Area's young ski racers set lofty goals

They say you find love when you least expect it.

Our love came this week in the form of 2 to 3 feet of snow, enough to open the remaining ski resorts - Mount Spokane, 49 Degrees North and (this Saturday) Schweitzer. It allowed both Silver and Lookout to open more terrain.

This week is the second in a series of three on racing. There are a number of promising young ski racers in the region. Will Brandenburg of Spokane, and John Guthrie and Courtney Nova, both of Sagle, Idaho, are great examples. These three have skied for as long they could walk. They juggle school and jobs on top of a rigorous training and race schedule, all for one reason: They love it.

While we mortals are getting ready for our first day out, Nova, 18, started her season in August at a training camp at Mt. Bachelor in preparation for the early-season races.

She headed to Panorama after Thanksgiving for more training, then to Lake Louise this week for the Nor-Am Cup. Next she's headed back to Panorama for the FIS downhill.

Nova graduated from high school last year and is taking the year off to focus on racing. Her plan is to race well this year and get a ski scholarship to a university with a strong race program.

"When racing, there are things that are within your control and out of your control," she said. "The course, the weather and the competitors are all out of my control. What I can control is my physical ability, my gear and my mindset."

Guthrie, 18, also graduated from high school and is taking the year off to focus on racing, with the ultimate goal of making the U.S. Ski Team. He recently returned from a training camp in Austria, where he trained alongside U.S. Ski team members Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves.

He will be at Panorama next week for the Tech Race. Guthrie's plan is get into the Nor-Ams and make U.S. Nationals. He has trained well and just needs to put it into the race course. He would like to make the U.S. D Team, part of the National Development Team.

"College is really important to me," he said. "I don't want to end up without that education when I'm older. But now is not the time."

Brandenburg, 17, is a senior at Mead High and has skied since he was 11 months old.

"My parents realized that it was cheaper to put me in ski school than in daycare," he said.

He juggles school work with his race schedule. His teachers are cooperative and give him assignments so he can work on the road. Brandenburg's season has gone well.

Brandenburg is aiming for two top-10 world rankings in his age group this season. If he does that, he'll make his goal of the U.S. Ski Team (National Development). His upcoming schedule includes Panorama, Sunday River, Park City, Jackson Hole and Big Mountain.

SNOW WATCH

Most Inland Northwest Ski Resorts are operating, and Red Resort in Rossland, British Columbia, is opening this weekend. Visit ski- inlandnorthwest for hours and ski conditions.

cross country

Happy trails

Trails throughout much of the region have a solid base for grooming and skiing.

-- Mount Spokane, which had a decent layer of snow last weekend, received a foot of snow within 8 hours on Wednesday morning, and grooming has commenced on a Thursday through Monday basis.

-- Blackjack Ski Area in Rossland, British Columbia, has good groomed trails on two feet of snow.

-- Deer Creek Nordic area on the pass east of Curlew is scheduled to be groomed again today after receiving another 10 inches of snow between Tuesday and Wednesday.

-- The Methow Valley ski trails are still lacking for decent coverage; grooming has not yet begun.

-- Backcountry skiers are advised to stay on trail at Sherman Pass because of scant coverage and significant avalanche hazard, Colville National Forest winter rangers said.

- Rich Landers, Outdoors Editor

Lisa Gerber's column appears every Friday during the ski season. If you have an event or story idea, contact Lisa at skiinglisa@bigleapcreative.com.

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