Helmlock Valley K1 Slalom

Up at 5:40 – on the road by 6:00. Off to Hemlock Valley!

The roads and highways were nearly empty and except for a mix up of exits off of route one the drive was uneventful. Well except for the final stage of the drive up to the ski area its self.

The Hemlock Valley road is not for those who are afraid of heights – it’s narrow and twisty with a bit of exposure thrown into the for good measure. I personally find it to be a tonne of fun and I had the pleasure of throwing my car around a few of the corners.

This was only my second time to Hemlock (my first being last year for the same race) and from what I have been told it has not changed much over the past few decades. The resort has a quaint feel – what I would imagine the 70’s to be like. It is also an incredibly laid back place. The staff is welcoming and the resort is extremely accommodating to the racer crowd.

From what I have seen of the terrain it would definitely be somewhere I would love to be on a powder day. Wide open terrain with the odd tree (the area was logged sometime in the distant past) and nice consistent fall lines. Unfortunately I have not had the privilege of being there on a good powder day yet.

The race went off with out a hitch and started the customary 15-45 minutes later than scheduled. The courses ran well except for a few ruts that started developing in the soft snow. All and all a good day of ski racing.

As I was not there in an official capacity as a coach I had the freedom to go ripping around with the kids in-between their race runs (rather than being stuck in the start area). I have always enjoyed skiing with kids – rather than debating which run to do next or complain about cold feet or sore knees all they want to do is ski – very much like myself! Sometimes it is fun to escape the stresses and worries of the adult world even if only for a run or two.

I was given the tour of all of the best runs and at the end of the day we even snuck in two great runs right under the lift line before awards. Cliffs, trees and jumps were all thrown into the mix for these two runs resulting in a few funny situations (picture a 12 year old pulling an inadvertent front flip to face plant – no injuries of course).

It was a long day when you include the drive to and from the mountain but I look forward to returning to Hemlock, hopefully on a powder day!

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