Cailey Moore
Staff Writer
Blustery weather on top of Snowshoe Mountain did little to deter locals and resort guests from participating in the Cupp Run Challenge, and according to Snowshoe PR Specialist Shawn Cassell, the race would not have been the same without it.
“Bad weather manages to coincide with the Cupp Run Challenge every year,” Cassell said, “but for those that participate in it annually, there’s a running joke that the challenge wouldn’t be the same without it.”
For Monday’s skiing and snowboarding event, participants gathered at the top of Cupp Run in anticipation of the start of the race.
One of Snowshoe’s original and most legendary ski trails, Cupp Run was designed more than 40 years ago by Olympic Gold Medalist and former French World Cup alpine ski racer Jean-Claude Killy.
A close friend of Snowshoe founder Dr. Thomas Brigham, Killy designed the mile and a half long run with alpine racing – particularly giant slalom competitions – in mind.
In giant slalom – an alpine skiing and snowboarding discipline – races, competitors zigzag in and out of a series of poles and gates. While its space is not as tight as normal slalom turns, the spacing in a giant slalom allows for two courses to be held on the same run.
Monday’s Cupp Run Challenge hosted two runs – a blue course and a red course – and competitors skied from top to bottom in a 1,500 foot vertical drop.
The top Male Snowboarder competitor in the 40+ over division finished with a time of 2:32, while the 18 to 39 winner placed with a time of 2:23. In the 15 to 18 division, a time of 2:26 took first place, and 3:18 was the fastest time in the 14 and under division.
Of the Female Snowboarders, 2:57 was the best time in the 18 to 39 division, followed by a time of 2:56 in the 15 to 18 division.
In the Male Skiers, 50 and over turned in a time of 2:00, while 40 to 49 division winner secured a time of 1:48. The 18 to 39 division winner took first with a time of 1:39, followed by a best time of 1:47 in the 15 to 18 division. The winning time in the 14 and under division was 1:57.
The Female Skiers were none too shabby – as the 50 and over winner made the run in 2:11, and the 40 to 49 division winner placed with a time of 2:04. In the 18 to 39 division, a time of 2:07 took first place, and 1:55 was the fastest time in the 15 to 18 division. 2:02 topped the 14 and under division.
