Audio Interviews

Telemark Racing

Sprint Classic - March 5, 1999
The Classic is the most grueling and difficult event in telemark racing and separates the players from the posers. It has everything: downhill Gates, uphill sections, 360s and jumps. The sprint classic is an abbreviated version of this. Competitors are scored based on raw times plus penalty points — one second is added to the score for each penalty incurred. Skiers must ski with feet a boot length apart, ski with smooth transitions between turns (no bobble or pause between tele turns) and clear minimum distances on jumps. Each time they miss one of the above, a second is added onto their score—strong motivation to ski clean.

In today's sprint classic, Cody Thompson from Whitefish, MT took first for the women with a score of 184.36, a whopping 12.74 in front of second place Diana Mauriks. Dana Breslau, on hiatus from the work world to ski to her heart's content this winter took third place, 1.79 back.

Chris Rice from Park City, UT beat his rivals to take first with a score of 158.23. Members of the Whitefish coalition, Reid Sabin and Glen Gustafson, took 2nd and 3rd respectively.

—Michelle Quigley, in Bavarian oblivion for The Mountain Zone