Racers tackle downhill course

There was a bit of farming going on in Ptarmigan Bowl this week.

High above Whitefish Lake, snow groomers had churned up three-foot-tall rows of snow and workers sprayed thousands of gallons of water onto the 100-yard-wide "pasture" just below the summit of Big Mountain.

Workers here were growing some good snow in preparation for this week's 58th Doug and Rollie Smith Memorial ski races on Big Mountain.

The races started Wednesday with the women's Super G and will continue through Feb. 15 with men's and women's Super G and downhill races.

While Big Mountain has plenty of snow for recreational skiing this year (119 inches at the summit), workers were spraying 400,000 gallons of water over the entire 658 meters of the race course to make the snow firmer and more consistent from top to bottom.

The races take place on one of the most challenging downhill courses in North America.

The Ursa Major downhill course snakes down the front side of Big Mountain through Ptarmigan Bowl, then cuts across the face on Bench Run before diving down through Launch Pad, Corkscrew and across Russ's Street before finishing near the bottom of Chair Four.

Some of North America's top men and women racers will be here for the race, including several members of the U.S. Ski Team who missed the cut for the Olympics in Italy.

These top-level skiers include Justin Johnson and Dane Spencer of the U.S. Ski Team's A Team. On the women's side, Bryna McCarty and Jonna Mendez are A Team members who will ski the Doug Smith this week.

"They're Olympic-caliber skiers, they just didn't qualify," Big Mountain coach Jeff Pickering said. "They only have room for so many at the Olympics."

This year's Doug Smith race is part of the Nor-Am circuit, a race series just a step below World Cup competition. About 180 athletes are expected.

One skier who won't be racing, however, is Big Mountain's Kate Jordan, 18, who injured her knee last week in a Super G race in Apex, British Columbia.

Jordan, 18, is one of the top five downhill skiers in the United States and will be sorely missed this week, said Pickering, a former women's national coach. Jordan would have been slated to finish in the top 10 at the Doug Smith, according to Pickering.

Other members of Big Mountain's team who will compete this week are Marni Hale, 17, Chet Cook, 18, and Kyle Taylor, 20. Local athletes have a definite advantage, having grown up skiing the runs that make up the Ursa Major downhill course.

"They know the course better than anyone," Pickering said.

Members of the Big Mountain team not participating in races will get to prerun the course to give them some experience on a downhill course.

Based on how they do at this week's event, skiers can move up in national ranking and help them qualify for the U.S. Ski Team.

"Doors can open for these athletes based on their performance," Pickering said. "The stakes are very high for the athletes that are competing."

THE DOUG SMITH race is the longest, continually held downhill race in the country. The race is named after Doug Smith, one of Big Mountain's early day racers who was killed in World War II. This year Doug Smith's brother Rollie was added to the name of the event.

"It's a world-class downhill," Pickering said. "For what we have, it's an absolutely fantastic downhill track."

This is a big event for Big Mountain to host, and it takes dozens of volunteers to help pull it off.

Plus, since the race is sanctioned by FIS (Federation Internationale de Skiing, the governing body of worldwide ski racing), course officials have to make sure everything is set to standards.

On Tuesday, "Cowboy" Tom Johnston, alpine technical adviser for the U.S. Ski Association, helped oversee course preparation on Ptarmigan Bowl, where workers were spraying down the snow.

This is something that's not normally required, but "the snow's usually not this soft," said Big Mountain assistant coach Mark Megerth, who was operating a fire hose. He and two other men worked until 11 p.m. the previous night, pouring water on the course. "It wasn't that cold," he said. "It wasn't bad."

The goal of the spraying was to make a hard surface that's fair to all the skiers regardless of start order.

"In the old days, we didn't have to do this," said Chet Powell, Big Mountain's operation manager, who watched the workers from the Super G starting gate. "It's a big production."

HAVING abundant natural snow this year does help, however. This allows race officials to set a course that uses more of the mountain, including natural jumps and rollers. In addition, officials can move snow around to make the course even more challenging. This year seven jumps were added.

While a fast course is desired, safety is also a primary concern. Tall nets, some of them permanent ones that were built for the U.S. Alpine championships in 2002, line portions of the course, protecting skiers from hitting trees. Skiers will reach speeds of up to 75 mph on portions of the course. Large, billowy air pads are added in places where there's danger. "When skiers leave the starting gate, they need to know they can go as fast as they can in a safe environment," Pickering said.

For these skiers attending the Doug Smith, it takes thousands of dollars each year to travel around world, hoping one day to get a shot at the Olympics or to qualify for World Cup competition. For local skiers, the Flathead Ski Education Foundation is there to help. The foundation provides money for athletes to train and travel. Some of the Big Mountain athletes, with Pickering's mentoring, are on skis 10 months out of the year.

Alpine ski racing continues to grow, he said. But it's the smaller, grass-roots programs that feed the system nationally. "Those programs for the 8- to 12-year-olds just help build on the pyramid of racing," Pickering said.

But it's not all about going for a gold medal in the Olympics. To Pickering, the rewards are seeing his athletes improve every year.

"It's fun to see kids smile," Pickering said. "It gets contagious, and that's how you build success with a team."

On the Net:

www.big-mountain.com

Race

schedule

Doug and Rollie Smith Memorial

(on Big Mountain)

Today: Women's Super G

Feb. 10-11: Men's and women's downhill training

Feb. 12-13: Men's and women's downhill competition

Feb. 14-15: Men's Super G

If you want

to help:

Big Mountain is looking for people to help with the races. Those interested should contact the events department at 862-2911. All volunteers receive free lunch and a voucher for a free lift ticket. Volunteers meet at Hellroaring at 8 a.m. each race day. After the races, volunteers receive free beverages and snacks at Hellroaring.