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Tonight was a tough night for our team without our top point man. Our team was very competitive on Monday nights, especially considering the median age of our team is 30 (NASTAR heavily favors older skiers when awarding handicap points). However, our recreational oriented race team was no match for the most race suit wearing gate bashers that race during the other week nights. We finished second to last though with our top point man and slightly better runs from our key racers, our team could have placed slightly higher.

My two runs felt good despite a sluggish start on racers right and a tough run out on the flats of racers left. The course was set on Twister which was unfortunate for my preferences. Twister actually looks like a good race trail if you start at the top instead of at the flats, so I am anxiously awaiting King of the Hill next Thursday.

After hardly skiing a hard packed groomer all season, it was nice feeling the progression as I got my carving legs back under me. Still was not up to college racing form, but that aspect of my technique package has definitely slipped in favor of powder, freeriding, and tree skiing skills. I got better every week and beat out our number three point getter twice during the last two races.

This was my first full season in a NASTAR league and I came away with the impression that some rule changes need to occur to make up for some irregularities and handicapping issues that reduce competitiveness. Either that or they need to start setting a challenging race course. It is too easy for old farts to essentially straight line it towards the finish. The snowboarder on our team got better every week but his scores did not show improvement so snowboarders need a bigger handicap point boost.

• Individual Race Results from Finals at Pats Peak
• Team Race Results from Finals at Pats Peak

Tough racing for me tonight due to barely getting to the mountain in time for the first run. My car has been having some troubles lately including needing new breaks and a wheel bearing issue. Due to the need for repairs, I did not want to drive my car the two hours round trip to Pats Peak. Thankfully, my significant other was able to leave work early and offer usage of her vehicle for the evening. Due to difficulties leaving work in a timely fashion, I arrived at home way behind schedule. Then it took me fifteen minutes to figure out how to lower the passenger seats in my significant other’s car. Suffice to say, I was slightly rattled by the time I was on the interstate en route to Pats Peak.

After a quick change, I grabbed my skis and headed up to the summit. Without a warm up run or course preview, I skied down to the start gate on Twister and jumped right into the gate barely in front of the second round of skis. Out of breathe and rather unfocused, I had no time to prepare for my first run. Adding to my difficulties was a horrid start ramp which made pole placement and a starting kick difficult. Running dead last on the course only added insult to injury. My second run was much more focused featuring a much better start but hardly anything impressive. Racing in the last slot ensured a scraped and rutted course. My time was improved but hardly a very good result.

As a team, we finished a solid second for the night and a respectable third on Monday nights for the season. Our placement was good enough to make the Finals for all nights on Thursday. Though we will certainly be slaughtered by the better skiers from other nights (especially without our top point scorer), it should be a good conclusion to a fun race season. After eight years of not racing, it was fun to be back in the race course though I am unsure if it was worth the two hour round trip drive once per week.

• Individual Race Results from Pats Peak Monday Week Nine
• Team Race Results from Pats Peak Monday Week Nine

While not a good night for the team, I turned in some decent results and had my highest individual finish at 10th overall. Our team leader pulled five of us together for the race but we were hurting with two of our point scorers skiing out west this week. Said team leader also pulled himself together despite feeling horridly ill which effected his performance and our top point man had a bad night. Despite my great performance, the team will probably drop tonight’s race results as our lowest team score of the season.

Too bad my edges were not sharpened for this race. My race skis have have had at least days use since the last sharpen and tune. Despite two good runs, I never felt connected with my skis. I could have done even better had I really been dialed in with a freshly tuned pair of skis.

I really appreciate the layout and design of the tonight’s course. It was the best course lay out all year, in my opinion. Lots of DNFs and DSQs. The course really punished skiers who were too aggressive and not clean. Some of the turns were probably too aggressive for that type and style of course. Two straight gates out of the start got me going much faster than I had anticipated and I was not quite high enough on some of the gates as a result. Many skiers were not even beginning their turns until getting to the gate resulting in some pretty sensational traverses to save the run. My type of course and the results speak for themselves in that it was not most peoples’ type of course.

Individual Race Results from Pats Peak Monday Week Eight

Team Race Results from Pats Peak Monday Week Eight

Tonight’s course was held on the F.I.S. race trail. The course had larger and more challenging turns than usual, much to my delight, that favored aggressive and clean turns. Showing up late, I snagged the 23 slot but due to half of the racers not making the race start time, my first run was completed in the middle of running order. The course had a good rhythm and the conditions were perfect on my first run which was my better time. Run two was completed in standard running order. Due to being at the end of the pack, conditions were rough on the more aggressive turns. Results turned in a fourth place finish for the team and a personal 22nd out of 53 racers. I opened a gap between my closest competition on the team and closed the gap between the next best skier on the team indicating improvement and a return to better form with a few races down.

• Race Results from Pats Peak Monday Week Six

Game on! Winter resumes its steady drum beat of white stuff this Monday with a solid helping of eight inches in the upper elevation locales of southern New Hampshire. The storm slowly crept across southern New England with snow totals slightly lower than expected. The day time storm track made for disappointment in terms of looking for untracked powder but pleasing snow conditions across the board. Oh yea, we all had a beer league race tonight too.

Powder snow is great for free skiing but horrible for racing. Major rut action quickly became an issue on the first run and continued to worsen for the second run. Blue course ran better than the red course but neither offered a terribly great run. Our team finished third out of eleven, stepping backwards one place from last week’s second slot. My best handicap adjusted time for the team was fourth out of seven. The best handicapped time actually was delivered on my less than stellar red course run which suggests that the NASTAR system rewards good technique though slower times on a hard course more than cruising to a quick time on an easy course. Overall, I was disappointed with both of my runs and never felt quite on top of my skis.

That was perhaps due to my ski change shortly before the race. With eight inches of fresh falling throughout the afternoon, I got an early start with my mid-fats and changed over to my racing skis just shortly before my first run. The performance and handling differences between the two skis are significant. Though I regret not a second of the fun runs I had prior to the race, during which time I normally spend dialing into my skinny skis and working on race turns.

Pico offers up some first rate skiing, without the crowds and McSki atmosphere that plague neighboring Big Brother Killington. UMass Lowell Ski Team descended upon Vermont during the night of a fierce snow storm. When we awoke Saturday morning, many inches of snow had accumulated already. Upon reaching Pico, we found over a foot of fluff at the summit! My first true Powder Day. On our first run, half the team ascended to the summit via both Quads, and we proceeded to fall often in knee deep fluff skiing the Summit Glades. Amazing!

All that fluffy powder was not good at all for racing, though. We had to clear all the powder away from the gates. This took numerous times of the entire 100 person league snow plowing the course before it was racable. After all that snowplowing, the ruts on the race course were huge! It was an unbelievable day to ski, but an abysmal day to race.

Pico has some interesting terrain. Everything off the Summit Quad is gold. There is a relatively flat section on mid-mountain that was hard to deal with. Pico is essentially four mini-peaks. They have a Triple and Double on the Left and Right Wings for access to the smaller peaks. The first quad goes up the gut of the mountain, to mid-mountain where it services intermediate and beginner terrain. And their Summit Quad gets you to the real goods. Unfortunately, this means that top to bottom skiing is not really much of an option. However, there is quality skiing everywhere on the mountain.

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UMass Lowell Ski Team hit Vermont’s own “Mountain in the Sun;” Bromley, for a weekend of racing the gates. Saturday brought snow showers and high winds early, and then the sky opened up into bright and sunny skies for the rest of the weekend! Bromley is not kidding about the sun exposure, bring your sun screen, you will need it!

Bromley is an incredibly well laid out mountain. Looking at the map, a bowl full of tough diamond runs rests comfortably on the right side of the map. Located far away from intermediate terrain and serviced by its own lift, a clear difficulty distinction is drawn which separates the men from the boys. Most of the mountain’s intermediate terrain is located right down the center of the mountain and is served by a fairly slow High Speed Quad and a pair of doubles. Towards the left side of the map, you’ll find beginner heaven with gentle grades and soft snow from the sun’s exposure.

Value wise, Bromley is slightly expensive for what they offer. However, their expert terrain is nothing to laugh about! They market themselves as a family mountain, which I found to be their niche. A great weekend of skiing and racing was had for myself and the team.

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The UMass Lowell Ski Team held races at Loon on the weekend of January 29nd-30th. Due to skier rotation, I was only to race in the GS on Saturday. Thus, I had the day off from racing on Sunday to explore Loon. Loon has well earned it’s reputation as one of the most crowded resorts in New England. On Saturday, I nearly had a heart attack waiting twenty minutes in line for the Kancamagus High Speed Quad, minutes before I needed to prep for a race! Sadly, Loon’s proximity to the Boston Metro area and low priced season pass means the over crowding of Loon will continue.

This is disappointing, because Loon does offer up some fun Expert Terrain in it’s East Basin area. Trails such as Flume, Triple Trouble, and Angel Street are super runs and glades such as Mike’s Woods are amongst New Hampshire’s finest. However, with Loon’s tendency to be quite crowded, these slopes can get skied off very quickly. They are best enjoyed mid-week after a significant snow storm. But for a slightly longer drive, better options abound for mid-week powder days!

Fortunately for myself, on Sunday (my off racing day), a rain/ice storm had moved in creating abysmal skiing weather. Why you ask was this fortunate? Because it kept skiers away from the mountain! The warm weather and rain softened up the scraped and icy snow, making for some fine skiing conditions. I was actually quite happy to have the day off on a Slalom day any ways!

Serious skiers at Loon should avoid the Kancamagus High Speed Quad and Gondola at all costs. Trails off the chairs in the East Basin offer up the best trails on the mountain. Trails off the Quad and Gondola are almost exclusively blue square cruisers that attract the most skiers.

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The weekend of January 22nd and 23rd brought the UMass Lowell Ski Team to Cannon Mountain in the Franconia Notch of New Hampshire for two days of racing. My performance in the Giant Slalom on the Rocket trail was excellent until I carried more speed than I could control and blew passed a gate resulting in a DNF. Cannon was to become my home mountain while I lived in northeastern Massachusetts and this weekend trip to Cannon laid the foundation for my strong inclination towards the mountain.

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