Ski Hopes Hinge on St. Lawrence Meet

The Crimson ski team's chances for a berth in the collegiate nationals should be much clearer after this weekend's St. Lawrence Winter Carnival.

Coach Charlie Gibson's snowmen finished a disappointing sixth in the Dartmouth Carnival last weekend. An outstanding performance by slalom specialist Kim Chaffee wasn't enough to overcome the disastrous effects of an incorrect choice of running wax by the cross-country squad.

Gibson Seeks First

Against St. Lawrence, Norwich, and Dartmouth this weekend at Canton, N.Y., Gibson is hoping for a first-place finish, but will settle for second. Both Dartmouth and St. Lawrence edged the Crimson at Hanover.

To qualify for the nationals the squad will have to finish in the top five at the Williams Carnival the first weekend in March, against the same tough field that competed at Hanover. The Crimson has qualified for the past two years, but has been unable to find the time or money to travel to the West Coast, where the nationals are traditionally held.

Dartmouth Host

This year Dartmouth will host the championships on the weekend of March 15, and the local snow runners are understandably anxious to compete.

Crimson hopes rest principally with Chaffee in the slalom and downhill, with his cousin John in cross country, and with senior Eli Noyes in the jumping event.

Gibson expects John Chaffee to sweep the ten-mile cross country race this weekend. As evidence for his optimism, he points to Chaffee's victory in the Lebanon Valley Nordic Meet Feb. 2.

No Place to Practice

Jumper Noyes faces a tough problem that effects the entire squad to some extent: there's no place for him to practice. Aside from calisthenics and running, Noyes' training is confined to weekends and vacations. In view of this handicap, his 21st place finish out of 40 entrants at Dartmouth is considered unbelievably good.

Kim Chaffee is clearly the outstanding skier on the squad. His ninth in the downhill, eighth in the slalom and seventh in the alpine combined is all that stood between the Crimson and a disgraceful rout last weekend. Among the outstanding ski stars he eclipsed was St. Lawrence's world speed king C.B. Vaughn. In the Stowe Cup race Feb. 1 and 2, Chaffee finished 17th in the downhill against a field of the finest skiers in the east. The event was won by Rebel Ryan, nearly an Olympic team member.

Other Squads Active

The J.V. and freshman squads will also be active this weekend. The frosh will join the varsity at St. Lawrence, while the J.V. will host a giant-slalom race on Saturday at Woodstock, Vt.