Skiers go head-to-head at U.S. Telemark Nationals

  • February 22, 2008

THE NATION’S BEST telemark skiers went head-to-head last weekend for the championship title at Tamarack Resort in Idaho. During three days of competition, the Alpine-Nordic skiers put their skills to the test as they competed in the U.S. Telemark National Championships.

The telemark race series is compiled of four separate events: the Classic, Sprint Classic, Telemark Giant Slalom, and Dual Pro Slalom. The signature event of the series is the Classic race which requires the competitor to race downhill through slalom gates, jump a specified distance after those gates, and then finish with an uphill Nordic sprint — all within one timed run. The most spectator-friendly competition was the Dual Pro Slalom. This race pairs two skiers together for a head-to-head battle until only the two fastest racers remain.

Kelsey Schmid-Sommer from Whitefish, Mont., took the overall women’s national title while Shane Anderson (Cody, WY) stood atop the podium for the men. Following Anderson for the men were Drew Hauser (Keystone, CO) and Eric Lamb (Whitefish, MT). For the women, Loren Paley (Steamboat Springs, CO) took second and Erika Walters (Steamboat Springs, CO) finished third.

Original Article SkiRacing.com:
http://www.skiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6214&Itemid=2