Crested Butte Academy added some Olympic name recognition to its up-and-coming winter sports program last week, appointing former U.S. snowboarding halfpipe head coach Bud Keene as its director of snowboarding and free-ride skiing.
Keene, who coached in the 2006 Olympics, is the most decorated coach in the history of the sport. He was named international snowboard coach of the year by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association in 2003 and 2006. He was also named the national coach of the year in 2006 by both the USSA and the U.S. Olympic Committee and was recently inducted into the MMSC Olympians Hall of Fame along with Billy Kidd of Steamboat Springs.
Crested Butte Academy is a fully accredited college preparatory school combined with world-class training camp/academy programs in alpine skiing, free-ride skiing, snowboarding and high-altitude running.
“Crested Butte Academy is poised to become the best freestyle training facility for snowboarding and free-ride skiing in the world,” Keene said.
TRAILS/OPEN SPACE
Swan Mountain Recpath’s first phase ready to open
Thanks to $2.3 million in grants and private donations to the Summit County Open Space and Trails Department, those dedicated to the recreation path are about to be rewarded with the long-awaited, 1.67-mile addition to the pride of the county. Phase one of the new Swan Mountain Recpath, a.k.a. the Lowry Section on Lake Dillon’s southeast corner, opens with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Monday. It will connect Royal Coachman Boulevard in Summit Cove to the Lowry Campground. The new path provides safe passage for cyclists, skaters and pedestrians by skirting 2.2 miles of the twisting, two-lane Swan Mountain Road and is a critical link to completing the path around Lake Dillon.
The nonprofit Friends of the Swan Mountain Recpath has raised 20 percent of the $1.9 million to complete phase two – connecting Lowry Campground to the parking lot at Sapphire Point – of the three-phase project.
DISABLED SKIING
U.S. Team finds Lake Dillon perfect for summer training
Lake Dillon in July might not sound like the ideal training ground for cross country skiing, but according to U.S. Disabled Cross Country Ski Team head coach Jon Kreamelmeyer, the Summit County reservoir served as the perfect spot for his team’s recently wrapped-up summer training session.
“Kayaking. Yep, that’s what we had the guys doing each morning, and they were loving it,” Kreamelmeyer said. “There’s only so many ways to get in a solid cardio for these guys without mega muscle impact, so kayaking is a perfect fit.”
After two-hour morning sessions paddling the reservoir, the four-man team moved back on land for off-road roller-skiing workouts using modified mountain boards as dry-land sit-skis around Ute Pass in the afternoons.
“We found a 6-mile section of dirt road along the river that was just the right consistency for the guys,” Kreamelmeyer said. “We got pretty dusty, but it’s the low impact of dirt that makes it perfect for training, plus we saw maybe two cars during each session, so there was minimal distraction.”
ATV RIDING
Study: ATV accidents claim more young lives than bikes
Children under the age of 16 are seven times more likely to ride bicycles than all-terrain vehicles, yet ATVs cause more deaths among youngsters than their pedaling counterparts, according to a study released last week.
Jim Helmkamp, who tracks ATV statistics as director of West Virginia University’s Injury Control Research Center, found that on average, 171 children died each year across the country in ATV accidents between 2000 and 2004, compared with 157 deaths from bicycle crashes.
Statistics from the National Sporting Goods Association estimate 14.2 million children ages 7-17 ride bicycles in the United States, while the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there are about 2.2 million ATV riders under the age of 16.
The study was commissioned by the Concerned Families for ATV Safety, an organization founded in 2005 by parents who lost children in ATV accidents.
Later this year, Helmkamp will release figures on nonfatal ATV and bicycle accidents.
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HEARD AT THE X GAMES
“Shoes everywhere, lights out.” – Australian skateboarder Jake Brown, describing the aftermath after he plummeted about 40 feet from the X Games mega ramp. His shoes shot off upon impact. He suffered a broken wrist and a fractured vertebra.
“I’ve always wanted to be a skateboarder.” – Olympic snowboard gold medalist Shaun White, after winning his first X Games gold medal in skateboard halfpipe
