[FWM News] FIS Masters Cup at Mammoth

[Far West Masters news]

The FIS Masters Cup races at Mammoth were held Wed-Sun last week and featured a streak of 
incredible weather and racing conditions that held until the final day of the event.

This week brings a long-awaited "pattern change" with a mid-week storm bringing snow after a dry 
stretch since the holiday storms.  The weather forecasts call for clearing by the weekend, just in 
time for the annual McKinney Cup races at Mt. Rose.  We'll be racing on the "Slide side" out of the 
Winters Creek base lodge, with SL Saturday on Sunrise and a full-length GS Sunday on Silver 
Dollar.  Mt. Rose is always a welcoming venue and a fun race, so tune up the race boards for a fun 
weekend!  Online registration is open through 9pm Thursday evening.

Following Mt. Rose, the annual Masters National Championships will be held at Big Sky MT this year 
on Mar. 18-23.  Big Sky reports excellent snow conditions and has great masters race hills - 
entries are still being accepted, so there's still time to sign up for our "big event".

The final Far West masters races of the season will be at Squaw Valley on Apr. 4-7, with Thu-Sat 
SG-GS-SL races.  The season banquet will be Saturday evening at Squaw's Olympic House - sign up 
online at SkiRaceReg.com to make your reservation.  The weekend will conclude with a Sunday dual 
fun race for masters, junior athletes, and family and friends who can join this fun team event.

Mammoth FIS Masters Cup
-----------------------
The 2013 FIS Masters Cup international masters races were hosted by Mammoth Mountain on Feb. 
29-Mar. 3. SG training was held on Wednesday and competitors were treated to two training runs on 
the World Cup/Terrie's race venue under warm, sunny skies with light breezes and excellent 
conditions on the track with firm but grippy snow. And it only got better from there - Thursday's 
opening race brought brought another day of fabulous conditions, and the second SG on Friday was if 
anything even better. Three days of ideal conditions and great racing - no wonder there were so 
many smiles at the finish!

The scene switched to SL for the weekend. While Saturday brought a few high clouds and increasing 
winds ahead of a small front, racing conditions on Fascination continued the standard set by the 
speed venue. Excellent skiing was displayed on both the Group B/C course and the younger Group A 
men's course, with top positions settled by hundredths in tight racing.

Sunday arrived with snow, wind, and fog, leading to an early end to the weekend with the jury 
decision to cancel the race due to the soft conditions on the race hill. Disappointment in losing 
the final race was balanced by positive memories and encounters with old and new friends. We thank 
everyone who was able to come and compete in this event, especially our friends from other 
countries who brought an international flavor that was much appreciated by the American competitors.

Complete event results on ussamasters.org:
http://ussamasters.org/2013/imc