Night racing is here!

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Sponsors
Race #3 - Night Slalom - Presented by Lysander Funds
Race #2 Recap
North Lodge Apres
Results
WhatsApp Group
Interclub
Adult Race Training

Race #3 - Friday Night Slalom - Presented by Lysander Funds

The 2026 schedule turns towards the highly anticipated Night Slalom on ‘Lil Jon. It’s no surprise that this stop on the GDHL tour has quickly turned into a favourite for many GDHL racers and fans.

It’s time to pull those shin guards out of storage, steal some pole guards from your kids, and remind yourself about flushes and hairpins!

Friday January 16th
Lifts start turning at 5:00pm.
Inspection runs from 5:20-5:40pm, with first racer at 6:00pm.

The bar will be open and the lodge will be jumping!

…Hopefully the lights stay on this time…

Highly recommended - clear lenses!

Race #2 - Recap by Paul Peterson

Another fantastic weekend of GDHL action is in the books as we completed race #2 this past Saturday. There was a new GDHL record of 186 racers who competed in front of a capacity crowd at the Bottom of Big John and myself and a few others realized something after the race; It doesn’t matter how many new, young, good looking, athletic, former FIS skiers you add to the league, somehow the results at the top always look the same.

Magic Mike Welton, racing on a fresh protocol of HGH this season, was first place and actually won the race by over a second which is a lifetime in this league. He was followed as usual by Benny Williams who finished behind him in 2nd. In third place was a real treat for loyal, longtime fans of the GDHL as Scott Mclorie made his return to the podium for the first time in a long time. Don’t let Scott’s flowing hair, boyish good looks and smooth, hazelnut coloured skin fool you. He’s in his 50’s and was wearing long johns that are older than half the field. Behind Scott in 4th place was the 1987 Caledon Club Champ, Tom Murdison which puts the average age of the top 4 at 41years old.

On the ladies side of things, the young…ish Meg Ryley returned to racing and finished 1st place by a few seconds. Meg had skipped the 1st race to focus on her Mahjong career but after seeing all the attention that race #1 champion Laura Peever was receiving in the lodge, Meg couldn’t wait to get back in the start gate for race #2. Exactly like her brother did, Ben’s sister Jackie Williams finished in 2nd place as she was 1/100th ahead of the one and only Mackenzie Irwin. Long considered the best athlete, most accomplished and favourite child in the Irwin household, it’s nice to see Mac racing again and taking home 3rd place.

Race #1’s podium featured Laura Peever, Meghan Barber and Madison Staples but all 3 of them were left watching the medal ceremony from the crowd this past week so lots of competition in the ladies division this season.

Honourable mentions:

Brent Addison with a nice top 10, earning big points for his team and Brent did what any good racer would do after a strong performance: Head to the village until 2 AM to celebrate the achievement.

Sarunas Lenauskas finished well ahead of his wife Carrie. At one point this would have been impossible to believe but Sarunas has been looking good and Carrie is much busier now, she’s a board member and is working on important projects like paving the back half of the parking lot so we’ll give her a pass for this year.

Not so honourable mentions:

Steve Cryer had a disapointing and rare 93rd place finish. Known typically as a top 50 sort of guy, Steve immediately booked 3 PT sessions with Chad after the race as he’s looking to make sure he doesn’t lose to his new rival Steve Macdonald ever again.

David Singh finished outside of the top 100 for the first time ever. This proves the theory that being a new parent can be just as hard on the Dads as it is on the Moms… ish

Captain Jack Veer had the rare double DNF as he lost his ski on the same gate in both runs. His Mom Kate was seen in the finish area, shaking her head in embarrassment but Jack will be back for the next race.

Injury Update:

GDHL committee member and Craigleith legend, Mike “the destroyer" Deangelis was on pace for an electric run while gate training but unfortunately went down hard and broke his hip which quickly puts an end to his 2026 season. We wish Mike all the best but like all true athletes, he will be back next year… If his wife lets him..

One of the favourites to podium, Gorgeous Gordie Bruce missed race #2 with an injury. “On the Bay” magazine was able to reach Gordies better half, Tenyka and she did confirm to them that the injury was sex related but the good news is he should be back racing in 3-5 days. Thanks to Tenyka and On the Bay magazine for the fresh update on that situation.

Safest Skier:

The GDHL has seen some very “safe” skiers over the years. There was Marlene Jackson back in the day and then for a few years it was Paul the Ski Racer, who then got replaced by the legendary David P Robinson and there are many others who I could name on this list of course but here in 2026 we have a new racer who is taking “safe” skiing to a new level. He’s known around the club as the blue eyed dreamboat who makes Amy Pandori nervous when he walks in the room but so far in the first two races he’s had the GDHL fans and members of the media quite confused with his run times. Thankfully, it’s all been cleared up now. He didn't fall or ski down backwards or accidentally leave the course and re-enter, it turns out Mike Babcock is just very very slow at ski racing. Thankfully there is a lot of season left and Mike has lots of time to finish a race inside the top 200.

North Lodge Apres

After the slalom on January 24 th , join us as we make our way to the iconic North Lodge for the mid-season après (also frequently referred to as the GDHL can’t miss event of January).

We’ve all been a victim to breakfast ending too early (in our opinion) and missing out on our morning craiger. Fear not GDHL’ers… Say goodbye to insanely early breakfast times and hello to afternoon craigers with a side of home fries, live music, great company, and maybe even a little dosey doe.

Ryan (aka Chef Nomad) will be slinging creggys on the grill (and other light snacks will be provided).

Feel free to bring the whole crew - we will have kid-friendly activities available downstairs.

Date: January 24, 2026

Location: North Lodge

Time: 3:30pm – till we boot you out

Save the date, bring the whole dang family (or not), and come ready to throw down. Let’s celebrate our athletic accomplishments and the middle of the season in true GDHL fashion!

What's App Group

Join the GDHL WhatsApp Group using the link below. Stay up to date with any last minute race updates and reminders for upcoming events.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/BXdFxZHpmei9s1mADs02Hc

Interclub

Jozo GS Race this Saturday at 10am

The team is shaping up nicely with only 10 spots remaining as of Wednesday morning.

For those looking to get in on the action, please update your availability in the TeamSnap app, and register for the Craigleith Team at www.interclubski.org.

This is the final interclub race prior to finals, so if you are looking to see how you stack up in your age category against the other clubs....this is your chance!

For the newbies not on teamsnap, contact Taylor tsimmsbrown@jascor-intl.com to be added to team correspondence.

Start list confirmation will be completed Thursday night.

Adult Racing Update - From Rick Greaves

Hello everyone and welcome to another weekend of training and racing. Best wishes to all for improving results in your training as well as Friday evening's GDHL SL.

Please remember that the Friday morning, afternoon or both sessions of the Adult Training Program can be booked by anyone at Craigleith by midnight Wednesday every week. Obviously we would appreciate anyone planning to attend register as soon as possible so that we can make sure we have the correct number of coaches available to meet that week's participant numbers.

The Adult Training sessions on Saturday and Sundays are separately paid programs. They are 9-week programs and are not included in your GDHL fees. If you wish to participate you must sign up for the entire 9 weeks on your preferred day. A couple of spots are open for Saturdays and about 8 for Sundays. If you are not a member of the 9-week program, please do not expect to "sneak" in a couple of training runs. There is safety concerns involved as well as fairness to those who are paying for the program.

Thank you for respecting the above information.

On to our training plans for the weekend that are all SL based so please bring the correct skis and protective padding.