Last year's second week slalom on Comet saw the infamous "Bambi on Ice" incident. It wasn't repeated this year, but nature took its toll nonetheless. More about that soon. First,

What You Need to Know

You must have a helmet with full hard ear coverings for GS and Super G. See more on our website.
The website schedule has been extensively updated. In particular:
- There have been minor changes to the GDHL schedule.
- Much more detail concerning individual training sessions has been added.
- There will be a three day GS / Super G training camp ahead of the GDHL Super G, and "gateless training" sessions have been added on three Saturday afternoons in February - see more below.
Friday training is SL on Venture at 9:30 and 1:00. Please sign up with Laurel Armstrong in advance to allow appropriate staffing.
Nine-week gate training is GS at 9:30 each of Saturday (on Vortex) and Sunday (on Bowie). There will also be a video review session Saturday at 3:30 in the Snow School area of the South Lodge. Nine-week adult tech is at the same times. Meet at the National chair.
The second interclub race is GS at Georgian Peaks on Saturday afternoon. Captain Taylor Sims-Brown is back in command.
The third GDHL race is GS on Millennium on Sunday. Inspection is from about 12:15 to 12:40 with the race starting at 1:00.
Looking farther ahead, the annual Snow School apres-ski for adults in Saturday, 25 January at 3:00 in the South Lodge, and on Valentine's Day / beginning of the Family Day long weekend, you can share the love at the Track 3 Race Day. Much more info about the latter is on our website.

Mitch Gagnon

Not that it's really more notable than GDHL results, but here is some video of Marie-Michelle Gagnon's first World Cup victory, in the Super Combined race in Austria.

Race 2 - SL on Comet

Results are here, in the website data base. With the new data base, we are aiming to have results posted by the end of the day after each race. The link above will take you directly to Sunday's race, but be sure to explore the entire data base. While racers had trained in soft snow, rain and big ruts on Saturday, the evening was cold enough to give us an icy surface for Sunday. Andrew Jansons and Dave Raymond took advantage of their auction bib purchases to grab an early first run lead, more than a second ahead of everyone else, and held it through a revolving door of racers setting the third fastest time until Alec Libert, starting second last, was able to squeak past them by a few hundies. The second run was carnage, pure and simple, as the ice was broken through. Four seconds slower than your first run time was excellent. Several top 20 finishers were at seven or eight. Those who were DNF in the first run were severely punished, Trevor Jackson, Jeff Sutherland, Doug Jarvis, Doug Deeks, Brittany Stainer and Jeff Craig being among the usually elite who discovered how the rest of us feel. But there were some bright lights among the disconsolate. Greg Cavers and Ian Malcolm (proving his debut was no flash in the pan) rounded out the top five. Patrick Pedlar, Craig Shibley and Ian Latimer improved on their rankings nicely to score top 10's, or thereabouts, with Trent sliding into the middle of that trio and winning another round of the Trent vs. Randy rivalry. (Randy unfortunately demonstrated the wisdom of hiking on your first run, since the second could turn out to be even worse.) A bit further back, Will Andrew, having beaten his ranking by 31 last week, made it an even 50 this time with a 19th place finish, Byron Darlison had a well-deserved personal best in 23rd and Jamie Coulter skied to 27th from his 82nd ranking. Stephanie Clark finished 34th from 94th but was just beaten out by Leslie Morgan in 31st for top female honours. Kevin Hillock, Dave Baran, John Norman, Daina Dunlop, Craig Harrison, Brian Athey, Shayne Mintz, Vern Gomes, Brad Sproule, Alex von Schroeter, Morley Forsyth and Robin Shea all beat their rankings by at least 25 places.

Self Improvement

Here's a repeat of a video I featured last year, which three more people have recommended to me recently. It's Ted Ligety training on the very long Sochi Olympic GS course. Note how he's getting well outside the gate to do his turn and not crowding the gate when he passes it. (If the video doesn't show on your email, use the link at the top to view through your browser.)

And here's a good article about the importance of dealing with adverse training and racing conditions, something we can all relate to after last weekend.

More GDHL Thoughts /Send Us an E-Mail

When you're doing your inspection, particularly if there's new snow, please check with the Coyotes about instructions for side slipping, and remember that slipping is most effective as a co-ordinated group effort, not a bunch of individual ones. See here for more info about side slipping. Remember too that we are incredibly fortunate to have a capable and dedicated group like the Coyotes looking after our races. However, if you have concerns about the race, members of the Coyotes are not the appropriate recipients. Send us an email or, if the matter needs urgent attention, look for JF Courville, James Mathers or Byron Darlison in the vicinity of the race. Lauren Michell and coaches Jacques Reid and Shelley Johnston are also often in the area and can help direct issues appropriately.
We are planning to have more formal arrangements for forerunners. These will involve a couple of good junior racers each week, and a couple of spots for those who would like a taste of GDHL racing. If you aren't participating or have a friend who isn't, send us an email and we'll put you on the list. This isn't a way for you to race for free on a clean course all season, but we think if you try it you'll like it!
The GDHL will be contributing a "basket" of great things for auction at the Racing Fundraiser. If you can offer your own or someone else's talent as a graphic designer to create a promotional poster for us, send us an email.

More For Gate Trainers

One of the goals of this weekend's training will be to promote a better understanding of the proper line to ski in the gates. We will be introducing more visual cues, such as brushes and dye markings, to help you find the right line. We will also continue to have a drill course as well as the regular course. Using the drill course regularly will:
- let you get more runs in a course by reducing waiting time
- reduce the need for maintenance delays on the courses
- spread out skiers to allow for more feedback from coaches
- make it easier for you to practice, often at a slightly less intense level
As noted above, there will be a three day GS / Super G training camp next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, to help you prepare for the higher speed of the GDHL Super G. There will be morning sessions on the 22nd and 23rd and morning and afternoon sessions on the last day. Training will be co-ordinated with the Pod Cup. Cost is $75 per session, or you can use Friday training tickets. Pre-registration is required and numbers will be capped. Please sign up with Laurel Armstrong. Jacques Reid will also be available for one on one or small group lessons on the first two afternoons.
As also noted above, Saturday afternoon group sessions have been planned for 1, 8 and 22 February. This is "gateless training" - extra sessions of open skiing with Jacques Reid using drills with a technical focus aimed at improving your skiing in gates. Focus will be individualized based on what you are trying to achieve. Cost is $75 per session, or Friday training half day ticket. Contact Laurel to register.
Jacques is in the process of adding brief comments to the video of the GS training in week one, which was posted last week. Check for yours. The morning session is here, and the afternoon session is here. Meanwhile, Sarunas's video from week two SL training is up. The morning session is here and the afternoon session is here.

Diversions

Finally, as a reward for lasting to the end, a short story, with illustration. It seems that some men just can't avoid getting yelled at despite their good intentions. One man entered the kitchen and gallantly asked his wife whether he could assist. "Of course," she said. "Just take this bag of potatoes, peel half of them, and put them in a pot of water to boil."

See you on the weekend!

James Mathers