On Tuesday night a Williams' alum and his wife - Ned and Liza Weihman - invited the whole alpine and nordic team to their house in Buffalo Pass, just outside of town. I wished I had my camera, as the house was unlike any other I have seen. It was a masterpiece of design which used mining material and metal antique work, with corrugated steel and scrap wood for walls, metal chain and wood chandeliers, and touches of design such as a balcony overlooking the living room and a pistol for a door handle. The food was just as masterfully made, by Liza, and we had a lot of fun talking with Ned and Liza about Williams and Steamboat and everything in general. Ned had graduated Williams in 1971 and had a son recently graduate from Williams as well. Neither was associated with the ski team, though Ned played Lacrosse, and their invitation was both a surprise and a delight for the whole team.
Wednesday night Bud, Alice, Dimitri, and I went to dinner at the Nelson's condo (delicious pesto!) before going to Howelsen Hill where we watched the alpine team compete at the night slalom. It was an exciting spectator event, as the hill was well-lit and you could watch from any point on the course. The course was really tough and there were a lot of racers hiking - combined with loudspeaker commentary and live scoreboard, the races were really fun to watch.
Saturday was a fabulous conclusion to the week and the season, as we had two good races under a day of sunshine and great skiing.
The mass start races were really exciting. The sun was hot and the temp warmed up quick, so feeds were a must and Alice, along with many other women who raced second, even skied in a t-shirt.
The men's race started really slow, the pack held together around the whole first lap and Dimitri had to contend with being in the back of an accordian. Still, he was patient and slowly picked people off on each of the four laps: starting with bib #32 he then came through the stadium in 19th, then 17th, then into a sprint finish for 14th which he won at the line.
Alice's race started more quickly and the field spread out in the first lap. Alice felt terrible in her first lap, but hung in there and began feeling better in the third lap. She was racing along with several other Eastern racers, most of the time with Anya Bean from UNH. There were some other racers yo-yoing back and forth around her, but Alice raced smart and paced herself well, and she kept picking people off until the finish. She was just starting to feel better in her race, and wished she had a couple more kilometers to pass the large pack that was just ahead of her, but it was a solid race nonetheless.
After the races there was a barbeque e with team awards, and then Dimitri caught a ride with several other racers to Strawberry Hot Springs (as the rest of us were too exhausted). Dimitri thought the springs were as fantastic as the company he went with - a certain racer from Wellesley College (too bad she is a senior. . . .).
Saturday night was dancing to a live band at a local pub which was packed with racers, and fortunately our flight the next day was at a reasonable hour.
We are now back home, amazed that our flight went smoothly and none of our bags were lost. . .
Results
Pictures
Dimitri in the pack off the start
Dimitri sprints to the finish with a New Mexico racer and beats him by .7 seconds.
Dimitri's legs are cramping after race
Alice Nelson leads Natalie Ruppertsberger from Bates, Lauren Fritz from Middlebury and Anya Bean from UNH.
Alice
Deb and Dan Nelson watch Alice's last college ski race.
Dinner at the Nelson's condo: great view for the sunset
The Nelsons put on a wonderful pesto dinner
Night Slalom
Alice and alpine teammate Emily Porter
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