicb.com or contact Drew Cesati at 349-4441.
