High winds and boney conditions challenged competitors in the junior big mountain competition at the Lake Louise Ski Hill, but that didn’t stop several Bow Valley athletes from laying down insane runs on tough terrain off Eagle Run 7.
Banff’s Erin Harvie of the Lake Louise All Mountain Club won the 12-14 year old girls category in the national event with a come from behind win over Rocky Mountain Free Riders Jemma Capel. The win is her second in two weeks, as she won a Kicking Horse competition last week.
Harvie clinched the win by landing a double drop on the edge of the rocky section dubbed Cheese Grater
“(Erin) is a solid skier and really brave. The line she picked this weekend was on the edge of Cheese Grater that was incredibly steep,” said coach of the Lake Louise All Mountain Club coach Jordy Burkes. “To do that, you gotta be brave and skilled. It’s neat to see that kind of courage,” Burk said.
Big mountain competitions place competitors in the most difficult terrain possible, where they are judged on their ability to ski technical lines, catch big air and land tricks. Training incorporates aspects of alpine technical racing, freestyle and backcountry smarts, as skiers need an all-around skill set.
“What you’re trying to produce is an awesome all-around skier. We try to introduce the structure you’d see in a racing program,” Burkes said. “There is a huge freestyle component and a huge kind of savvy required for off-piste skiing … some of the lines they pick, the public skier wouldn’t even consider the lines.”
Due to a lower snow base this season, Burkes said there were a lot more rocks sticking out on the route.
“We had high, inconsistent winds and sometimes blowing snow. A big chunk of athletes had poor light conditions. It was pretty boney up there … there were a lot more features this year,” Burkes said.
Burkes praised the talent level at this year’s competition, which was particularly high in the 15-18 year old age group.
He praised Andrew Laver, who slipped during his qualifier to finish 32nd, but had the best run of the day in the final to finish seventh overall – all while wearing blue jeans.
“To see it first -hand is really impressive. I have to say at a really young age, the creativity they show is unbelievable. One of the lines they were skiing was straight down a rock face. There were sparks flying up, and a lot added tricks to that,” Burkes said.
Other top results in the 15-18 year old category included Louis Panning-Osenthorp (5th), Cole Richardson (16th), Garrett Capel (20th), Braden Bester (24th) Ross Bailie (25th) Ryan Statham (31st). Devin Manktelow finished eighth in the male 12-14 category.
The senior big mountain competition is scheduled for this weekend at Lake Louise Ski Hill.
