NCAA Championship Skiing

Steamboat Springs March 10- 13, 2010

The championship from another perspective…

The last three years I was part of the NCAA ski team from the University of Denver and the years before I was racing in Europe. This is the first winter for 20 years in which I am not racing in any competitions… But since the NCAA Championship ski races where in Steamboat Springs I wanted to take advantage of the close location and see my old team and cheer for them.

The NCAA championship is the highlight of the ski season. Starting at the very beginning of January College teams have to qualify their racers for the NCAA races at the end of the season.  The US is split into several regions so that the College teams do not have too much travel each weekend. Colorado College teams race with teams from Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Alaska and Wyoming. The goal for each team is to qualify three women and three men in Nordic skiing as well as alpine skiing so that the College can move to the NCAA with a full team of six alpine racers and six Nordic ski racers. That is not as easy as it sounds- the NCAA Championship Competition has only a certain amount of starter places which is around 50 racers per competition. That means that each region in the US can qualify only about 15 skiers. In order to qualify for the NCAA an athlete has to be in the top 15 overall in its region as well as in the best 3 of its College team…So after about 6 weekends racing with always two competition for Nordic skiers as well as two races in alpine the list is set and the College teams have their qualified athletes for the NCAA Championship competitions. For a team which does have the full 12 athletes, it is difficult to win since they do not have the full amount of athletes who can score points.

This year the championship started off on Wednesday night with the first alpine race. Eva Huckova from the University of Utah won the Lady’s Giant Slalom and Leif Haugen from my old College Team the University of Denver won the Men’s Giant slalom. Leif qualified for the Olympics and raced in Whistler earlier this season for his home country Norway.  The on Thursday the Nordic skiers had their first race. The women went first for the 5 km individual classic race. One of my friends I grew up with skiing, Antje Maemple from Germany, won the women classic race for the University of Denver. On the men’s side Matt Gelso from the University of Colorado Boulder won the 10 km individual men Nordic race. After the first round of completion in Alpine as well as in Nordic skiing the University of Denver was leading. But there were two more days to go and the University of Colorado Boulder and New Mexico was very close.

Then on Friday night the Alpine racer had their second competition, a night slalom which was very exciting for people watching the race. Andreas Adde from the University of Anchorage Alaska won the men’s Slalom race and Malin Hemmingsson from the University of New Mexico won the lady’s race which lasted almost until 11PM at night. Then on Saturday morning was the final completion day. The mass start in Nordic skiing which is always very exciting- 50 racer start all at the same time and fight about 40 min until the finish sprint. The men went first for their 20 km race. A big group of about 15 racers stayed together until the very end and at the finish line the German Franz Bernstein who is racing for the University of Vermont won in a very exciting sprint final. The women race was not quite as exciting, the ladies spread up way faster than the men and at the end there were only two women in front fighting for the winning place. One more time Antje Maemple from the University of Denver won the race.

With these results there were no doubt that the University of Denver won their 21 NCAA Championship Title which is the third in row, winning also last year and two years ago. Second place goes to the University of Colorado Boulder followed from the University of New Mexico.

Congratulations to my old ski team and thanks for amazing exciting fun competitions. Enjoy all your spring break and some days off without practicing!!!

20th Annual Taste of Vail

From Thursday April 8, 2010 until Saturday April 10, 2010

Vail is gone have its 20th food and wine festival. The annual three-day event is held at several venues throughout Vail Village. Participants at the Taste of Vail will enjoy the best wines from over 50 of the country’s most noted vintners. In addition, visitors will dine at Vail Valley’s world-class restaurants, fine wine poured by winemakers and winery owners from top wineries around the globe, participate in interactive seminars, auctions and dance. As well as going to the Colorado Lamb Cook Off, après ski tasting and the popular mountaintop picnic sensory extravaganza at the top of Vail Mountain. The event will start of on Thursday morning with Celebrities on Snow, the Belgian Beer Lunch and the 5^th Annual Colorado Lamb Cook- Off and après ski tasting. Then on Friday there will be again Celebrities on Snow, a seminar, mountain top picnic, and live auction chef showcase and at night a cigar seminar. Saturday will start off with the aphrodisiac foods army reiley, and the Josh Wesson Seminar. In the afternoon, the Taste of Vail Festival will finish   off with a Pinot Noir Speed Dating Style Seminar and the Great Tasting and Dinner Dance.
In the past years, Vail could welcome more than 5,000 people for the Taste of Vail Festival.

So mark the date- be part of the event and enjoy amazing days in Vail during the Taste of  Vail.

Click here, here and here to see some fun videos from the past Taste of Vail Events !!!

Olympia Update

6 more days to GO- 6 MORE DAYS OF EXCITING GAMES!!!

As of today, Monday February 22, 2010 the United States are in the lead of the Olympic Medal count with 7 Gold Medals, 7 Silver Medals and 10 Bronze Medals followed by Germany who moved closer by winning 3 medals today – 2 in cross country skiing team sprint and in ski jumping team competition.

Lindsey Vonn from Vail won one of the gold medals in the women’s downhill as well as a Bronze Medal in the women’s super ski. Evan Lysacek one another gold medal for the US in one of the most exciting and tight men’s figure skating events in history. Evan Lysacek was fighting against Evgeni Plushenko who won the Olympic Gold Medal four years ago in Turin/ Italy. One of the best performances in the 2010 Olympic Games so far was from the legendary men’s Half Pipe snowboard competitor Shaun White. Shaun White already won Olympic Gold four years ago and everybody was excited what he will present in this Olympics- and he outperformed all expectations. He already had the gold Medal after his first run, but instead of showing some simple jumps in his second run- he did jumps nobody had seen before cleaner anyone can show them. Even if the ice hockey team has still a long way to go- the final will be Sunday at noon, one of the most important games for the US was yesterday- US against Canada. The US won with 5 to 3 goals and moved a big step closer to the final.

For tonight everybody is excited to see the battle between the Canadian and US team in the final round of the Figure Skating Ice Dance performance. Tomorrow Bode Miller will race again in the Men’s Giant Slalom and try to add one more medal to his Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal he already won in this Olympics. We will also see the first round of the women’s figure skating program, the short program which will start Tuesday 23,2010 at 5.30 PM mountain time.

So even if we already saw amazing events- there will be more…!!!

Girls love wearing fancy masks!

February 14-19 is Carnivail! I’ve noticed signs around town and can’t be more excited! After their Super Bowl win- I think all of America is pumped for Mardi Gras, and this is Vail’s own version! If you can’t make it to New Orleans, then what better way to spend it than in the mountains? Our stars alone are better than the fireworks, and the people know here know how to celebrate!

After finishing our own great event- Vail Gay Ski Week- we are rested and ready to participate in this once a year event in Vail! Come see our friends, the Frogs Gone Fishin’, at the Fat Tuesday Parade (free!)! We love these guys, and they are local favorites!

Missing that dirty south great cookin? Not a problem- join us in becoming fat kids again with the “World’s Highest Low Country Crawfish Boil” at Eagle’s Nest. Go skiing or riding afterward to burn those calories! Here’s the menu Vail has planned:

1 lb. Crawfish, Andouille Sausage, Corn, New Potatoes, Garlic Bread – $14.95

Bowl of Gumbo – $7.95

Crawfish Etouffee- $8.95

King Cake – $3.50

I will also be hitting up my favorite places in Vail- Sweet Basil, Samana, the Tap Room, and more. Email me if you want to plan meeting up!

janyce.brandon@vailgayskiweek.com

Well, skiers and riders its official, Colorado now has 2 ski resorts open for the season and with the snow in the forecast things are looking good. Arapahoe Basin Ski Area opened this morning for the earliest day ever in A-Basin’s history. The previous record for opening day was in 2007, and this year beat the record by only one day.

At 9 am the chairs started running, people were lined up and the party was definitely happening at “the beach”. With an 18” base, one run open and certain features of the terrain park set Arapahoe Basin made it official.

I’m keeping it short and sweet today because just like the rest of you I’m off to start what is shaping up to be an amazing Colorado winter!

What better way to celebrate our country’s independence than watching the nation’s best atheletes compete in a little contact sport? The 37^th annual Vail Lacrosse Shootout is already underway and will continue to thrill Vail Valley residents through the 5^th of July.  The weather is perfect, the competition is fierce and the stakes are high as America’s top lacrosse players show off their talent in the Vail Shootout. Touted as one of the premier lacrosse tournaments nationwide, the Vail Shootout hosts nearly 100 men’s and women’s team from all over the United States. The best of the best—including legends Gary and Paul Gait, the Powell brothers, and two players from Syracuse’s national championship team—always jump at the opportunity to play lacrosse in one of the most beautiful settings the US has to offer.  While games will take place all day throughout the week, the men’s and women’s elite championship games will be held on July 5^th at Ford Field.  Come and enjoy the fun, and let Rocky Mountain Vacation Rentals be your resource for the most affordable lodging in the valley. We offer properties for families of all sizes. Check out our website at Vailskivacations.com and come celebrate the 4^th of July with us in Vail!

The Vail Shootout is just one of the many events taking place in Vail this summer. In fact, if lacrosse doesn’t interest you, there are certainly other attractions that will suit your preferences. The Vail community also hosts a variety of music festivals and other sporting events throughout the summer. However, what we all need is a little vacation and Vail is the perfect place to relax, kick back and enjoy the Colorado Mountains.

Just a quick heads up that the Epic Pass is only on sale until November 15th, hurry and purchase this amazing deal.  The Epic Pass offers unlimited skiing to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin for an unbeatable $579.  In addition, in comparison to other season passes there are no restrictions or Blackout dates on the Epic Passs, meaning you ski whenever you want to.

        With Fall upon us, as evident by the rapidly changing color of the leaves, it appears Winter isn’t so far off either.  A few small storms have scattered higher elevations with snow in the past weeks but it appears the first significant storm of late Fall, or Winter is bringing a healthy helping of snow for higher elevations Saturday.