The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It was really tough conditions”
It’s been a tough season for the Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team (CBMST) big mountain competitors, with low snow both here and around the country.
Conditions here didn’t improve until last month and, until then, CBMST head freeride coach Woody Lindenmeyr made the most of what the mountain had to offer.
“We did a lot of cross-training, getting them in the park and finding any natural airs we could in places like Psycho Rocks,” says Lindenmeyr.
Once the Headwall and North Face opened, Lindenmeyr had the kids hitting it hard as they prepared for the first Junior Freeskiing Tour event of the season at Crystal Mountain March 2-4.
“Once that opened we were up there pretty regularly,” says Lindenmeyr.
As a result, Lindenmeyr believed athletes Nolan Blunck, Matt Evans, Patrick Curvin and Lane Griffin were ready as they headed off to Crystal Mountain, specifically his older skiers.
“Matt and Nolan were very prepared,” says Lindenmeyr. “We’ve been on the steeps as much as possible.”
But you can only prepare so much for the conditions the athletes encountered at Crystal Mountain.
“Conditions when we arrived were fantastic but then things changed drastically,” says Lindenmeyr.
Fog set in on day one and stayed through day two of the event, forcing organizers to scramble and fit as much in, and coaches and athletes alike were unsure if it would be a one-run event.
“Every run counts,” says Lindenmeyr. “You can’t be too cautious but not reckless. It’s a fine line between going for it but sticking it.”
Organizers managed to get some athletes through the fog bank on the first two days and when the sun broke out on day three, it was game on.
“Day three was action packed,” says Lindenmeyr. “There were probably as many as 140 runs on that day.”
Unfortunately, the fog and some rain had wreaked havoc on the venue and competitors were faced with icy pitches mixed with soft patches until the sun softened everything up.
“It was really tough conditions,” says Lindenmeyr.
It was Griffin’s first competition of his young career and while he fell short of advancing, he ended up 25th out of 41 athletes in the 12-14 age group.
Curvin had a huge comeback over the course of his two runs in the same age group. After just barely making the cut after run one with a 16th-place finish, he picked a unique line on his final run to move into eighth place overall.
“He took an unpopular line on a big fin and worked it really well,” says Lindenmeyr.
Meanwhile, Blunck and Evans had their hands full in the 15-18-year-old age class, which has exploded in both numbers and ability over the past couple of years.
“It’s incredibly competitive these days,” says Lindenmeyr. “I enjoy watching these guys more than the adults. They’re incredibly gifted with their technique and ability.”
Blunck dropped into his line on his first run and crushed the upper part but fell victim to the mixed conditions on a 30-foot air when he punched through the crust and into the soft snow sending him tomahawking down.
“He was going for it and had an awesome line,” says Lindenmeyr.
Evans was sitting in second place after his first run but fell back two spots after his second run to finish the weekend in fourth place among the juniors.
“I was very happy,” says Lindenmeyr. “I think we’re very competitive for being such a small team and our attitudes and sportsmanship was stellar.”
The team hits overdrive now with the rest of the JFT stops all happening in the next four weeks. Lindenmeyr, Curvin, Blunck, Evans and possibly Sean Johnson are off to Squaw Valley for the next competition March 8-11.
