The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Holy Homologation!
It’s hard enough walking up the hill from town to make it to the fully homologated and therefore FIS-sanctioned racecourse on the Bench. And that little hill doesn’t even touch the hill section on the actual course, known formerly as Hell Hill, and now known officially as an “A” climb and, in my opinion, a portal to the Pain Cave.
“Because you can see that hill from the stadium, it kind of gets in your head,” says Crested Butte Nordic Team (CBNT) coach Austin Ross. “The height of the hill is on the low side of other A climbs but it’s steep, and that’s what makes it sting.”
And with this newly built FIS-sanctioned homologated racecourse and a designated Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) event, came a slightly higher caliber Nordic skier as well as a couple of skiers from the island of Dominica to Crested Butte for the Solstice Showdown Saturday and Sunday, December 21-22.
Dominica you ask? Me too.
Definitely not the Dominican Republic, as I found out when one of the racers firmly corrected me.
“Hey, Dominican Republic, I heard you were going to be here,” I said excitedly.
“It’s Dominica,” he pointed out. “Separate island in the Caribbean. Not as well known because most of our beaches are black sand but really nice.”
“Whatever, dude,” I replied. “More important, why are you here?”
Turns out the two skiers need to meet an Olympic standard to qualify to represent Dominica at the Winter Games in Sochi and can only do that at FIS-sanctioned races. Therefore, as a result of the homologation trail the Crested Butte Nordic Center built this past summer, we could host a FIS-sanctioned race and, therefore, we had two skiers from Dominica qualifying for the Olympics.
Anyway, it was an absolute stellar weekend for the Crested Butte Nordic Center with fresh snow, cold (but not too cold) temperatures and relatively bluebird skies.
The weekend opened with the sprint classic races on Saturday, December 21. Sprint classic races are show and go. Line up four wide and the top two move on through a series of heats until the final race. Makes for some thrilling action for sure as Nordic skiers are pinned for 1.2 kilometers head-to-head-to-head-to-head.
Not only that, some of the best action was actually going on behind the scenes as ski techs/coaches were frantically waxing, corking, scraping, or whatever it is they do, to ensure their athletes have just the mix for success.
“It’s about having good kick while maintaining good glide,” says Ross. “And especially on this course when kids are getting tired and losing proper technique, you want to make sure they have the grip they need on the hills.”
CBNT U18 skier Forrest Smith had a stout field to contend with as the U18, U20 and seniors were all grouped together. Smith made it through to the semifinal heat before getting knocked out but still finished third in the U18 age class—leaving him plenty of room to qualify for Junior Nationals.
“It was definitely a good day for Forrest,” says Ross. “It was as well as I’ve seen him sprint. He skied really well.”
U16 CBNT athlete Kai Sherman had quite the day on Saturday, falling just a toe-length shy of the title. After dominating his heats all the way until the finals, Sherman found himself in a dogfight in the last race. Sherman came out of the final downhill off the lead skier but reeled him in on the final push only to lose by half of a foot, literally.
“I think what happened is he got tired and his technique started to slip,” says Ross. “Still, he put in a huge effort to make it exciting. He just ran out of space. And it was his best finish as a U16.”
Aiden Truettner had a strong showing in the U16 age class as well. Truettner battled through the heats, ultimately finishing in seventh place overall. As a result, with both Sherman and Truettner finishing in the top nine at a Junior National Qualifier event, they are both poised to qualify for Junior Nationals.
Rounding out the CBNT U16s were Benjamin Swift in 17th, Woody Martineau in 18th and Turner Petersen in 19th.
CBNT U14 racers all had quality showings, placing in the top 20 with Ian Eldridge posting the best finish coming in ninth. Nathan Miller placed 13th in U12 and Seve Petersen joined Smith and Sherman on the podium finishing third in his U12 age class.
“It was a fantastic day,” says Ross. “We had three people on the podium in one day. I was really excited for the kids.”
On Sunday it was looking to be a lung-buster as temperatures were nine degrees below zero as the sun was just coming up over Cement Mountain. Fortunately, the freestyle (skate) races weren’t scheduled to start until 10 a.m., allowing plenty of time for air temperatures to reach near-perfect conditions when the men set out from the start. Still, while air temperatures were pleasant, the snow surface remained cold, making for slower than normal conditions.
Regardless, the top men still posted some blistering times given the conditions, with the fastest time of the day coming in at 12:21 on the new trail.
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Skiers hit the track at 15-second intervals and went as hard as they could, again, for five-kilometers. The day began with the older men, U18 and above, lining up and charging out of the start area. There’s no pacing for five-kilometers, it’s full-on start to finish.
“For the older guys, you have to redline it the whole way around,” says Ross.
Adding to the suffering, the toughest hill, Pain Cave Portal, comes at the halfway point of the course. After which, skiers have the third hardest and second hardest hills of the course still to contend with.
“The second half of the course is a killer,” adds Ross.
Smith placed seventh in his age class on Sunday. While not quite as good as hoped, it’s still a JNQ worthy finish.
“I think he was feeling the effects of racing around that sprint course three times the day before,” says Ross.
Sherman closed out his first JNQ weekend of the year placing fourth in the five-kilometer freestyle race. He struggled through the first half of the course, finding his rhythm eventually but it was too little, too late.
“He definitely accelerated the second half of the race,” says Ross. “I certainly think he’s capable of winning a race like that but it’s a learning experience and it takes a while to get it dialed.”
Swift thrived in his specialty. After a solid result the day before in the sprint classic, Swift returned Sunday to place ninth in the freestyle race with Martineau right behind him in 10th, Truettner in 11th and Turner finishing in 14th place.
U14 places were still being complied as of press time but Seve struck again in his U12 age class, posting another third-place finish with Miller finishing in eighth.
“I think it was a good showing on Sunday,” says Ross. “Some were still feeling the effects of the day before.”
In addition to the CBNT results, former CBNT team member Ian Boucher is smashing his way onto the Nordic scene early this year. Boucher skis for Ski Club Vail now and came into Crested Butte racing as a U20.
Boucher finished the classic sprint qualifier rounds seeded fourth and then dropped the hammer in the final race to place second.
Boucher stepped it up a notch the following day in the five-kilometer freestyle posting a time of 13 minutes to place second again among U20 and third overall including beating some heavy hitters from the collegiate level.
Smith has his sights set on the U.S. National Championships in the first week of January as he strives for a spot on the U18 National team. The rest of the team will continue to hit the track in preparation for the next JNQ at the end of January.
“I was pleased with the whole weekend. The team has a lot to build on and there’s reason to be optimistic,” says Ross. “We have a few weeks to put in some good training and bring everyone up another level.”
