Nationals: Mother Nature getting in the way

Erupting volcanoes are not typically among the obstacles faced by skiers traveling to race destinations, but for U.S. racers heading to nationals, traveling fell under a shadow of doubt … er, Redoubt. As of Wednesday, most of the U.S. Ski Team had made it to Alyeska, Alaska, for the U.S. Alpine Championships, but flights were delayed after Mt. Redoubt, the 10,200-foot peak near Anchorage, allegedly launched clouds of ash 60,000 feet into the sky during volcanic eruptions on Sunday and Monday.

“Almost everybody came from home and there were a few who had to get rerouted and diverted,” said U.S. women’s alpine head coach Jim Tracy. “They’re saying that the volcano is … not finished. They say something else is supposed to happen with it, maybe something else is going to blow, but right now we’re just dealing with the weather.”

Tracy said about a foot of snow had fallen onto the downhill course by Wednesday morning, and it was questionable whether the FIS race scheduled for Thursday would happen, as crews were planning to do avalanche work all Thursday morning. The U.S. men’s and women’s downhill races are scheduled for Friday, but training runs were canceled Wednesday and Tuesday’s training was run late due to fog.Erupting volcanoes are not typically among the obstacles faced by skiers traveling to race destinations, but for U.S. racers heading to nationals, traveling fell under a shadow of doubt … er, Redoubt. As of Wednesday, most of the U.S. Ski Team had made it to Alyeska, Alaska, for the U.S. Alpine Championships, but flights were delayed after Mt. Redoubt, the 10,200-foot peak near Anchorage allegedly launched clouds of ash 60,000 feet into the sky during volcanic eruptions on Sunday and Monday.

“Almost everybody came from home and there were a few who had to get rerouted and diverted,” said U.S. women’s alpine head coach Jim Tracy. “They’re saying that the volcano is … not finished. They say something else is supposed to happen with it, maybe something else is going to blow, but right now we’re just dealing with the weather.”

Tracy said about a foot of snow had fallen onto the downhill course by Wednesday morning, and it was questionable whether the FIS race scheduled for Thursday would happen, as crews were planning to do avalanche work all Thursday morning. The U.S. men’s and women’s downhill races are scheduled for Friday, but training runs were canceled Wednesday and Tuesday’s training was run late due to fog.

Keely Kelleher had the best training time in the women’s training run on Tuesday, followed by Stacey Cook, who will be defending last year’s national titles in downhill and super-G.

Cook, who was stuck in Seattle for a while as her flight to Anchorage was delayed, has spent the last few weeks in rehab for an ankle injury.

“Alyeska is one of my favorite places to race in the world,” she said. “The resort is amazing and the downhill course is so fun. Obviously, I am going there to defend my 2 titles from last year, but I know that won’t be an easy task. Nationals is a bit more of a relaxed environment than the World Cup, and I seem to do well in that environment, so who knows what could happen.”

Lindsey Vonn didn’t make it to Alyeska in time for Tuesday’s training, but will compete in every race and Julia Mancuso is sick with the flu, but is planning to arrive by Saturday.

Though the U.S. Championships fall at a time of year when the World Cup racers are exhausted after a long season, it is a unique event in which younger racers get to mingle with and compete against their heroes and for those top racers to set a shining example for their aspiring countrymen and women.

“It’s a fun event. For some of them, it’s a showcase. For some, it’s a chance to race with the big ones and the World Cup kids,” he said. “For the older ones, it’s a test of patience for the last week because everyone’s tired, but it’s still fun to come see all the kids and all of the coaches. And there are titles to be won.”

Though Vonn has not had a moment’s rest after closing out her World Cup season with another overall title, downhill globe plus the super-G title, Tracy said she understands the importance of being a presence at nationals.

“She’s definitely ready to go to the beach, but she also knows this is part of the deal,” Tracy said. “To come to nationals after such a great season, there’s a lot of people –coaches and kids – who want to see her. They want to see her race. It’s not so much how you do … just to be here with all the younger ones around the country, it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal for them.”

As far as scouting for new talent for the U.S. Team, Tracy said it’s a little early to tell this week, but he feels it’s out there.

“It’s hard to say with just one training run,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get something tomorrow. After the second training run, we’ll be able to see a little bit more. A lot of the kids haven’t been running a lot of downhill this season because of weather and things like that, but this is the real deal here. I’m hoping to see some good things from the young ones.”

Women’s downhill training run results, Tuesday, March 24: