Big Mountain skiers shred Lake Louise

Lake Louise opened the dreaded ER5 run and big mountain skiers Julie Thomas and C.J Wright took full advantage as part of the Lake Louise Big Mountain Challenge, March 11-13.

The competition pits top skiers against wicked out-of-bounds terrain where they are judged for style, tricks and finesse as they carve their way down the slope.

Thomas, a third-year ecology student at the University of Calgary, posted the scores to beat with three smooth runs.

“It means a lot. Skiing is a big part of my life and it’s very exciting,” said Thomas, who just completed her second year on the Canadian Big Mountain Tour.

The terrain was challenging for the skiers, who had to send cedar boughs off drops to figure out their landings on a rocky top half. Untouched powder, poor visibility and 30-foot drops highlighted this year’s three-day ride.

“It was a neat venue. They don’t open ER5 that often. It felt great to get some powder turns in, and I tried to ski fast and fluid.”

Thomas said she was likely outskied on the second day of competition, but said the athletes have no choice but to follow judges’ recommendations.

She’s modified her runs to follow what the judges are looking for.

“I think I understand what kind of line the judges want to see,” Thomas said. “I try to ski more in my ability level and lay it down in other areas.”

Aleta Corbett, also of Calgary, finished fourth.

“The first run there was absolutely no visibility. It was pretty fun and a couple of the top girls fell. I took it fast and fluid and opted for a small drop and tried to go as fast as I could, and tried to remember where I inspected,” Corbett said. “It was a great pillage to ski on that day. The field was so strong and there was some rock sharks out there.”

On the men’s side, Wright took top spot, followed by Ben Ogilvie.

“I’m extremely happy. This is my second year on the Canadian series and one of the coolest runs I’ve ever got to run,” said Ogilvie.

“I started off pretty good, hit my first air, hit a 360 and still skied out of it. The middle section was some of the nicest powder turns I’ve ever had,” he said, although he did have some trouble by the end. “I tried to take big air, landed flat and pancaked that, double ejected, and skied to the bottom.”

Despite the tumble, Ogilvie still landed on the podium.

Adam McCraw was the top local skier. The 18-year-old from Lake Louise finished third.

“It was good. On day two the light was horrible. It was like skiing in pea soup,” he said. “But it was good conditions ski-wise. I had solid runs every day. I skied what I wanted to ski,” McCraw said. “I had a big hit lined up, it was about 60 feet, and the landing rattled me and I don’t remember the rest of the run.”

The young skier is getting better.

“The result makes me more confident in my abilities. I’ll compete a lot more next year,” McCraw said.

Lake Louise will host the Canadian ski cross championship the first weekend of April.