Steady rainfall, persistent fog and a sloppy course made for a challenging day on the slopes Sunday at the Whister Cup alpine races at Whistler-Blackcomb.
The low-visibility conditions led to a fall that spoiled the day for Prince George Alpine Ski Racers team member Gavin Rowell, but Tiana Gairns and Shawn Nydegger persevered to finish what they started coming put of the gate Sunday.
Gairns, who opened with a 13th-place finish in the combi on Friday, placed 21st out of 65 racers in the K1 girls slalom on Sunday. The 12-year-old from Prince George clocked 36.61 seconds in her first run and 39.91 in her second crack at the slalom course.
"I was very excited I got to finish two of the race because I'd been falling a lot in slalom but I didn't this time," said Gairns.
"It's great that I got to go to Whistler Cup and that I got to experience it all because now I know how to race against international racers."
Asami Katagiri of Japan won the slalom with a two-run time of 1:11:39. Soleil Patterson of Rossland was the top Canadian in the K1 slalom, finishing third in 1:12:90.
Katagiri also won the K1 giant slalom on Saturday. Gairns started that race but skied off-course at the mid-section, a bumpy area that gave several racers problems.
"I wasn't looking far enough ahead and I couldn't see which way the turn was going and kind of missed a gate and it was too far to hike," said Gairns.
Nydegger, a 12-year-old Prince George ski team member, placed 43rd out of 73 in the K1 boys slalom on Saturday, finishing his two runs in 42.54 and 38.42 for a 1:21.17 total.
Rowell, ended up 49th (45.82/40.88, 1:26.70 total).
Alex Uryga of Whistler and Ryan Moffat of Kelowna finished 1-2 in the slalom standings, clocking 1:09.17 and 1:09.32 respectively.
Nydegger wrapped up his first Whistler Cup Sunday with a 55th-place result in the giant slalom. He covered the course in 1:07.37. Rowell did not finish the race, crashing around the same spot where Gairns fell on Saturday.
"Shawn fell at the same spot that Gavin did but fell on to his inside and caught himself with his hand," said Prince George coach Kali Flick. "It was really low light, which makes those bumps and rollers hard to see."
Kai Horwitz of China set the K1 GS pace in 56.43.
n Prince George team member Mikayla Gairns, 14, has been selected for a six-day spring camp at Whister run by national team members Manuel Osborne-Paradis and Mike Janyk.
