'Fantastic' hill racing returns to Cairn Gorm
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THE weekend's great snow and skiing conditions on Cairngorm Mountain allowed a full weekend of racing in the The Cairngorm Ski Club Open, attracting competitors from across Scotland.
On Saturday a giant slalom course was set on the famous White Lady piste for older athletes (aged 12-18) while the Coire Cas hosted a slalom for the Bairns (aged up to 12). In the women's category on the White Lady, Ffion Townsend took the win in the under-16s race with Ryrie Hodge taking the men's victory.
In the under-14s, Daisy Cowie took first place in the women's with Michael Mcintosh first in the men's. Finlay Jennings took the victory in the U18s race.
In Saturday's Bairns race, Isla Cameron and Lorcan Morrison to the wins in the under 10's with Blair Macleod and Louisa Mcintosh winning the under-12s.
On Sunday the wind picked up and kept racers off the White Lady so everybody headed to Coire Cas. There, Archie Laing took the Men's under-14s race and Iona Ballantyne the women's. In the under-16s Finlay Carry won the Men's with Ffion Townsend again skiing to the win in the women's. In the under-18s Matthew Goodman took 1st.
For the Bairns Isla Cameron and Lorcan Morrison took the under-10s victories. Harry Townsend and Grace Cameron won the under-12s races. Champions trophies (for combined over two days) were taken by Ryrie Hodge (Men's), Iona Ballantyne (Ladies), Lorcan Morrison (Boys) and Grace Cameron (Girls).
Mark Tate, chairman of Cairngorm Ski Club, told the Strathy: "It was fantastic to get two days of ski racing on Cairngorm – the first time we have managed that for a number of years. All of the competitors did brilliantly and we would like to thank the army of volunteers who made the races possible. Special thanks need to go to the team at Cairngorm Mountain who provided us with superb facilities and a warm welcome."
Susan Smith, interim CEO for Cairngorm Mountain said: "We have great snow conditions across the mountain at the moment and we have been delighted to work with Cairngorm Ski Club and see so many youngsters enjoying competitive ski racing at Cairngorm."
More races are scheduled this weekend.
