Thursday, Dec. 6 -Wed., Dec. 12, 2012 | sneakPEAK 1

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www.sneakpeakvail.comThursday, Dec. 6 - Dec. 12, 2012

FREE, WEEKLY, LOCAL... Only the good stuff!

Catching up with Vail’s alpine pioneer, ski-town royal and

orginal daredevil

New winter eatsLudwig’s and Yellowbelly

Snow DazeQ&A with The Shins

World Cup-boundNordic’s Ryan Scott

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14 sneakPEAK | Thursday, Dec. 6 -Wed., Dec. 12, 2012

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COLORADO MOUNTAIN COLLEGE AND BATTLE MOUNTAIN STUDENTS

Jumping levels in sport is a challenge. Join-ing varsity after JV participation is an ac-complishment. Joining a collegiate program

after high school is an accomplishment. After college, though, the jumps get harder, the com-petition gets stiffer and the accomplishment of any success is sweeter.

-dic racer last weekend in a set of races in Montana and West Yellowstone.

The second race series was in Bozeman, Mont., and were also sprint races. Scott would -

ing third overall “It was a good set of races for me,” Scott says. “The competition really showed up and I

felt like I skied well.”

Scott are sweeter. By skiing strong at the start of the season, he secured his spot to represent the U.S. Ski Team in two upcoming World Cup races to be held in Canada.

He will represent the U.S. in both team and individual events at a race in Quebec this upcoming weekend and one later in the season in Canmore, Canada. If he skis well there,

he will be awarded more starts to upcoming World Cup races in North America and Europe.

and perform where I hope to.”Scott is a Boulder native, but made Vail his home this fall to train with Ski and Snowboard

Club Vail coach Dan Weiland under Weiland’s Team Homegrown, a program for post-colle-giate athletes who look to further their racing career after their NCAA eligibility has run out.

Scott is from Boulder where he attended Boulder High School. He then moved to Boze-

Eric Pepper, one of the coaches at SSCV, was Scott’s junior coach for six years. When Scott graduated from Montana State, he was connected both to Pepper and had already met Weiland through racing. He knew that Weiland and Pepper were looking for skiers to con-tinue their careers and knew of skiers like Sylvan Ellefson, another Nordic star for Team Homegrown. He knew Vail was where he needed to be.

At the moment, Scott and the other SSCV athletes, have had minimal snow practice thanks to the noticeably dry conditions. Scott says they’ve been making the best of it by practicing on a small loop at Minturn’s Maloit Park on the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy campus. The Nordic Center in East Vail, unfortunately, is still waiting for snow.

Nevertheless, Scott says he’s been impressed with the caliber of Nordic training he’s found in Vail.

“I think the way they structure the program and the way they built that whole network of support throughout the Vail Valley and throughout Colorado is exceptional,” Scott says. “They have done an incredible job bringing in new skiers of all ages. They get the high school kids into the sport and are seeing results. They are extremely knowledgeable of all aspects of ski racing. It really is an ideal situation up here.”

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Team Homegrown athlete Ryan Scott earns Nordic

World Cup berths. John O’Neill

vail.com

has seen good results so far, especially with podium post-collegiate racer Ryan Scott. Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy photo.

SneakPEAK writer John O’Neill can be reached at info@sneakpeakvail.com

Thursday, Dec. 13 -Wed., Dec. 19, 2012 | sneakPEAK 1

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Vail, in their words50 years of mountain memories

Ringing in the seasonA day with Salvation Army bell ringers

Our gear wish listBackpacks, powder skis and more

Dedicated skiers and riders tell why they’re on the mountain, whatever the conditions.

www.sneakpeakvail.comThursday, Dec. 13 - Dec. 19, 2012

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12 sneakPEAK | Thursday, Dec. 13 -Wed., Dec. 19, 2012

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New heights for local skiers at pipe competitionVail athletes earn national team spots at North Face Park Series

SneakPEAK staff report

Pipe competition. Blunck earned a spot on the U.S.

-man photo.

Thursday, Dec. 20 -Wed., Dec. 26, 2012 | sneakPEAK 1

1962 gear guideStyles from Vail’s fi rst opening day

Beating the bulgeThree unique winter workouts

Vail’s Ale House opensNew tavern brings West Coast chill

www.sneakpeakvail.com

Thursday, Dec. 20 - Dec. 26, 2012

FREE, WEEKLY, LOCAL... Only the good stuff!

Pete Seibert, Jr., son of Vail’s legendary cofounder, talks about life as Vail’s fi rst son.

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The local high school Nordic series kicked off this past weekend, and many local athletes were out to prove that they knew

how to skate.

took place at Maloit Park in Minturn last Saturday. Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV), Battle Mountain High School and Vail Mountain School hosted the competition. The course at Maloit Park came together for the competition just in time thanks to the help of much needed snow.

The continued snowfall didn’t deter spectators or athletes from coming out to compete and watch the race. High schools including Clear Creek, Aspen, Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Eagle Valley, Evergreen, Lake County, Middle Park, Nederland, Ridge View Acad-emy, Steamboat Springs, Summit and Vail Mountain School, all came out to compete in the 5-kilometer race.

Although Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy (VSSA) hosted the event, the Nordic athletes

specialized sports academy.“According to the rules set forth by CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Associa-

tion), we are not allowed to compete against other high schools in the sport of skiing,” says SSCV head Nordic coach Dan Weiland.

CHSAA is the organization that regulates all high school sports, including football and

competition environments. VSSA athletes have the opportunity to train all morning during the winter and would have the upper hand when it comes to the amount of hours they have on the snow.

A brother and sister duo from neighboring Aspen came out on top as the individual win-ners of the men’s and women’s 5-kilometer race. Local Vail girls from Vail Mountain School (VMS) ended up winning the team title and outperforming all other competitors in the over-

across the board. They were followed closely behind by Summit High School, with Aspen High School placing in third.

Hannah Hardenbergh from VMS led the pack for most of the race, only to be passed on

a few high school Nordic races before, placed sixth, followed by Clare Baker (SSCV) in seventh and Annie Blakslee (SSCV) in eighth. All four of the VMS girls made the cut-off

“We have been training here for the past week or so, but it has been a little thin up until last week,” says Hardenbergh. “The course was a little soft because of the new snow, but it is much better than no snow. We really take these races into our training plan and ski for our school while we are at it.

She also gave credit to Swirbul, the overall individual winner.“It is fun skiing against Hailey. She is also a club skier, and I compete against her a lot

during the season. It is also just fun to be out here with some classmates and ski for school pride,” says Hardenbergh.

The boy’s side of the race was not as successful for the Vail locals. Keegan Swirbul from -

rett from Battle Mountain High School had a great race, landing in seventh place overall.

of the athletes.

Hannah Hardenbergh of Vail Mountain School leads the girls’ race at the high -

man photo.

Local skiers get top finishes at Minturn’s Maloit Park race

By Michael Suleiman

High school

Nordicseries in full swing

!e high school sports page brought to you by the following sponsors.