CARRABASSETT VALLEY – The last thing her fellow skiers expected to see was Chelsea Marshall strolling out of the woods.
Marshall fell early in her practice run Wednesday afternoon.
The skiers at the finish line, wondered whether the Pittsfield, Vt., native was injured. Their concerns heightened when the sled was seen coming down the mountain.
A few moments later, however, there was Marshall coming around the mesh fence at the finish line with no skis and just one pole in hand. Marshall was fine and was greeted by her teammates.
“I just tried to compensate,” said Marshall. “I don’t know what happened. I just lost my outside ski.”
During the early mishap, she broke both skis and one of her poles. She got a partial ride down the mountain on the sled before walking the rest of the way.
“I have other skis, but those were a pretty good pair,” said Marshall. “And I don’t think they were mine either.”
Moments later, Bryna McCarty came over to inquire about skis that she had let Marshall borrow.
“I think I broke your skis,” Marshall told McCarty.
“I think you did, too,” said McCarty, who only had two pairs of downhill skis on hand. “Way to go, buddy.”
Bump on the course
Bump Heldman of Auburn isn’t setting any specific expectations for himself this weekend.
“Just give it my all,” said the Gould Academy racer. “I’ve got to see what I can do. I’m not looking for any places. I just want to ski my best. If I do that, I’ll be happy with anything.”
Heldman typically skis at Sunday River, but gets over to Sugarloaf seven or eight times a year. So racing in his first U. S. Alpine Championships on a course that he’s familiar with is a great opportunity.
“To be around here and knowing the hill pretty well is exciting for my first year at U.S. Nationals,” said Heldman.
Heldman has already enjoyed some highlights this season.
He was a forerunner at the World Cup event in Colorado in December.
He was also a forerunner for the Junior Worlds in Canada earlier this month. That provided a nice training opportunity to prepare him for this weekend.
“I’ll see where things fall,” said Heldman. “I’ll probably have a better idea after the downhill where I stand.”
Heldman was 37th after his training run.
Right on time
When Andrew Weibrecht called to the starting gate with a report of his run Wednesday morning, he added a few words of advise.
“And don’t jump on that little bump at the finish,” said Weibrecht.
The Lake Placid, N.Y., racer was the third competitor down the course, but found some air on that little bump at the finish line. The slight lift allowed him to miss triggering the electronic timer. His race time kept running, prompting abuse from other finishers as it approached four and five minutes.
It clogged up the timing system for a few racers. Then Justin Johnson came down the course and did the same thing.
“Didn’t you hear my course report?” asked Weibrecht.
Johnson relayed a similar message to the starting gate, advising racers to “stay on the snow.” The problem was quickly fixed when the cameras at the finish line were elevated.
“I think I saw that timer as soon as I jumped,” said Johnson.
Rest for the elite
Most of the members of the U.S. Olympic team skipped Wednesday’s training run, including gold medalists Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso. Also missing in action was Lindsey Kildow, who suffered the horrendous fall in the downhill during training at the Winter Games. Kildow led the U.S. women by placing fifth in the World Cup standings.
Bode Miller and Steven Nynam were late arriving from Europe, but were expected to arrive at Sugarloaf on Wednesday night.
First-day action
The first day of training was delayed for a couple of hours Wednesday due to course conditions. Low-lying clouds obscured the top of the course, while precipitation was freezing on the goggles.
The first forerunner down the course, Todd Blackburn of Windham, reported conditions had improved remarkably in a span of 20 minutes when he completed his run shortly before 11 a.m.
“Cranky,” is how he described the course.
The early racers complained about uneven snow conditions, but the course improved and appeared to get quicker as the day went on.
“It almost freaked me out looking at the top and all the terrain,” Justin Johnson said. “But this course was fun because of all the terrain in there. It definitely adds something to it.”
Johnson, who just returned from Europe two days ago after competing his second season on the World Cup circuit, recorded the second fastest time, trailing only Daron Rahlves. The radar gun, located on the bottom half of the course, clocked Johnson at 73.20 mph, the fastest of the day. Julia Littman, 19, of Vail, Colo., posted the fastest training time for the women. Littman is a member of the national C team.
A chance to shine
Thomas Lanning, one of the back-of-the-pack racers, came out of nowhere to record the third fastest time in the men’s downhill. Lanning, who started 62nd out of 81 entrants, has placed second three times and third once on the Nor-Am circuit this winter.
The national championships provides the opportunity for a young unheralded skier to share the podium with the elite World Cup racers. Bode Miller made his mark when he placed third in the slalom at the 1996 championships while still a student at CVA.
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