OCR Text |
Show Wednesday, March 17; 1976 Page 7 Seventh Annual Lange Cup for Pros Tales .S. Team Mounds ysH urbDsans in Colo. U XT) By Jim Miller In the form of a letter to the editor two week's ago I finally got some response to my ramblings in this column. The response was a complaint concerning my slight bias towards the quiet sports of ski touring and snow shoeing and my general bad mouthing of machines. I am grateful to Mr. Otto Carpenter for taking the time to remind me that not all people like to travel in the wilderness by their own power, some would rather ride a machine in. To me, the beauty of our woods is hampered by excessive noise and smoke and enhanced by the good feeling of exercise and self independence - but not neccessarily to Otto. The world of people is so varied, thank goodness we have a lot of land to keep us all occupied - at least for now. While I couldn't agree with everything Otto said, he brought up a' few good points, one of which dealt with the parking problem. In the more popular winter playgrounds, parking space is in short supply. Car pooling would help, as with bus systems, but we just plain need more parking places plowed and kept Open. How to pay for this is the problem. Mr Carpenter Car-penter says that the fee charged to snowmobile owners is used for this, but I always thought that went to maintaining and grooming the Wasatch State Park snowmobile trails, that are for exclusive ex-clusive snowmobile use, and the proberty tax and gasoline tax that we all pay goes towards road maintainence. At any rate, we need more areas and if' the Highway Commission- won't give-us -ana; ttapn.we will have to look for the .other wSvs;3 -THrerr-yij;:.- D97ET9n99 2Bir tjitow (Tiiaa oia aar of getting them. A surcharge on the sale of skis is one idea , or a ticket system like the University has is another, It really shouldn't bee that much more expensive, ex-pensive, as I am only suggesting more plowed parking areas, not more plowed roads. In fact, lets stop plowing some of our little used roads, use the money to plow out parking areas and then use the roads for ski trails. Anyone for a bumper sticker 'less Roads, More Ski Trails'!? Another problem is the ever increasing influx of inexperienced people into the backcountry. Groups such as the Wasatch Mt. Club, Sierra Club, The Salt Lake Sports Shops and the ski touring professionals at the P.ark West and Park City Resorts are making a sincere effort to educate the new people taking to the hills. We try to instill a sense of responsibility towards safe travel and dedication to keeping the woods clean. I have never seen a ski tourist throw trash into the woods, I certainly would be amased to see it happen. For one thing, most ski tourers have enough with them as far as necessity items go, so they usually have very little extra room to bring in such things as beer cans, pop bottles, an other things that we usually see strung out along areas where motorized vehicles (with power to haul extras) go. Spare ski tips, knowing your capabilities first aid ; kits, etc. are always stressed in our ski lessons to insure that ski trips are accomplished- without the problems that usually accompany an inexperienced party. There should be no need for anything extraordinary, ex-traordinary, such as a machine with any ski tour. So the economical and social problem continues. con-tinues. Should we have a chairlift of road up every mountain so that everyone can get to the top? Should we have a Kaiparowits Power plant in Southern Utah so that Los Angeles has power to keep their air conditioners on? Or do we value our wild country enough to keep it the way God made it - clean and untouched, the only only pollution to ever disturb it would be ski tracks and a few footprints and, oh yes, a few drops of well-earned sweat. , fRYTHE SCOTT BOOT Q 0 BEFORE YOU BUY X Ask about our SBOObfyUtS J T Y demo program SKI OUTFITTERS X 0 649-9123 '--jurmXA COPPER mt., co. Colorado sun shone on the U.S. Alpine Team this weekend in every sense of the word 'as the U.S. Team astounded the Europeans and thrilled their countrymen with the best weekend of World Cup results ever in the 10 year history of the circuit. The U.S., with 9 different team members placing in the top 10 in the four events, nearly doubled its total number, of World Cup points for the 1976 season' earning 109 points and bringing this nation's total to 291. With six more competitions remaining on the 1976 schedule, . this' moves the U.S. well ahead of Canada and Sweden and puts us within striking range of the French who now remain in 5th place in the Nations Cup standings. For the first time since April 1973, the U.S. won a Men's World Cupv event as Greg Jones, top. seeded U.S. Giant Slalom skier, took a decisive 1st place in the Men's Giant Slalom on Friday, March 5, posting the fastest time on both runs. The jubilant crowd of supporters became even more excited when Phil Mahre flashed across the finish to capture 2nd place. This was the first time in the history of World Cup racing that the U.S. had captured a 1st and 2nd in a Men's World Cup event. Swiss racer Engelhard Pargaetzi took 3rd and Phil's twin, Steve Mahre, took 6th. Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark and Italy's PieroGros, 1 US . tiAtimm after a slow 2nd run. . This moves Phil into 9th place in the 1976 World' Cup GS standings and puts Greg in 8th place. , In the Women's Giant Slalom that same day," the U.S. placed four women in the top 10 with Cindy Nelson capturing 2nd, her best GS performance of the season, behind West Germany's sweetheart Rosi Mit-termaier Mit-termaier . . Both Cindy and Lindy Cochran, who took 1 sixth, beat out GS. favorites , Lise-Marie Moreod and Monika Kaserer, who finished 7th and 10th respectively, and Abbi Fisher, in her first World Cup competition since she injured her knee in Badgastein, Austria, on Jan. 21, finished 8th; Viki Fleckenstein, the 1976 Can-Am GS and Overall winner, took 9th for her first World Cup points of the season. Cindy is now tied for 5th in the 1976 World Cup GS, standings and Lindy Cochran ; is in loth and with 2 more World Cup races on the 1976 schedule, both have a good chance of improving their place. In the Women's Slalom on Saturday, March 6, won again by Rosi Mittermaier,-the Mittermaier,-the U.S. placed seven girls in, the top 20. Mary Seaton took 7th and assured herself a place in the top seed in the FIS. standings and Gail Blackburn, who started the 1st run in the 54th position, next to the last runner, had the 12th fastest run on the 1st course. With her improved starting position in the 2nd run, Gail advanced to capture nil. xl 1 4. 11 1 her Events at Copper climaxed on Sunday with the Men s Slalom. And with ,a poor . - illi- showing in the GS on Friday, the Italians Gros and Thoeni and World Cup leader Stenmark were hot for the top places. Sweden's Stenmark, who was second after the first run, moved into 1st place with a beautiful 2nd run, just ahead of Italy's Gustovo Thoeni and Piero Gros. And then Steve Mahre, who was 3rd after the 1st run, starting number 27 in the field, turned in a spectacular 2nd run and edged out both Thoeni and Gros for 2nd place, just .1 of a second behind Stenmark's time. The spectator's pride with the U.S.' performance was doubled when it was announced an-nounced that Steve Mahre's performance earned him 1st place in the Men's Combined Results, beating out World Cup leaders Stenmark, Thoeni and Gros. Jones took 9th in the Combined and for the Women's Combined Cindy Nelson . earned 5th, Abbi Fisher took 8th and Mary Seaton took 10th. For the U.S., it was a great challenge and a greater victory and proves that the U.S. Team is destined in the near future to be rated one of the best, if not the best, in the world. The American racers continue the 1976 World Cup circuit and hope for an equally strong performance this weekend at Aspen, CO. Both men and women have a final 1976 Downhill race on Friday, March 12. The women will also have a Giant Slalom on Saturday and the men a final World Cup Slalom on Sunday, March 14. The World Gupcircuit then moves tc'MwtMSte.'jAimeiHQuebecY for thermal traditional World Cup race on March 17-18 and the World Cup Parallel race on March 20-21. World Pro' Skiing's most prestigious individual meet, the Lange Cup at Sun Valley, will again attract the world's top level skiers to this renowned ski resort for dual-challenge dual-challenge giant slalom and slalom thrills. , v ; . And awaiting the winners of the Seventh Annual Lange Cup at the finish line is $30,000 dollars in prize money and ... a new Dodge Aspen RT, courtesy of the Chrysler Corporation, for the overall Lange Cup champion. Frenchman Henri Duvillard, the runaway leader on the 1976 WPS. tour, swept the Lange Cup , last season, winning both the giant slalom and slalom, and he plans to repeat that dazzling daz-zling performance on the Greyhawk race slope again this year. "I am skiing better than ever before in my life," enthuses the two-time World Cup ruanerup. "I have already swept four weekends this season and I think I can do it again at the Lange Cup; My brother Adrien won the first Lange Cup in the Spring of 1970; I'd like to keep it in the family." But there are others among the pro Yanks who must be considered' serious contenders con-tenders for a victory in North America's oldest professional skiing meet at glamorous Sun Valley. Swiss Josef ,' Oder-matt, Oder-matt, currently second in the overall standings, placed number two to Duvillard in the GS and SL at last year's Lange Cup. "I beat him already once this year in the slalom , . finals,,, He will, , , be,, ""4 ig Messure M$Wi Valley to win again there and-. I think that will help me to beat him," Odermatt predicts. Maid 'a Ryinidlyp r - -'- ' ' ' .sr. , . - v .y " . " Y ' By BUI Roland EXCITING NCAA BASKETBALL THIS WEEK Tho world of College basketball has entered it's second season as the NCAA playoffs have commenced and sixteen teams have advanced to this week's quarter finals. The Eastern Regionals well see undefeated, No. 3 ranked Rutgers go against Connecticut, while De Paul will face Virginia Military, an upset winner last week oyer the Tennessee Volunteers. The powerful Mid-East Regional in Baton Rouge should be a dandy as number one ranked Indiana plays S.E.C. Champion Alabama, and the second-ranked Marquette Warriors take on Western Michigan. All of these games, will be played Thursday evening with the winning teams going against each other on Saturday. The Midwest Regional will be contested at Freedom Hall in Louisville as Missouri faces Texas Tech and Michigan plays Mortre Dame in the night cap. - In the West Regional, ever-present UCLA plays Pepperdine while high-flying University of Nevada in Las Vegas ffwln-face" the WAC Champion University fo Arizona. The four surviving teams will become the respective regional champion and move on to Philadelphia next week for the semi finals and the finals, where the NCAA Champions for 1976 will be crowned. f ' Next week we'll take a look at how the four teams got to Philadelphia and what to look for in the Spectrum. , ' INGMAR STENMARK WINS WORLD CUP ' Sweden's Ingmar Stenmark clinched the overall Alpine World Cup title on Sunday with a convincing victory in the final slalom race of the series. ' : y r " " V ,'V S'yv'- Stenmark had to fastest time in both heats -57.58 seconds over the first 75-gate course and 52.18. over the second 68-gate run. His combined time of 1.49:76 minutes was nearly two seconds s better than runner-up Phil Mahre of White Pass, Wash, who finished in 1.51.34. : Italy's Gustavo Thoeni finished third with a combined time of 1.51.64 and probably earned enough points to push him into second place behind Stenmark in the overall World Cup standings. , Meanwhile, Franz Klammer clinched the season title in the downhill, as the series moves this week to Canada. SALT PALACE TO HOST ABA GAME FRIDAY Professional basketball returns to the Salt Palace Friday night as the Spirits of St. Louis play the San Antonio Spurs in a regularly scheduled American Basketball Assn. game. The game well begin at 7:30 p.m. and tickets go on sale at noon today at the Salt Palace Box Office. SPORTS QUIZ On May 6, 1954, at Oxford University, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile in history when he covered the distance in 3.59.4. Then on June 21, Australian John Landy ran a 3.57.9 to set a new world record. In August, the two runners met in the Mile of the Century in Vancouver B.C. . Both men broke four minutes- who won? On October 18, 1924, he raced for four touchdowns in 12 minutes in the opening quarter. He made the four touchdowns the first four times he handled the ball, returning two kickoffs 95 and 67 yards, a punt 56 yards and bursting through scrimmage for a 44 yard romp. He returned in the 4th quarter, ran 12 yards for his fifth touchdown touch-down and passed 18 yards for his last one. Who was he? ANSWERS NEXT WEEK |