Mounteverest.net and Berg Adventures International reported last week that Kit Des- Lauriers of Jackson, Wyo., became the first woman to ski from the summit of Mount Everest.
The women’s reigning world freeskiing champion, joined by her husband, Rob, and Jackson photographer Jimmy Chin, also logged the first autumn Everest summit since 2002. The DesLaurierses have skied from the highest peaks in Europe, North America, South America and Antarctica.
In a dispatch posted at www.bergadventures.com two days after her historic ski descent of 5,000 vertical feet from the world’s highest peak, DesLauriers wrote of impenetrable ice that repelled even her ice ax on the famed Lhotse Face.
“It was some of the most serious skiing I’ve ever done in my life,” she wrote. “I developed a mantra during the descent that came to me from somewhere unknown. Before each turn I would say to myself, ‘Like your life depends upon it,’ and then make a turn.”
A mantra to remember, for sure.
SKI AREAS: Aspen Highlands seeking volunteers
The Aspen Highlands ski patrol needs help packing its bowl. The patrollers at the rough-hewn jewel of a ski area are seeking volunteers to help stomp snow in avalanche- prone areas, including the famed Highlands Bowl.
Volunteers will earn credit toward their season pass, and snow-stomping bowl packers working for 15 days earn a free season pass. Another bonus is the best boot packers could find themselves on the patrol’s enviable “list of friends,” which can lead to early- morning powder runs on the mountain. Packers earn $100 credit toward their pass for every day of work, but credits are issued only after five, eight, 10, 12 and 15 days.
A tip: You never can have too much duct tape when it comes to powder proofing the cuffs of your ski pants. Call the Aspen Highlands patrol at 970-544-3062.
WINTER SPORTS: Wolf Creek to celebrate its earliest start Friday
Forget the crowded ribbons of snow and take a road trip. Wolf Creek will celebrate its earliest opening Friday with a 15-inch base down low and 25 inches up top.
The Southern Colorado snow magnet has gleaned 57 inches of snow since September and plans to open three lifts. And in another sign that El Niño will bless the south this season, staffers at Silverton Mountain already have been skiing a month, with more than 4 feet of snow on the precipitous hill. The mountain has promised it will open well before its scheduled Nov. 23 opening for early-season unguided skiing.
OPENING DAYS
A-Basin Open
Aspen Highlands Dec. 9
Aspen Mtn. Nov. 23
Beaver Creek Nov. 22
Breckenridge Nov. 10
Buttermilk Dec. 9
Copper Mtn. Nov. 3
Crested Butte Nov. 18
Durango Nov. 23
Echo Mtn. Nov. 22
Eldora Nov. 17
Howelsen Dec. 2
Keystone Nov. 10
Loveland Open
Monarch Nov. 22
Powderhorn Dec. 7
Silverton Nov. 23
Ski Cooper Nov. 23
Snowmass Nov. 23
Solvista Dec. 13
Steamboat Nov. 22
Sunlight Dec. 1
Telluride Nov. 23
Vail Nov. 17
Winter Park Nov. 15
Wolf Creek Friday
MOUNTAIN BIKING: Colorado collegians dominate nationals
Colorado’s top collegiate mountain bikers erased any question that the Centennial State rules the singletrack, winning 14 of 19 divisions, including the top overall Division I and II teams comps, at last weekend’s 2006 USA Cycling collegiate mountain bike national championships in New Mexico.
Fort Lewis swept all four Division I men’s events and placed 11 athletes on the podium, securing its third overall title in the past four years. Western State boasted nine podium visits, winning the overall Division II crown.
Alex Hagman’s victories in the short track and cross country races delivered the Fort Lewis student the overall Division I men’s title, and CU’s Caroline Jarolimek won the Division I women’s title. Kate Chapman of Western State took the Division II women’s title.
TRIATHLON: State entries perform admirably in Ironman
Colorado triathletes represented their home state well at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii on Saturday.
Even with Boulder’s two-time champion Timothy DeBoom sitting out his first Ironman in 14 years with a stress fracture in his right leg, six of Colorado’s top endurance athletes finished in the top 100. Of the 1,793 athletes who qualified for the race – a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon – 42 hail from Colorado.
Boulder’s Cameron Widoff finished 12th. German Normann Stadler laid down a record pace in the bike leg to win the race, unseating last year’s winner, Faris Al-Sultan, who placed third. Joanna Lawn of Boulder finished seventh in the women’s race, which was won by Australian Michellie Jones.
(COMPILED BY STAFF WRITER JASON BLEVINS)
