Baldy K Racers have good first result

Well with four days of intensive slalom training under their belts the Baldy K Racers took to the slopes of Apex to tackle the first K races of the season. There were two stubby slalom races on Saturday and a combined two run tall gate slalom on Sunday.

Being their first race of the year, the team was not deterred by the strong competition from the second year K1s. Ella Pasin was the first to lay down some speedy tracks by placing 12th in the first of two races on Saturday. Nicholas Everton managed to pull off two12ths for the day. Nathaniel Larivee was ripping it up in his first run before crashing and having to climb back to a gate. Ben Myers was solidly in 15th and 16th for the day. 

On the second day Ella looked like she was on her way to another spectacular finish when she hooked an arm on a gate and got spun around. She still finished and had a great second run (15th) for a 22nd place finish. Nathaniel put together two great runs to finish fourteenth. Ben looked smooth and improved on the second run to finish 17th. Nicholas put together two solid runs to place 11th, just missing the top ten by 0.6 of a second. He also received the medal for most improved first year K1.

Teck Cominco sponsors the K race series and provides beautiful zinc medals to the top three placings. They had officials on hand to hand out medals and congratulate the kids.

Tenning's Clean-up

The Mt Baldy Alpine Club is off to a great start for 2010-11. The clean-up on Tenning's went surprisingly well despite the weather. We had 12 adults and 10 kids help at various points in the day on Sunday. The morning saw the volunteers soaked from the rain in the first 20 minutes of work. Later the rain tapered off enough to allow a few back after lunch to tackle the debris filled run. By the end of it all we had 15 burn piles stacked and had covered the lower steep section and part of the section above it. There's a lot more to go but we're feeling pretty good about what we accomplished so far. Thanks again to all those who helped out.
There was also a club meeting on Saturday after the strata meeting. It looks like we have five kids interested in the K program. Equipment and schedule was discussed as well as how to come up with a cost for K. We also discussed the financial numbers from 2009-10 and the reasons for not getting the gaming grant. We will be trying again next year for the grant and hope to hire a E1-E2 coach for this year. We will partner with the mountain to do so and maybe next season we can hire a K coach as well.
FYI the Big White Racers Ski Swap is on October 22-23. Be there early to get the best deals. The swap starts at 8:00 am at the New Life Church at 2042 Harvey Ave, just before Future shop if your heading North.

Zone Finals at Silver Star

It was an awesome performance by the Baldy team at the recent zone finals at Silver Star mountain. Saturday consisted of a GS course and a ski cross. In the GS Baldy's E1 Blue team consisting of Daniel, Agatka, Michel, Adam and three Revelstoke racers took the gold. Baldy's Green team consisting of Matthew, Christopher, Avery, Caprice and Nicole came fifth. In Ski-cross there were only medals to 3rd place and Daniel captured the bronze for the 2001 E1 boys.
In the E2 category on Saturday we saw Ella Pasin capture gold in both the GS and the Ski-cross. Way to go Ella! In the 1998 boys category we had Kevin in 4th. For the 1999 boys the top ten rounded out with Nicholas in 5th, Will in 8th and Nathaniel in 10th. For the 2000 girls we saw Anya take the bronze and to top it off she won the grand prize of a pair of Rossignol race skis for the day. Wow!
For Sunday's events the finals features a stubby slalom course and a short fun downhill course that the kids thoroughly enjoyed tucking through. Nicole took fourth place for the 2004 girls category while in the 2001 age group we had Agatka taking bronze for the girls and Daniel taking bronze for the boys. Amongst the 2002 boys Adam took fifth spot after some mix up with his time. For the 2000 girls we had Anya taking the silver medal this time - what a weekend for her! Nils was fifth for the 2000 boys. In the 1999 boys category there was some mix up but the final results show Will in 4th, Nathaniel in 5th, Nicholas in 8th and Ben in 9th. In the 1998 girls category we had Ella in the gold position once again - what a weekend for her! The big winner of the grand prize on Sunday was our own Hilary - another pair of great race skis! Awesome!
Everyone should have received the results by email. Stay tuned for pictures!

Ski Club Fundraiser Dinner

Be sure to get your tickets for the Mt. Baldy Ski Club Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction Fundraiser! The dinner takes place on Saturday, March 6th (6 p.m.) in the lodge. Tickets are available in the ticket office or any racer and include Spaghetti Dinner, Salad, Garlic Toast, and Dessert for $17 Adults and $10 Kids (12&U). Bid on an array of great silent auction items such as wine, a custom orthotics package, a driveway snow removal package, golf passes and much more! There will be a movie playing downstairs for the kids. Come and have a fun evening and support your Mt. Baldy Racers!

South Zone Cupcake Race at Baldy January 30th

That`s what it`s being called now...Well, our little mountain once again proved we can host a race as well or better than the big resorts. Hats off to all the parents and volunteers for pulling together a great experience for the 130+ racers. It was a wonderful day, conditions were great and the course was tough. Baldy Racers nabbed a total of ten podium spots tying Apex in the results. All of our racers dug deep and got the job done. It was wonderful to see them push their limits and all the coaches are very proud of our racers. See results link on the right side bar. The pictures shown here are just a sample of the extensive collection of pictures Coach Warren took. Shown here in order are Nils (9M 5th), Anya (9F 4th), Adam (7M 1st) and Ella (11F 1st)

Gates on the Shaft

Sunday's training session was a relative success. We are getting some gates is on the Shaft though our turn-around time is understandably slow. The terrain is quite good with the steeper sections and rolling sections providing an increased fun factor for the kids. We also welcomed coach Valerie from Mt. Baldy ski school who has taken on the development of our blue team. She comes with highs credentials from Big White and Red Mountain. The double black team worked hard on their stance in order to carry speed and hold their line. The black team worked on similar skills while the blue team concentrated on maintaining parallel turns. Green was all about having fun while skiing consistently and getting used to the racecourse.
Post training included a parent meeting to discuss delegation of duties for the upcoming race and other administrative functions of running the club. Stay tuned for more details.

Pictures are of free skiing on Shaft. Nathaniel then Nicholas on a clear day over the holidays

First Training Day with the 2010 team

Well we got off to a great start this past Sunday with 22 racers and we expect a few more for the coming weekend. Everyone looks like they've been working hard on their carving over the holiday. The the new kids have surprised the coaches with their ability and enthusiasm as well. We had our banner signing ceremony just before kicking off the training. This is our Canadian flag club banner that will hang in the Olympic village to help inspire our Canadian athletes at the Olympics. All clubs in BC are participating and the hope is that these banners will help bring home the hardware. The notice for our race on the 30th has been sent out to all clubs and appears in the links section. Also see updated images under the pictures link.