The BSF Skimo Team went to the Shedhorn Skimo race at Big Sky this past Saturday. It was a gorgeous day with bluebird skies, great snow, and cold temperatures. The team had athletes compete in two events, both extremely technical and difficult.
Seven kids compete in the 11k Pronghorn race, which requires them to wear crampons to climb to the summit of Lone Peak and ski not only the Big Couloir but also the Third Fork of the Headwaters. Owen Dinkins, age 14, won the event overall (including all adults ) with a time of 2 hours 10 min! Amazing racing by Owen who improved his time from last year.
First time 11k racer James Madsen chased Owen over the 7-mile, 4,500-vertical foot course to finish, incredibly strong in 2 hrs 42 min, 6th overall. A crew of five teammates worked together to climb Bone Crusher Ridge and summit Lone Peak then ski the Big Couloir, all finishing close together. Ingrid Brown came in first for the U15 girls with Lucy Ostrowski in 2nd and Elia Scheihing in 3rd. Anthony Warren finished in 3rd place for the U15 category with Colin Foley in tow, who finished 9th overall for senior male category! Beth Goodall, first-time racer, made an incredible effort keeping up with the crew up to the summit and skiing the Big Couloir, but made a wrong turn unfortunately and was unable to finish.
The rest of the team competed in the 8K Ramshorn event. We had many first time racers at this 5-mile, 3,500-vertical ft event this year. Thirteen year olds Bram Belchwender and Owen Scherer raced together to place on the podium, with Bram in 2nd and Owen in 3rd for the U15 category! Kwinz Wicks was not far behind in 4th place for the U15 category. Bran Dunnington placed 4th in the senior men's category with a time of 1 hr 48 minutes in his second skimo race ever. His sister Ginny Dunington, transition expert, was not far behind placing 3rd with a time of 2 hrs 2 min in the senior women category. Next in the senior women's category was first time racer Ana Smidansky in 4th place with a time of 2 hrs 58 minutes. Returning Ramshorn racer Esther Grimes improved her time by two hours from last season, when she competed as a 12-year old. She came in first for the U15 girls category and had a blast. Owen Swan, age 12, finished his first skimo race in 3 hrs 20 min, enjoying the steep skiing and sunshine!
Coach Noah Brown finished in 10th overall in the 25 K Shedhorn event, which includes 16 miles and 8,000ft of climbing, the longest individual event in the US.
In a different event on Saturday, BSF athlete Isaac Spencer raced at the Great Divide event in Helena and placed 2nd in the boys U15 event! Meanwhile, Coach Chelsee won the women’s category.
P.S. If you missed it, we have an article about the BSF Skimo Team online too: Chasing Vertical: The BSF Skimo Story
