Blacktail youth skiers take on Red Lodge and Lone Peak

Blacktail skier Rayce Neill’s skills on the slopes brought him to the podium after placing sixth at the Red Lodge Mountain’s YSL Slalom races on Feb. 2-3.

Then last weekend, Neill placed 16th overall with first- and second-place finishes in his age bracket, and teammate Sheldon Woldstad placed seventh and 12th in his bracket at the Lone Peak Super Speed Series.

Sunny skies and balmy mid-30-degree temperatures made for stiff competition, but Neill placed second out of 45 skiers as Blacktail’s sole entrant at Red Lodge.

Neill ultimately placed sixth at Red Lodge in the 10- and 11-year-old men’s division.

The Lone Peak Super Speed Series, hosted by Big Sky Ski Foundation, was open to all Northern Division USSA licensed racers ages 12 through college. This “preferred” speed event qualifies the racers aged 12 and 13 to the invitation only Tri-Divisional U14 Championships at Sun Valley, Idaho, in March.

At Lone Peak, following three days of training with sunny skies on the Hangman’s Run, over 100 alpine racers donned their long speed-skis to race a 310-meter vertical drop course. This Super Giant Slalom, complete with a mid-way jump, clocked racers with speeds up to 76 miles per hour.

This challenging course had crashes take several racers out in the first run of the day.

In Saturday’s morning heat, Blacktail racer Jacques Eve took to the mountain to earn a second-place medal on the podium in the Men’s 12- and 13-year-old division. In the afternoon race, with light blowing snow, Eve stormed down the slopes to a first-place win in his age group, earning him 16th overall in this field of 55 male racers up to age 23.

Fellow Blacktail teammate, Sheldon Woldstad, placed seventh and 12th in the men’s 14- and 15-year-old bracket in Saturday’s Super G. Sunday’s race was cancelled due to heavy snowfall creating dangerous conditions for the speed competition.

Youth skiers, ages 6-15, who are interested in racing with the team, can contact Jessie at Blacktail Mountain Resort at 844-0999.