Hundreds of youth racers of all sizes and levels charged through the slalom gates Sunday for this year’s Cooper Spur dual slalom, which was moved to a higher elevation on Shooting Star Ridge due to the low snow season.

Conditions varied from perfect light to total whiteout and back again as kids from five to 14 years old competed in a tight dual slalom. Times and styles varied widely, ranging from wide-eyed snowplow bombers to serious young racers.

The Cooper Spur Race Team and Mt. Hood Meadows did a great job of organizing and managing the event from course setup to the slopeside barbecue and awards ceremony. With snowpack less than half of normal this season it has been all but impossible to stage races scheduled for Skibowl and Cooper Spur, and Meadows and Timberline have stepped up to make room for extra competitions.

Mt. Hood Race Team star Luke Musgrave posted the fastest time of the day once again, winning the Under-14 boys category as well as overall. Luke’s younger brother Colt also won the U12 category.

Porter Sullivan of Cascade Winter Sports Club won the youngest category, for boys under eight years old.

Full results are coming soon, and I will post them as soon as they are accessible. In the meantime, here are a few photos of some of the racers.

That’s Tori “Tornado” Hopkins of the Cooper Spur Race Team powering through a whiteout.

Above is Hayden Mills of the Multnomah Athletic Club.

And that’s Cole Sischo of the Meadows Race Team.

This last shot is of Porter Sullivan of the Cascade Winter Sports Club, who took first for the U8 boys:

 Youth Racing continues this Sunday with the Oregon 4-Way, a long-running competition that combines slalom, giant slalom, cross country and ski jumping. Unfortunately the limited snow coverage has forced organizers to consider dropping the ski jump and cross country portions, likely making this year’s 4-Way a 2-Way. That could still change, though, depending on how much snow we get. One thing for sure is that the 4-Way slalom will be held this Sunday at Timberline.

Last modified: February 4, 2014