Choppy Snow Plagues Crimson

Difficult conditions led to a tough weekend for the Harvard skiing team, as the nordic and alpine squads continued their trend of tenth-place finishes at the University of Vermont Carnival in Stowe, Vermont. Despite the new race trail at Spruce Peak, the Stowe course maintained its reputation as one of the most challenging races of the collegiate season. The snow proved to be very dry and grippy, leading to deep ruts at the base of each gate on the course for the alpine events. Also, a white-out of intense snow and booming thunder welcomed the Crimson contingent when it first arrived up north.

“The snow acted like styrofoam, crumbling away a little more with every racer that sliced into it,” said men’s junior alpine captain Chris Kinner. “The further back one started, the rougher the course became.”

The women’s nordic team led the way for Harvard, accounting for 97 of Harvard’s 203 point total over the two day meet. That squad was led by sophomore Cara Sprague’s 19th-place finish in the women’s 10K Classic, where the Pfoho resident was followed closely by nordic captain Anna Schulz in 21st place. Sprague also led the way for the Crimson in the women’s 5K Freestyle event, finishing in 36th place.

“This weekend was one of the best performances the women’s nordic team has had in years,” Schulz said. “It was great to see so many of us finish in the top half of a very competitive field.”

The men’s nordic team was paced by captain Dave McCahill’s 45th-place finish in the men’s 10K Freestyle event. In the men’s 15K Classic race, junior Trevor Petach, McCahill, and freshman Joe Tofte finished together in 54th-, 55th-, and 56th-position, respectively, to collect 27 points towards Harvard’s efforts.

In the men’s Giant Slalom event, the Crimson alpine team was paced by freshman Kevin McNamara’s 38th-place effort.

Kinner failed to finish the race, as he broke one of his skis at the tenth gate of his first run, slamming into one of the many ruts on the course, which released his binding. But he bounced back to be the lone Harvard finisher, placing 32nd in the men’s Slalom event.

“Slalom courses tend to get even more hacked up than Giant Slalom courses in soft snow, so that contest was even more of a rodeo,” Kinner said. “Of 72 men that started, only 34 finished [32 of 67 for the women]; the spectators and fans got quite a show as nearly every other racer was launched head over heels out of the course.”

The women’s alpine squad failed to earn any points over the weekend, despite the efforts of freshman Caroline McHugh. She had a great first run, but fell victim to a crucial technical mistake on her second run and failed to finish the race.

Schulz was hardly surprised by the women’s nordic team leading the charge for the Crimson, as that is the only squad out of the four men’s and women’s nordic and alpine teams that currently maintains a full roster of greater than six members, boasting seven active team members.

“The women’s nordic team is the team with numbers,” Schulz said. “We have the depth necessary to deal with both injuries and illness.”

Both the men’s nordic and alpine squads currently have four team members due to recent injuries, and McHugh is the lone member of the women’s alpine team that competed at the meet this weekend.

“Hopefully, all four squads can improve next weekend,” Schulz said. “I think we should be able to improve each carnival the rest of this season.”

—Staff writer Thomas D. Hutchison can be reached at tdhutch@fas.harvard.edu.