The Durango Winter Sports Club alpine ski team has been enjoying all of the new snow this season that comes along with … hosting ski races, as the joke goes. Recently, DWSC has raced at Flagstaff, Arizona; Breckenridge and Vail. The team also has upcoming races at Telluride, Crested Butte, Powderhorn and Vail before returning to Purgatory Resort to end the season.

The team had some great results in the Southern Series Slalom race at Flagstaff recently, with many DWSC athletes, across all ages and genders, reaching the podium. \

“With fingers crossed,” coach Heather Feistner said, “we hope to bring the Southern Series trophy back home to Purgatory for another year.”

After the Flagstaff race, DWSC’s U14 skiers competed in championship qualifier races at Breckenridge and Vail. Both Amelia Pierantoni and Ema Muñoz had some good runs to qualify to represent DWSC at the Rocky/Central U14 Championships in Vail.

“We are so proud of all of our athletes as they give it their all in pursuit of greatness on the hill,” Feistner said.

The team is now looking forward to its end-of-year races, especially the Southern Series Championships, which will take place March 22 to 26 at Purgatory this year.

The action-packed race days will take the skiers down through gates on Upper Hades, Deadspike and Pandemonium, as some of the best skiers around will race to determine the Southern Series champions. Both individual and team awards will be presented at this competition, and DWSC is sure to show up in a big way, the coach said.

“As the days get longer, and our athletes get stronger, we are often reminded that this is one of the best times of year for ski racing,” Feistner said. “From championship races, to shredding pow and corn in the alpenglow, this is why we love this sport. Hope to see you all on the hill soon!”