Vanias and Colie win Forbush Time Trial

Mon, Dec  16, 2019 - By Mike Muha

Well, what difference 24 hours and a change of venue makes! Warm temperatures and tricky trails at Saturday's Lakes of the North Freestyle gave way to a colder race (19F), a little new snow, and smooth as silk trail grooming for the Forbush Corner Freestyle. Of course, it wasn't all perfect: after we skied the snowmaking loop (AWESOME!) we headed onto the Ridge and Badlands Trails, where the snow was not quite as deep and a bit of dirt was poking through. Most of it could be avoided with a little judicious skiing.

The 6.5km distance was perfect for an early season race, particularly since most of us raced the day before.

Billed as a "time trial", it was more of an "age-group" race: Skiers went off in 10-year age groups, with group starts ranging from one skier to 20 skiers. The wide 1.4km snowmaking loop allowed separation of skiers before hitting the narrower trails.

The race ended with the long "gentle" climb up to and down Homerun Hill.

It was a repeat performance for Mariah Frye Colie and Alex Vanias. Alex finished in 16:38. Jorden Wakeley and Kevin Tarras tied for second in 17:18.

Colie finished in 20:13. Kaityln Patterson finished in second (20:36) for the second time this weekend, with Cheryl Darnton finish third for her second time (22:08).

Forbush Corner Freestyle, December 15, 2019, Results:

• Ordered by overall time (PDF)
• Ordered by age group (PDF)