NorAm/Hole Shot, Day 2 and 3

Race Day 1

It was a good day at the races. Whitney didn't make the heat brackets but she had her highest finish at a NorAm race. She was just outside the cut and finished 17 or 18 (we're not sure and the final results haven't posted yet). It wasn't quite a bluebird Colorado day but it was pretty. The wind was a bit higher than yesterday but the course was fast and ran well.

The format for today was one timed run for everyone, the top eight fastest were moved into the heat brackets. Everyone else did a second timed run and they took their fastest time to rank places 9 onward then cut the women to 16.

Whitney had a bit of a weird fall in her first time trial run at the end of the race and slid over the finish line on her back. Her second run she had a really weird fall at the top of the course but the girl running ahead of her crashed badly at the finish so Whitney was pulled off the course and had to rerun. So it was down to the bottom, take the slow chair lift to the top, catch her breath and refocus, then go again.

She was a bit bummed to be so close to racing in the heats but pleased overall with how the day went.

Race Day 2

Race day 2 dawned snowy. Lots of snow and more coming down. The 20 minute drive out to Ski Cooper wasn't too bad, we took it slow. We were among the first to get there and shortly after we arrived they announced a one hour delay so they could groom the course.

For today's race they decided last night to forego time trials. They said everyone would race in the bracket heats and they were basing the brackets on the rider's FIS points. This was kind of a bummer for Whitney and especially her friend who is out here but I think overall it worked out ok for her. She was in a bracket with two other riders and came in second and moved on to the round of 16. Unfortunately at the start of her next race she fell at the beginning then slipped again later but still almost caught the rider in front of her. No official results posted yet for either race but she likely finished 16th today since she was the lowest ranked rider to make it to the top 16 and didn't move on.

The snow made for an interesting day watching. At times I couldn't see any of the course from the lodge and later in the day you could see the course clearly. The snow kept coming down all day, very heavy this morning, lighter later, then on the drive back it stopped but now it's snowing again.

Racing is done for this trip. We're going to trudge through the snow to the coffee shop to get some hot chocolate, coffee, and maybe a snack, then it'll be time to start packing up for our trip back East.