In typical Mother Nature fashion, the mighty race crew at Sun Peaks were challenged but ultimately persevered to deliver some great racing on the OSV run during a FIS BC Cup race series last week.
Sun Peaks Resortprovided a spectacular backdrop for the races, with beautiful bluebird racing on the first two days (giant slalom) with BC Ski Team member Baptiste Cais claiming gold and silver medals in the men’s races, with BCST teammate Alexa Brownlie taking the wins in both women’s races. See the full results at the button below.
Heavy snowfall on Tuesday night added a complexity layer, with the race crew and coaches challenged with removing over 20 cm’s of snow from the race track. Blue sky and sun again returned for the final day of slalom racing on Thursday.
“The track was in great shape in the GS events and then we got hammered with snow overnight. A big shout out to Sun Peaks Resort who at the last minute delivered us six cats to quickly clean up the slalom hill.”
Jeff Robinson, Chief of Race (Shadow)
“The Sun Peaks Alpine Club ROC was well-prepared to host the event and conditions for the first two days of GS could not have been better,” said Graham Cope, Chief of Race. “The conditions for the slalom races proved challenging but all parties pitched in to make sure that racing conditions were safe and fair. Congratulations to the ROC, coaches, athletes, and volunteers for a successful race series.”
There’s nothing quite like a bluebird day and a firm race surface … especially at Red Mountain Resort!
The Red Mountain Racers hosted another beauty of a race series, at the Teck Kootenay Zone Round 3 on March 1 & 2. The race was well attended by 177 athletes in the U12, U14, and U16 age groups from both the East and West Kootenays. All age groups had an opportunity to race slalom and giant slalom over the two days with two ROC’s running simultaneous events.
Early birds were treated to a beautiful sunrise and bluebird sky during the day and solid snow conditions. The two courses held up throughout the day.
Red Mountain Racers can’t thank all of the wonderful volunteers enough for their commitment to early mornings and hard work. And of course a big thank you to Red Resort for their commitment to alpine racing!
Sunny skies, wide smiles, and great attitudes were prominent in a well-organized Coast zone race series last weekend at Cypress Mountain Resort.
Over 100 volunteers worked behind-the-scenes and on the race courses, pulling off two days of slalom racing for 140+ U14 boys and girls. The race ran down Bowen Face, next to Midway Chair, at Cypress. Beautiful weather made for a comfortable time on the hill, though snow conditions required extra effort from the course crew to maintain.
“A record number of racers competed at Cypress Mountain this weekend. The sun accompanied us all through the weekend, and our course crew and a high number of volunteers helping out contributed to a successful event. It was great to see everyone helping out, and to see our team performing and skiing to the best of their abilities. Top ten and podium results are proof of the level of our racers. A big thank you to Cypress Mountain and all sponsors that support us throughout the season,” said Raul Anguita, Program Director.
A big thank you to Helene Tremblay for these incredible images!
Race Organizing Committee
TD: Carmen Kirshenblatt
Chief of Race: Virginia Abbott Race / Kim Mohr
Admin: Clara Cheong
Chief of Course: Ian Campbell
Chief of Gates: Jaret Lang
Chief of Timing: Kaveh Afshari
Chief of Volunteers: Andrea Vigna
Incredible Event Photos
A special thank you to Helene Tremblay for sharing these photos at no charge. She spent hours and hours editing these this week. She’s worked on so many we needed two albums!
The Big White Ski Club hosted the Nancy Greene Ski League Okanagan Zone Finals at Big White Ski Resort, last weekend, welcoming racers from Sun Peaks, Apex, and Vernon.
The first day of racing had the U8 racers take on the dual glalom course under perfect conditions, complete with smiling faces and sunny skies. Lucy Moose (the Big White mascot) even came out to cheer on the kids. Each racer completed two runs, showcasing their skills and enthusiasm for the sport.
The next day featured the U10 and U12 racers, who hit the course under equally-stunning weather, with sunshine and above-zero temperatures for spring like conditions. A speed trap added an extra thrill to the day, and all participants, coaches, and families enjoyed a BBQ lunch.
This event was also an important training opportunity for our Race Organizing Committee, which featured many new volunteers stepping into key roles. Their hard work, along with the dedication of coaches, parents, and officials, made the event a success.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated, supported, and helped make the Okanagan Zone Finals a fantastic experience for all!
Photos courtesy of Samuel Finch and Gavin Crawford
BC Alpine and Girls Fast Forward are thrilled to have an all-star lineup of World Cup-level athletes and coaches working with the GFF Crew at Sun Peaks April 20-23, 2025. World Cup and high level ski racers Cassidy Gray, Brit Richardson, Kiki Alexander, Eleri Smart, and more will be on hand, sharing their expertise and inspiring participants. You’ll also have the opportunity to work with top-notch coaches, including Marie-Eve Boulianne, the Canadian Women’s Development Coach, and Amanda Smith, Alberta Provincial Coach and others! This is your chance to learn from some of the best in the sport, gain invaluable skills, and take your training to the next level!
What:
This ski racing camp is dedicated to building a strong community for female-identifying athletes and coaches throughout BC and Canada. The Girls Fast Forward Camp is open to ALL ABILITIES. You’ll have the opportunity to train with World Cup-level athletes and coaches, learn about the ski racing pathway, and forge lifelong friendships.
Where:
Sun Peaks Resort, BC Athletes will stay at Nancy Greene’s Cahilty Lodge.
When:
Drop off: April 20th between 5:00-6:00pm PST
Training Dates: April 21st-23rd
Pick-up: April 23rd between 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Team Meeting: April 20th at 6:15 pm PST (please check in by 6:00 pm)
Who:
Female-identifying ski racers from BC, birth year 2012 and older (athletes moving into 2nd-year U14-U16 and FIS for the 25-26 season)
Cost:
$720.00 (includes meals, accommodation, all training costs, coaching on snow, video and fitness sessions, panelists on women’s ski racing, and more!) Note: Dinner on April 20th is not provided. Meals include breakfast, lunch, and dinner on April 21st-22nd and breakfast on April 23rd.
With all five Okanagan clubs, in addition to Smithers, Prince George and Lightning Creek from the North, a total of 127 racers were treated to a few days or racing at Sun Peaks during a Teck Okanagan Zone race which featured ski cross and GS races.
Thursday allowed for the racers to inspect and run the ski cross track – on the new Powder Excavating Ski Cross course – with one timed run for seeding during a perfect bluebird day. The next day (powder!) the racers each had three heats with four points being awarded for first place, three points for second, two for third and one for fourth. The top four point getters were matched in the Big Final and finishers rive through eight matched up in the Small Final.
The ski cross course had bumps, jumps and nine banked corners (see diagram below). The skills and improvement by all racers were tremendous.
The racing weekend was capped off on Saturday and Sunday with two-run GS races on the famous on OSV run. All U12 through U16 racers experienced a wide range of conditions over the two days and ran a max length course testing their training endurance and skill.
With a relatively new ROC taking charge of the event, even they were striving to learning and improve daily. Lessons learned and major improvements over the course of the weekend by us all. Massive shout out to TD Jim Martin for educating all of the ROC and on becoming better at our volunteer positions and helping grow a new generation of Sun Peaks Alpine Club ROC members for the future.
