The slopes of Lake Louise and Nakiska near Calgary are home to Canada's national development ski cross team but it appears they've discovered a ski cross paradise a day's drive away at Tabor Mountain Ski Resort.
Having seen the course used in the Canada Winter Games only on YouTube videos recorded during the Games, six of the eight members of the national team showed up with their coach, Sead Causevic, to test out the facilities at Tabor. They competed in the Western Canadian ski cross championships Saturday and Sunday and were blown away by what they found.
"The track here at Tabor truly is world-class, and that's why we're here," said Causevic. "It needs very minor tweaks to go from beginner to expert. To be honest, this is probably the best we've seen all year.
"The guys have been to so many ski-cross events this year where rocks are popping up and they're damaging their skis. Colorado was a rock field and when we were in France racing Europa Cup, tons of little pebbles and dirt were coming out. This has been a good week for us."
The advantage Tabor has, according to Causevic, is the design of the course, which he says has good flow from jump to jump, which adds to the safety facto. Because many of the contours and features of the slopes have been built into the dirt, the course remains skiable even with minimal snowfall.
Kevin MacDonald, 22, a native of Mississauga, Ont., who now lives in Calgary, won the Western Canadian men's class both days and is looking forward to a return to Tabor next week for the national championships.
"This exceeded our expectations, the course is amazing and the volunteers did an excellent job of maintaining the course and race ran flawlessly," said MacDonald, who shared the men's podium Sunday with silver medalist Zac Belcyk of Banff and Matt Brady of Burlington, Ont.
"The course is big and flowy, with nice berms and it's a long course. This year, with lack of snow, a lot of locations cancelled our races so we were searching for races and this one was during one of our open periods. Based on the course, we're looking at developing this as a place to train."
MacDonald got better starts in his races on the upper technical sections and that was the key for him making it to the top of the podium.
While they were at Tabor, the six development team skiers got the chance to go over the course with some of the younger skiers and offered them a few pointers along the way. MacDonald is hoping the development team's visit to Tabor will inspire more kids to take up the sport.
"Ski cross was just starting when I started when I was 16," MacDonald said. "The fact 10-year-olds are doing the same course as we are is awesome. I just had a 10-year-old come up to me and tell me, 'You're going down,' so I'll be watching for him."
MacDonald knows the competition will be fierce at nationals with the likes of World Cup veterans Brady Leman, Chris Del Bosco, David Duncan, Louis-Pierre Helie and Ian Deans lining up with him at the top of Tabor to race in the four-skier heats. Leman, who won World Cup bronze in January in France, now ranks eighth in the world standings, while Del Bosco is 13th overall.
"Nationals is a good chance to prove ourselves and fight with the best in the world," said MacDonald. "They're world champions and X Games gold medalists. We raced with them at the end of last season so we have a taste of what it's like and we're looking to improve on that."
Canadians Marielle Thompson ( the 2014 Olympic champion) and Georgia Simmerling, who were 1-2 in the World Cup standings before got hurt, won't be coming to Prince George due to their injuries.
The Tabor course will be built up with more snow moved to the jumps to increase the level of difficulty for the national ski crossers.
The national event starts with a training day on Monday, March 16. A FIS race follows for junior and senior classes on Tuesday. Junior national (under-21) races are set for Wednesday, March 18 and the senior national skiers compete on Thursday, March 19.
"The field will be a bit smaller but the level will be high because you'll have world champions here," said Causevic. "It's really important for kids to see the stars and these guys are really good leaders and role models."
Following the national event, the development team will travel to Italy for the junior world championships, April 1-2. They end the season at the NorAm championships at Copper Mountain, Colo., April 4-6.
