Wolf Creek Ski Area hosted its St. Patrick’s Day Fun race on Saturday, March 16.
This modified giant slalom was held on Lower Charisma and, with a nearly 100-inch base, was enjoyed by all. The skies were cloudy with light snow and the temperatures hovered around 20 degrees, which made for fun and soft conditions for the race.
There was a nice turnout of 43 racers from Texas, Kansas and Colorado — many of whom were visiting for spring break.
The three fastest times of the day were from the men’s group, and all three racers hailed from Pagosa Springs. Two of the top three racers, Cameron Parker and Casey Bristow, were in the men’s 41-50 group, with Parker taking the top spot with a time of 30.13. Cedar Liverett, in our boys’ 15-17 age group, came in second with a time of 30.35, just two-tenths of a second behind Parker. Bristow’s third-place time of 30.90 was within seven-tenths of a second from the top spot, making for a truly exciting race in the men’s category.
The ladies’ race proved just as exciting as the men’s, with less than two seconds separating the first- and third-place finishers of the day.
Amarillo, Texas, resident Meredith Jameson of our 41-50 group came in first with an amazing time of 33.69. Tarrie Burnett, of Pagosa Springs, came in just behind Jameson with a time of 34.52; and Indie Howe, from Monte Vista, rounded out the top three with another great time of 35.59.
Overall, the race was a huge success and let the spring break crowd let loose and enjoy the great snow conditions.
The next fun race in the fun race series was held on Saturday, March 23, and again brought out a very competitive racer pool with an astonishing 72 racers from around the Colorado area, as well as Oklahoma, New Mexico and North Carolina.
The fifth fun race of the series proved to be a very exciting race and the top three finishers were from three different age divisions in the men’s group.
The overall first-place finisher was David Kelly, of Littleton, from the men’s 41-50 group, who finished with a time of 26.61. Our second-place finisher was in our men’s 26-30 age group: Forrest Czarneck, of Evergreen, came in with a time of 27.56. Finally, finishing out the top three was from our boys 12-14 group, Isaac Honto, of Pagosa Springs. Honto had a very impressive finish with a time of 27.66.
Our ladies’ group also proved to be on top of its game with another close race.
The top two showings of the ladies came from the girls’ 12-14 age group. Maxine Long, of South Fork, and Alex Pearson, of Henderson, N.C., came in first and second with times of 28.95 and 32.07, respectively. Our third-place finisher in the fun race was another South Fork resident, Maddie Averette, with a very impressive time of 32.32. Great job, ladies.
The end of the Fun Race Series is quickly approaching with our Easter Bunny Fun Race this Saturday, March 30. This will be the final fun race of the season and should not be missed — remember, medals are given to the top three finishers in each age division.
In addition to the fun race on Saturday, the Easter Bunny will be hopping on up to visit the kiddos on Sunday and holding his annual Easter egg hunt, bringing cheer and joy to both the young and young at heart. We look forward to seeing you on the mountain.
