Sprint to the finish

Sorry for the lack of news. The past two weeks have been a blur, with ten starts in eleven days at two mountains. I had some trepidation about this trip. My concerns centered around possible fatigue, waning focus and the potential for soft snow. Scott insisted and, as it turns out, he was right. He scored in six of the ten races against elite fields.

We started at Mission Ridge, WA for two Super G, two Slalom and two Giant Slalom races. The field included eight US Team members, plus an array of team hopefuls trying to get those final points needed to meet US Team criteria. Scott had a little problem adjusting back to softer snow the first two races, then he regrouped and really threw down. He left Mission Ridge with improved point profiles and World rankings.

It was great being back home in the Northwest. We've been road warriors on the national circuit and haven't seen many of the kids with whom Scott came through the system. We have so many family and coaching staff friends here.

After the Mission Ridge series, we hopped in the car and drove to Mt Bachelor, OR for two elite downhills. The track was in great shape and they were able to start the races from the crater of the volcano (always a thrill). The Snow's have fond memories from this place. Both Bonnie and Scott have had great success here -- in fact, this is Bonnie's favorite race hill. It features numerous jumps and compressions. We also got to use the home of our dear friends the Beards, which also holds many special memories.

Scott pretty much owned the hill, cleanly winning the two downhill training races. Training races are required by the rules for downhill, with the course is set exactly as it would be for the real race. He then won the first official downhill by .65 seconds. Today, in the final race, he was edged out by .04 of a second by a US Ski Team member. In all, it was a very successful end to the year.

So now we hit the road home. First we have to swing through Twin Falls, ID to retrieve the Subaru with a replacement engine (January's casualty). Then I'll be hustling to fix everything that broke at the house over the winter.



Season of intrigue