Steamboat Pilot & Today

Colorado Mountain College's ski teams are ready to test their racing skills as their season busts out of the gates Jan. 20-21.

On that weekend, the men's and women's alpine squads will compete in a giant slalom at Winter Park.

CMC-Alpine, which is in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Ski Conference, has four meets this season.

"We have some really good depth this year," said Ames Chandler, who enters her 10th season at the helm of CMC-Alpine.

"We have a lot of good skiers. We should definitely go to the regional championship. From there, if they do a good job, they should get to nationals."

CMC's men's alpine team, which has 10 members, hopes to repeat the success the program has enjoyed the past decade.

The men finished fifth at the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association national championships in 1995 and were sixth at the nationals the following year.

In 1997, the men placed ninth, and in 1998, they were seventh.

The alpine women's team, which has six members, also has a fine history.

The women finished sixth in the country in 1998. In 1996, they placed 14th and in 1994 and 1997, they were ninth.

There are 11 conferences in the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Assoc-

iation.

Teams that make up the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Ski Conference are CMC-Alpine, Colorado State University, Colorado College, Regis University, Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado, Denver University, Fort Lewis College, the University of Wyoming and the Air Force Academy.

CMC is the only community college in the conference.

Only two schools in the conference have nordic teams: the University of Wyoming and Air Force. CMC has a men's nordic team but not a women's team.

Members of the CMC men's nordic team are Loren Elkins, Todd O'Blenness and Pedar Enger.

Elkins is from Steamboat and Enger and O'Blenness hail from Jackson Hole, Wyo.

The CMC nordic team, which competes in both classic and skate, also opens its season Jan. 20.

The nordic team will compete in four meets and for the conference championship before regionals and nationals begin, Chandler said.

The CMC teams train three to four days per week before each weekend race.

The teams compete in one of the toughest conferences in the country, Chandler said.

"It's very competitive," Chandler said.

"Once we get to the nationals, the far west region is one of the top regions. So, our competition is pretty good."