NATC Skis Fast at their First Downhill of the Season! - Jeff Miles

            It was an eight day long trip to Big Sky Montana where NATC (the F.I.S. athletes of the Nakiska Alpine Ski Association) competed in our first speed series. Six days of ski racing on America's biggest ski area that thrilled every one of us!  It was the first downhill race for our fifteen year old athletes because racers do not get to compete in downhill until they are fifteen. 

            The whole race series started with the slower Super G event on February1 and 2. The first day had a more easy and open set down the pitch. It a good day for me (Jeff Miles) and for Zoe Hertz. Zoe almost halved her start position:  a great day indeed!  Andrea Turner placed in the top 30 too. WIth the first day down we began to realize the stiff competition of a tight American field. Both Thea Miles and Andrea stepped up the performance on the second day of the Super G.  Andrea made the top ten as she carved a clean ski into eighth and Thea was 19th. As for the other athletes, it proved to be a tougher day. Good thing that the downhill was just ahead, especially for Zoe!

            I was the only one that had experienced the speed, exhilaration or strong wind  that blows in your face as you race downhill before this week. The event is the fastest and in my opinion most fun.  Some girls found it daunting and at times even overwhelming at first. The two man made jumps on the course was enough scare the girls into what might seem like torment. They all made it down the track and were not even last!  February 3 and 4 were both training days where we grew more accustomed to the speed, air, line and competition of the downhill. For the men, the main competition were members and ex-members of the U.S. National Team. Saturday was to be the first day of downhill racing but the weather took a turn for the worse. Strong winds and lots of fresh snow made running a downhill seem.  In speed events, there is a large margin of error and it can become larger in slightly off conditions. This means that a scheduled week of downhill racing almost never goes off without changes. The race was cancelled.  Some of us caught up on sleep and 4 of us did some great tree skiing with powder that was up to my knees. That sure replaced any disappointment.  We also built a little jump beside our condo were the girls could practice their jump and improve their confidence. Karolina Donnelly is best at trick among the girls. Jonas Ordman and I were more interested in spinning 360's and other fun little tricks.

            Friday night we were lucky enough to be taken out to dinner by Doug Donnelly. If you want to see any of the shenanigans that we pulled at that restaurant, ask him for a glimpse of the origami that inspired it all. A big thanks Doug!

            Preparing both mentally and physically kept our spirits high going into the second day of downhill. The track had been groomed enough to ensure that we would be racing on a beautiful Sunday and the wind had died almost completely. The girl's race got off without a glitch and improved confidence on the track and off the jumps helped to move them all up. Andrea was the top Canadian, placing sixteenth. followed by Zoe who proved that she really is a true downhiller rather than the slalom skier as she claims. Thea and Megan Henkelman also had more respectable finishes compared to training. 

            For the men, the winner was Scott Macartney, an ex-national US team member. He now coaches but also races for fun and to give some of his low points away to the up and comers. He suffered a career ending crash on the infamous Hahnenkamm Downhill in Kitzbuehel, Austria. He still is very fast indeed! As for me, the race was not as good as my training days and a severe mistake on the lower part of the course put me in 17th. Still an improvement on my start of 52 but not as good as I would have liked. Jonas also proved that he had the heart of a downhiller as he scored points that almost beat all of his technical event points! He moved up considerably.

            On Sunday night the Race Organizing Committee had decided that there were enough people willing and able to try and make up the lost Saturday race. This was good for the racers but the weather didn't cooperate. More snow, wind and everything that should stop a downhill race, but the ROC was determined and so were we. The ROC used the men to try and slip out the course and a groomer pushed snow off the track at strategic points. It was a huge effort and it took a lot of work from many coaches, athletes and the hill. Thankfully, the weather seemed seemed be clearing up for the day. The girls were started with a snow seed. It's a way to help everyone at the top a little by sending some of the athletes from the back of the pack down the track first. Zoe and Thea were lucky enough to be part of this draw. It proved to be very effective for both of them. Zoe was our fastest girl placing 18th and she scored a huge result! She is a downhiller all the way! it should be some really good encouragement for her. Andrea was our next best in 26. She too is a downhiller. The girls that started further back did have a large disadvantage because it started snowing again and became much more windy. It stayed like this for the rest of the day, through the whole men's race. The top guys were still going fast but the times were slower. I got caught in a wind gust that practically pushed me back up hill at one gate and at the next I was trying hard just to stay on my feet as it was very rough with little to no visibility. I made mistakes but still placed 21.  If I thought it was bad, then for Jonas Ordman it was brutally tough but he made it down.

            Although we all had  tough conditions that day we had a good learning experience. Even our coaches Scott Zahn and Ian Fulton agreed that it was the worst conditions that they had ever seen for downhill. Now at all other downhills and later this year at Senior Nationals at Nakiska, the downhill will seem like a breeze.

            I think the whole team agrees that the series was a great success. Zoe had some great skiing but everyone scored the much needed points that will certainly move them up the start list for the next race. I know that I am always excited for downhill races and I think that we all are excited for them now!