[FWM News] Mammoth Season Opener

[Far West Masters news]

The 2012 Far West Masters season opened this weekend with 3 days of SL 
racing at Mammoth Mountain. The original schedule of 2 SL's on Friday 
and 3 GS's on the weekend was modified due to limited early season 
coverage to 3 SL races.

The preceding week featured some excellent SL training for those able 
to attend the Mammoth Masters training camp. Sidelined Mammoth Masters 
head coach Pierre Jeangirard worked on 1 ski all week due to an early 
season calf injury, but even with limited mobility his leadership and 
coaching tips in video analysis were an asset. Unfortunately several 
athletes were lost for the weekend races due to training injuries - 
Marcie Pettigrew, Marietta Frinnell, Randall Sussek, and Bob Davis - 
best wishes for rapid recovery to all!

After a strong cold front blasted through the West Coast on Thursday, 
with 100+ mph winds in the Sierras and Southern California producing 
widespread power outages and downed trees, our race season opened on 
Friday with brisk but clear weather and excellent firm racing 
conditions on the Andy's Double Gold (ADG) race hill. The action 
continued on Saturday with a brisk NE wind producing single-digit 
morning temps that challenged the racers with another day of firm 
conditions. The Saturday post-race party at Giovanni's pizza provided 
us with a warm welcome and plenty of food to go with the apres-race 
socializing.

Wrapping up on Sunday, the temperatures moderated to a more typical 
Sierra range and we finished the weekend with a spectacular scenic day 
of clear blue skies and calm winds. The weekend standings were topped 
by #1 bib holders Matt Savage and Deb Lewis, who backed up their 2011 
overall rankings with strong skiing to open the 2012 campaign. Complete 
results are posted on the Race Results page along with the initial 
Season Standings rankings for 2012.

http://farwestmasters.org/raceinfo/2012/results
http://farwestmasters.org/raceinfo/2012/standings