Parsons holds off pack in Whiteout

by Matt Baldwin / Whitefish Pilot
| January 23, 2013 1:25 PM

Local endurance athlete Ben Parsons fended off a pack of speedy Canadian Randonee skiers to defend his title Saturday in the annual Whitefish Whiteout ski mountaineering race.

Parsons was on the heels of Revelstoke’s Stano Faban during the steep boot pack up NBC chute. He passed Faban in the transition and managed to hang on and finish 13 seconds in front with a total time of 1:26.57.

The Whiteout is a race in the European Randonee tradition. Competitors skin up the slopes of Big Mountain, remove their skins and descend black diamond terrain. The race course challenges competitors to climb 4,800 vertical feet.

Brad Schalles, of Canmore, Alberta, clocked the fastest time to the summit in the first leg up the Toni Matt slope at a blistering 27:50. He finished third overall.

Nicki Kimball, of Livingston, was the top female racer with a time of 2:00:46. She finished just in front of Kalispell athlete Katie French.

Kalispell’s Joel Shehan was the top Telemark racer, posting a sub two-hour time. Kyle Gully, also of Kalispell, was impressive on the split board with a final time of 2:19:06.

Men AT

Ben Parsons 0:28:15 1:26:57 Kalispell, MT

Stano Faban 0:29:27 1:27:10 Revelstoke, BC

Brad Schalles 0:27:50 1:30:27 Canmore, AB

Peter Knight 0:28:28 1:31:00 Canmore, AB

John Curry 0:30:08 1:34:59 Bozeman, MT

Steve Sellers 0:31:02 1:40:35

David Hoffman 0:32:39 1:41:32 Bozeman, MT

Niall Gleeson 0:36:56 1:54:21 Calgary, AB

Alan Adams 0:33:54 1:54:37 Whitefish, MT

Phil Grove 0:34:24 1:59:31 Whitefish, MT

Jeff Shehan 0:40:57 2:14:16 Kalispell, MT

Sam Orsello 0:40:59 2:21:05 Helena, MT

Chance Cook 0:39:29 2:23:44 Whitefish, MT

Bear 0:40:45 2:30:56 Whitefish, MT

Martin Carnogursky 0:45:15 2:32:30

Spencer Hale 0:51:25 3:34:03 Whitefish, MT

Women AT

Niki Kimball 0:39:27 2:00:46 Livingston, MT

Katie French 0:36:47 2:02:15 Kalispell, MT

Martha Burley 0:39:23 2:06:20 Fernie, BC

Michelle Roberts 0:39:27 2:15:18 Calgary, AB

Jenny Pierce 0:35:32 2:19:47 Bozeman, MT

Marg Fedyna 0:33:46 2:22:55 Edmonton, AB

Men Splitboard

Kyle Gully 0:37:17 2:19:06 Kalispell, MT

Brian Roland 0:40:04 2:48:02 Whitefish, MT

Scott Lawhead 0:44:43 2:48:36 Columbia Falls, MT

Men Telemark

Joel Shehan 0:33:10 1:58:21 Kalispell, MT

Warren Lane 0:43:40 2:30:37 Kalispell, MT

Edward Leas 0:39:39 2:38:04 Helena, MT

Jey Ponti 0:45:30 2:41:38 Whitefish, MT

Women Telemark

Amber Steed 0:47:30 2:57:01 Kalispell, MT