MIDWEST COMPETITION
Camaraderie, Competition Fuel Midwest Ski Racing, Snowboarding

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In the late 1990s, when future Olympic snowboarder Mason Aguirre spent hours every winter day practicing his tricks at Spirit Mountain, Minnesota, he also found time to teach other kids the sport he loved.  "Mason took a shining to my son, Layne, who was only about five at the time," remembers Spirit's ski school director, Heidi Jo Karlsson. "Mason and his sister Molly would take Layne to the half-pipe and teach him how to ride. A couple of times Layne fell asleep at the top of the half-pipe because he was so tired." At Spirit and ski areas across the Midwest, skiers and snowboarders thrive on competition ranging from hardcore junior snowboard and ski racing programs to high school teams and adult racing "beer leagues." And small hills can produce big champions--hundreds of world-class skiers and snowboarders have grown up on Midwest hills and gone on to compete in national and world championships, and the Winter Olympics.

"It just shows that, with practice and the hills we have here, it doesn't hold us back from competing with the people who are raised in the mountains," says Karlsson. And although Mason Aguirre eventually moved to Mammoth, California, to help prepare for the 2006 Winter Olympics, where he finished fourth, he hasn't forgotten his Minnesota roots. Mason and his sister Molly, also a pro snowboarder, return to Spirit each winter to host a special event, sign autographs and ride with local snowboarders.

Lindsey Kildow Vonn, the world's best female ski racer, grew up in the famed junior racing program at tiny Buck Hill, Minnesota, before moving to Vail, Colorado. In 2008, she became the first American woman in a quarter-century to win the overall World Cup title. Vonn also won the World Cup downhill title with five individual victories and became the most successful American downhiller (male or female) in history. Vonn had clearly heeded the advice of Erich Sailer, the legendary coach at Buck Hill, who says:  "Never think only local. I tell my racers to always keep a national and international view."

If Vonn is queen of the hill, then Welch Village, Minnesota, is king of the hill when it comes to high school racing events. Every January, for more than 30 years, Welch has hosted a day-long invitational with about 500 high school ski racers from some 40 schools, which makes it the nation's largest high school ski racing event.  "It's a very festive atmosphere," says Welch's Stephanie Prink. "We have over 1,000 spectators and the racers and their families set up a tent city in the parking lot and have a cookout." On the hill, racers compete simultaneously on four slalom courses set on the challenging black-diamond run "Bakkelyka."

In addition to hosting the high school invitational, Welch also has its own large and popular junior development competition programs for skiers and snowboarders ages seven to 17. About 400 kids participate, says Prink, "and it's a good way to get into sport with other kids who have similar interests." It's also a "social thing for the families because most of the parents also ski or snowboard."

Parents can also compete at Welch in one of several different adult recreational racing leagues. "The adult racing leagues are mostly social, but it's a great excuse to get out and ski and the little bit of competition makes it fun," says Prink. "The ski racing helps improve their skiing and can make the sport newer and more exciting for someone, especially on the Midwest's smaller hills."

Like with many other Midwest areas, Spirit also has competition programs ranging from junior racing and snowboard teams to adult ski racing leagues. "We have a wide range of abilities in our adult racing league, but everyone has fun," says Spirit's Heidi Jo Karlsson. "There's a lot of camaraderie and then people go upstairs to the bar afterwards."

More than 40 Midwest areas also offer the NASTAR recreational ski and snowboard racing program. NASTAR, which stands for NAtional STandard Race, allows skiers and snowboarders to earn handicaps based on the time of a national pacesetter, and compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. "People like the handicap system and being able to earn medals," says Karlsson. "We have a local skier, George Hovland, who's in his 80s, and he comes out and races NASTAR every weekend."

At Buck Hill, Austrian native Erich Sailer, who was named to the 2005 U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, has produced about a dozen U.S. Ski Team racers in his 40 years of coaching, including Lindsey Vonn and Kristina Koznick. Koznick won six World Cup races, five U.S. slalom titles and was a three-time Olympian. "Buck Hill is like my 'Cheers,'" says Koznick, of the place where she started skiing at age 4. "It's home. It's my family. It reminds me of where I got started."

For more information on Midwest ski areas and to find a ski area near you, visit snowplaces.com.