Making a mountain out of a mogul.
After a week of snowfall I had a good idea that the course would be big but nothing prepared me for the size of the moguls.
Created by Chamonix's Jamie Strachan the bumps were described as 'kickers' by early runners. Anyone standing at the top of course would feel a little daunted staring down the 'mountain' ridden piste as skiers constantly disappeared as they headed down the zip line.
Each of the races was judged by 5 people, one from each resort, giving a point for Style, Line, Speed, Air and Overall with either skier needing at least 3 points to get the win. Each team consisted of 13 people. 7 male skiers, 2 female skiers, 2 snowboarders & 2 telemarkers. Our band of merry men included Vern(
Ski Higher) & G(
Scott Dunn) on their snowboards, Jen(
Ski Higher) & Erica were our lovely lady skiers. Ed(
Scott Dunn), Mike(
Skival), Ben(POTP), Robin Kinnard, Nick(ESF), Matt Ottway (capt) & Spaz completed the lineout.
Our first race was a bit of a baptism of fire as we faced off against title favourites Zermatt. Without any telemarkers we were immediately down 2-0 even before setting a ski on the course. We managed to get our first points on the board with the first of many excellent runs from Vern as he beat ZermattÃs Mickey Julen.
Mike(
Skival) was the first skier to come down and was on his way to win when he clipped one of the last moguls causing him to fall, losing a ski. As he threw his poles down in disgust you could feel his annoyance of being so close to the win. It was left to Ben(POTP) and Robin to salvage two more point to make the final score 10-3 to Zermatt.
Val d'Isere and Meribel were the next two teams down the course. The two teams were very closely matched resulting in Meribel winning 7-6.
Courchevel then took on Chamonix. From the start it looked like another dominate performance from the defending champions. Ben attempted a front somersault but couldn't quite stick it resulting in an amazing crash. His opponent ,Jamie Strachan, took evasive action but crashed into his skis as they littered the landing area. Had Ben stuck the landing he would have won the point. Only G(
Scott Dunn) , Erica and Rob managed to win there rounds resulting in another 10-3 defeat.
Zermatt took on Val d'Isere defeating them easily 9-4. Chamonix did the same to Meribel, defeating them 8-5.
Courchevel's next opponents were Val d'Isere, who like
Courchevel didn't race any telemarkers making for a (slightly) more level playing field. Vern started off well with his second win and was followed by another win for Erica making the overall score 2-2. Unfortunately the male skiers, with the exception of Nick(ESF), were swept aside by Val resulting in a final score of 8-3.
Zermatt almost completed a whitewash of Meribel winning 12-1 cementing their title aspirations.
Chamonix narrowly beat Val d'Isere 7-6.On their last run
Courchevel took on neighbours Meribel with a good start from the two boarder (Vern & G) we tied the score 2-2.
Each of the following skiing races were incredibly close but were won by Meribel. Most notable performance was Ben(POTP) who attempted the only switch jump of the entire day. Unfortunately landing on his face lost him valuable points with the judges but gained him some very interesting facial scars.
As the two points leaders, Zermatt & Chamonix, met in the last race of the day it was Zermatt who constantly edged Chamonix out. That is until Zermatt's first male skier was thrown violently into a mogul putting an end to the competition as he lay immobile waiting for the security de piste to helicopter him off the mountain. This one major injury did put a slight damper on what was overall a very memorable day.
Final Scores
1. Zermatt - 35 points
2. Chamonix - 27 points
3= Val d'Isere - 24 points
3= Meribel - 24 points
5.
Courchevel - 11 points
