Whistler skiers held their own against the top skiers from B.C., Alberta, Alaska and the Yukon at the Western Canadian K2 Championships in Whitehorse recently. It was the first Canadian National Points Race ever held north of the 60 th parallel, and conditions were the opposite of what was expected, with warm weather, sunshine, and a hard, fast slope to race on.
In the super G on Sunday, March 20, Whistler’s Benjamin MacLean took the gold medal by almost a full second. He was followed by Daniel Newmarch of Big White and Garrett Wilson of Alberta.
MacLean’s teammates Ian Morrison and Alexander Binks also cracked the top-15 out of 43 racers in eighth and 12 th respectively.
Three Alberta racers swept the women’s podium, with Gillian McKercher of Sunshine Village taking the gold, and Chloe Burandt and Emma Carroll in second and third. Whistler’s Rachelle Morris was the only Whistler Mountain Ski Club racer to crack the top-15 in eighth place in a field of 35.
In the men’s GS on Monday, Michael Saunders of Alberta took the top spot, followed by Danield Newmarch and York Myers. Whistler’s Michael Dekur was seventh, but less than half a second back of the podium. Alexander Binks was 11 th and Ian Morrison 14 th .
Whistler’s Rachelle Morris leapt up the rankings in the women’s GS, finishing second to Alberta’s Roslyn Van-Patter. Gillian McKercher picked up her second medal of the weekend in third place. Chanelle Segal was 14 th for the WMSC.
Ben MacLean returned to the top of the podium in Tuesday’s slalom, as the temperatures dropped and the wind picked up. He was joined by Alexander Binks in third place, while Daniel Newmarch of Big White claimed the silver.
Roslyn Van-Patter took the women’s gold, followed by Emma Carroll and Amara McLaughlin of Alberta. Rachelle Morris was the top WMSC skier once again, finishing fifth. Sarah Morris was ninth and Chanelle Segal 13 th .
The next event for Whistler’s K2 racers is the 13 th annual Sierra Wireless Whistler Cup, an international juvenile ski race for kids aged 11-14 that runs April 1-3.
