Purgatory Freestyle Team member Shane Ellis sat on the chairlift at Wolf Creek Ski Area on Sunday and said, “We’re going to ride up the lift with a famous person.”
Defending Olympic moguls bronze medalist Bryon Wilson turned to him and said, “Are you guys famous?”
Ellis and other members of the Purgatory Freestyle Team had the opportunity to interact with members of the United States Freestyle Mogul Team during the U.S. team’s 10-day practice session at Wolf Creek, which ended Tuesday.
Heavy snowfall complicated the U.S. team’s training because the skiers needed to continually dig the mogul course out from the powder.
“It’s hard to keep our course up and running when it gets buried every night,” U.S. team member Joe Discoe said. “We’ve been trying to dig it out this whole time, but who doesn’t like fresh snow?”
That much powder can cause problems for a freestyle mogul team because it buries both the jumps and moguls, which makes freestyle training difficult.
U.S. coach Scott Rawles spent a lot of his time digging the course out and reflagging its boundaries.
He didn’t have to do it all by himself, though.
His brother, Purgatory Freestyle Team coach Kirk Rawles, picked up a shovel in addition to bringing over gear to help set up the course.
“With all this great new snow, it kind of buried the course,” said Kirk Rawles, who also coaches the boys and girls golf programs at Durango High School. “They’ll have a fresh, new course (Sunday).”
The amount of fresh snowfall that Wolf Creek regularly receives is part of the reason why U.S. coach Scott Rawles continues to bring his team to train there.
The team previously trained there in 2011.
“Particularly this time of the year, it’s difficult for us to find training space,” Scott Rawles said. “We try to find where the best snow is.”
Wolf Creek provides powder aplenty in addition to a steeper course than the U.S. team is accustomed to skiing on.
“In a lot of ways, add in the difficulty with the weather and having to ski a rough course, it’s mentally challenging for us,” Scott Rawles said. “That’s good preparation for competition season.”
The U.S. team has one more camp in Finland before it will start World Cup competition Dec. 14.
As for last week’s camp at Wolf Creek, Scott Rawles announced the Freestyle Moguls team Saturday in Pagosa Springs before continuing to train Sunday.
Kirk Rawles made sure the Purgatory Freestyle Team was there Sunday to train and rub elbows with the U.S. team.
“It’s super cool to ski next to them and be next to them and hear them skiing; I love it,” said Purgatory Freestyle Team member Trudy Mickle, daughter of Alex and Molly Mickel. “You can hear every time they hit the bump it makes a ‘pshooh-snap’ sound because they’re so aggressive.”
The Durango team was able to learn a lot from skiing with and watching the U.S. team, but its members were surprised by how personable World Champions and Olympians could be.
“It’s actually quite surprising how ready to talk to us they are,” said Ellis, son of Jackie and John Ellis. “They’re very good role models.”
That personability comes from wanting to help inspire the next generation of potential U.S. Ski Team members.
“I think that takes them back to the place they once were,” Scott Rawles said. “At one point in their careers, they were looking up to people on the U.S. ski team also.”
Kirk Rawles views the relationship the U.S. team has with local teams as something both squads can gain from.
“Our kids can look at that when someone from the U.S. team says, ‘Oh, man, that kid rips.’ It builds a huge self-esteem,” he said. “You have these kids that are looking up to you; they take a lot of pride in representing their country.
“I think both groups benefit from this.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
U.S. Freestyle Mogul Team
Coach Scott Rawles on Saturday named the skiers for the U.S. Freestyle Mogul Team:
A Team – Patrick Deneen, Sho Kashima, Hannah Kearney, Heather McPhie, Eliza Outtrim, Dylan Walczyk, Bryon Wilson, Bradley Wilson
B Team – Jeremy Cota, Joe Discoe, Heidi Kloser, Mikaela Matthews, K.C. Oakley
C Team – Dave Digravio, Ali Kariotis, Brittany Loweree, Keaton McCargo, Troy Murphy, Bruce Perry Jr., Sophie Schwartz
– Herald staff
