The Whistler Cup course was icy, hard, and fast -- just the kind of mountain challenge Tiana Gairns likes.
To top it off, she was skiing in her favourite alpine event -- a combi -- which combines the faster elements and widely-spaced gates of a giant slalom with the tight turns and technical twists of a slalom.
The 12-year-old Prince George Alpine Ski Racers team member got off to a great start, putting her edges to the test on the slick top section, and let her skis do the rest, cruising to a 13th place finish in a field of 65 female K1 skiers Friday. Her lofty finish was another season highlight for Gairns, a third-year alpine team member who found out a week ago she's made the provincial team.
"I wasn't expecting something like that, I was hoping to get in the top 30, so it really was a surprise to me," said Gairns. "At the very top it was pretty icy and we trained on that top section (on Thursday) where a lot of teams didn't so we got a pretty good advantage in that.
"It was really fun. It's like a substitute for a super-G. It was fast and you have lots of adrenaline and it's just crazy. You just go for it."
Laura Swaffield of Whistler set the pace, finishing ahead of second -place Amelia Smart of Vernon. Gairns was one of seven Canadians to make the top-13.
"Tiana skied really well, they water-injected the top fifth of the course and she was obviously well-prepared for that," said Prince George Alpine team coach Kali Flick.
"She had an amazing run."
In other Prince George results in the combi, Shawn Nydegger was 38th and Gavin Rowell was 44th out of 75 K1 male skiers. The 12-year-olds are entered in today's slalom and in Sunday's GS.
"I was impressed with their skiing today, they did really well," said Flick. "We went over some tactics before they raced and they picked those up and skied quite competently."
A total of 375 skiers from 19 countries are entered this weekend. Gairns competed last year at the Whistler Cup, placing as high as 37th in the slalom, and she drew on that experience to help her relax for Friday's race.
"I kind of new where everything was this time and how it was going to work and so I didn't have that extra stress on me," Gairns said. "I did a lot better this season than I expected. I was really happy with it."
Gairns, a Grade 7 student at Hart Highlands elementary school, has two more races this weekend, a GS today and a slalom on Sunday. She's eligible for Whistler Cup for two more years.
When Alix Wells of Prince George posted two top-10 finishes in the K2 class last year at Whistler Cup, Gairns was there and she said that proved to her that Prince George skiers can compete with the best in the world and do well.
"Prince George is really small and we don't have the bigger hills or the terrain other skiers do so it's really cool to know you can do something just as well if you're a good skier," Gairns. "It sets a goal for you, so you know you can do that."
