During the 2010-2011 ski season, many ski areas across saw the best snow falls they had seen in decades. So far, the 2011-2012 season hasn’t met the high snow fall standards set by last season; however, the Mines Ski Team didn’t let this dampen their spirits. Instead, the Ski Team used the lack of open terrain and powder as an excuse to train and prepare for one of its best seasons ever.
The Mines Ski Team began the season by participating in snow training days at Copper Mountain. A snow training day consists of setting up a race course and practicing for about 2 hours on the course. The day would finish up with free skiing with a focus on the fundamental techniques of skiing. The lack of powder early on in the season allowed the team to stay focused on race training instead of free skiing.
The Ski Team has its largest team ever this year, boasting 20 members (including six girls). It is an international team, having members from Canada, Lebannon, and all over the United States. Many freshmen came in with racing experience and those that didn’t were quick to learn the sport.
The Ski Team had four weekends in a row of college racing in January and February, traveling to Loveland, Steamboat, Telluride, and Winter Park. The team competed against nine teams in the Rocky Conference, including CU, CSU, DU, and Air Force. The men’s team had many strong race weekends, finishing in the top three on three separate occasions. The women’s team also skied well, finishing in fourth place for the season. Shannon McGovern finished 3rd place at Loveland, making the first individual podium finish that Mines has seen in at least five years.
The ski team finished the season in Steamboat for the Western Regional Championships on February 23, 24 and 25. Tough racing conditions caused roughly ¼ of the competition to crash in one of the women’s Giant Slalom races, including many Mines racers. These tough conditions and tough competition prevented the women’s team from scoring well at Regionals; however the team had a very successful season. The men’s team had one of its best Giant Slalom races of the season, going up against great competitors from Canada and the Pacific Northwest. With that, they were able to finish ranked 2nd overall among the Rocky Mountain Conference teams.
The 2011-2012 ski season was a success for the Mines Ski Team. They look forward next year to developing the talent already on the team and to recruiting new freshmen racers. Please contact club-skiteam@mines.edu or visit http://recsports.mines.edu/REC-Club-Sports-Ski-Team for more information.
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