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Welcome to the Far West Masters!
If you are a new visitor to our site, you may wish
to visit the Information pages to learn more About masters racing.
See the How To Join page for membership information
and applications. We are open to all and welcome new racers!
Masters ski racing is the premier adult ski racing series in the country.
We are governed by United States Ski Association (USSA),
the sanctioning body in the US for organized ski racing at all levels from juniors
up through international and Olympic competition.
Far West Masters organizes USSA masters competition in the
Far West division.
Our yearly schedule includes all disciplines (SL, GS, SG, and DH),
with races held mainly at ski areas in the central Sierras.
Racers from 21 to over 80 years old compete in ten-year age groups.
Top News Items
- FWRA Silent Auction
Barbara Bryant (FWM racer along with husband Don) is holding an online auction to sell several items left
from their Silent Auction held April 10th at the FWRA championships at Mammoth.
Auction bids will be accepted though May 6.
Items include ski trips and lodging deals, heli-skiing, lift ticket offers,
Mt. Hood race camp, and a Granite Chief hot-box/race tune.
There are some great deals here and a portion of the proceeds goes to the FWSA Athletic Scholarship Fund
If you need more information, please contact Barbara by email at membership@fwsa.org or
phone 530.550.9452. A portion of the proceeds will go into the Far
West Ski Association Silent Auction.
[03-May-2010]
- FWM Suggestion Box
If you have an idea for improving Far West Masters or suggestions about how we could do things differently
to make our racing better and more appealing,
take advantage of our new Suggestion Box and
send an email message to suggestionbox@farwestmasters.org to share your ideas.
Please sign your message with your (real) name so ideas can be properly credited and we can follow up on your input.
You'll receive an acknowledgement message when your suggestion has been recorded by the system.
All suggestions are reviewed by Far West officers and we will do our best to respond and incorporate
good ideas into our program.
[26-Apr-2010]
- General Meeting and Elections
Our 2010 General Membership meeting was held of Thursday Apr. 15 at Mammoth
following the SG races.
This was our annual open meeting for all members where everyone is invited to raise issues
and make suggestions.
The primary topic that came up for discussion involved logistics of the Open class; several
good ideas were brought up and the board intends to consider all these factors over the summer
as part of planning next season's competition schedule.
The meeting also provided the forum for electing officers
for 2-year positions on the board, with the president, secretary, treasurer, and officials
positions due for re-election this year. Nominees Mark Mirviss (President)
along with incumbents Sandy Hogan (secretary), Mark Smallhouse (treasurer),
and Don Smith (officials) were elected by acclamation.
Meeting minutes are posted on the Board documents page:
[25-Apr-2010]
- Mammoth Season Finale
Mammoth put on a wonderful event for our season finale, featuring spectacular spring weather
for the final three days of racing in the 2010 season. After a surprise late-season storm brought
nearly 2 feet of snow on Monday, forcing cancellation of the downhills, the weather went back to
full-on spring with warm 40/50 temps, sun, light winds, and great skiing all over the mountain.
Many racers headed for the top as soon as racing wound up each day and raved about the free skiing!
Thursday opened the series with 2 SG races from Hair Jump at the base of Cornice Bowl onto World Cup
and lower St. Anton. Great racing and lots of smiles all around! Friday's GS started by Chair 23 and
followed the lower St. Anton course, the first time we've raced there, and presented some interesting new
challlenges with the different race terrain from our usual venue on Fascination.
The final day of SL racing was another incredible spring day, with two runs of challenging course sets
complemented by the need to cool down, hydrate, and apply sunscreen!
Once again, the Mammoth Race Department worked hard every day to prepare and maintain
the race courses and their efforts to stay ahead of the softening snow each day
were appreciated by all competitors.
Saturday night a good crowd gathered for the season banquet, with
season age class and leader bibs for next season announced. Special recognition
awards went to Kelly Akins as rookie of the year and Don Merritt for most improved racer.
Defending leader bib holder Kurt Belden reclaimed his #1 bib for another year,
while Deb Lewis edged out Julie Rolfe on the women's side with a tight race
whose outcome was only settled in the final SL race of the season.
Outgoing Far West Masters president Marietta Frinell also gave out several appreciation
awards to recognize some of the people who contribute so much to making our race
events come together, with a special thank-you to Mike Kennedy who along with Elizabeth show up to handle
race registration and keep us in line with USSA requirements.
See the Race Results page for complete weekend results
and the final Season Standings.
The complete list of  season awards is
included with the final Season Standings.
[18-Apr-2010]
- Seccond SG Race added Thursday
Due to the cancellation of our scheduled dowhnill races at Mammoth on Tuesday/Wednesday,
we are changing the Thursday schedule to hold two Super G races.
The originally scheduled training run will be cancelled, and
your training run checks will be torn by the Race Department.
Competitors entered in the Super G will have the option of paying
at registration on Thursday morning to enter the second race.
[14-Apr-2010]
- Mammoth DH's cancelled
The Downhills (training and race runs) scheduled for the 13th and 14th have
been cancelled due to snow accumulations. I would not be possible to groom
and set up the courses in time to race on Wednesday. This is due not only to
the snow currently on the course, but due to the fact that Mammoth can not
groom the course without doing avalanche control above the course.
Current conditions on the mountain have not allowed patrollers to even begin
avalanche control at this time. It is unlikely that any avalanche control
will be able to be preformed today.
As of now, the remainder of our schedule for this week (SG, GS, SL and
Duals) does look like a go, and we are not predicting any weather
interference with those events.
[12-Apr-2010 [9AM]]
- Season Finals, Banquet, Silent Auction
The final races of the 2010 Far West Masters season will be held this coming week
at Mammoth Mountain. A full calendar of disciplines is on tap: DH, SG, GS, and SL,
with Saturday nights season banquet followed on Sunday by a dual fun race.
For details, see the event information announcement,
which includes information about group rate lodging packages and discounts available to the Far West Masters.
Saturday evening's  season banquet
will include a silent auction to raise funds for the junior athlete scholarship fund program.
Items include ski passes (Mammoth, Northstar), training program passes (Mammmoth, Northstar, Squaw), lodging deals,
gear and services from shops (Footloose, Start Haus), ski gear and tuning supplies from program sponsors,
and much more!
You may submit bids directly to Eddie Mozen prior to the banquet or be there for the live bidding at the banquet.
For details, see the
silent auction info flyer from Eddie Mozen.
[11-Apr-2010]
- Mt. Rose Results
The 2010 McKinney Cup results from the Mar. 27-28 SL/GS races at Mt. Rose are now posted.
(apologies for the delay, the results data files had to be obtained from the race computer)
The McKinney Cup is sponsored by Tamara McKinney in memory of members of her family, Steve, McLane, and Frances McKinney.
The McKinney Cup is a perpetual trophy on display over the mantle of the fireplace in the Mt. Rose lodge
and is awarded to the man and woman racer with the fastest total time for the entire weekend.
The 2010 McKinney Cup winners are Caroline Labreque (W03) and Jason Christopher (M01).
See the Race Results page for complete weekend results
and the updated Season Standings.
[10-Apr-2010]
- Sun Valley Nationals
After opening with some "west coast" weather on the first two days that
forced the organizers to scramble and readjust the SC and SG race schedules,
the national championships at Sun Valley finished with three days of
outstanding racing. The sun came out, the courses were firm and fast
and beautifully prepared, and the competitors were challenged by both the courses
and the large field of racers from all over the country and some Canadian friends.
Far West had 30 competitors who put out a number of excellent performances.
Kurt Belden won the SL in M06, perhaps the strongest of all the men's classes,
while Pierre Jeangirard came back from a near-season-long layoff due to knee problems
to win the GS in M07 (and barely missed taking the overall combined title by less than a smidge).
On the women's side, Deb Lewis swept W07, backed up on the podium by Linda Crowell
in second overall, while Julie Rolfe (W06) and Sandy Hogan (W09) also climbing
on the podium to collect hardware.
The Group D men were led by Gate de Mattei who dominated M12 with fabulous skiing
all week.
Many other outstanding performances came from our Far West racers in all classes - with so many
strong racers in the field, a great race might not get you on the podium but nonetheless should
be savored and appreciated. Rees Palermo had the experience of a lifetime, drawing the #1 start
in the Group B GS after patiently waiting years to work up to an age class with an early start
on a clean course. Julie Rolfe won the "good karma" award - after finding Deb Lewis's lost
SL race skis that another competitor had mistakenly taken and carrying them to the starting line,
she was rewarded on the next day when Elizabeth Kennedy had an extra helmet for the GS
after Julie got to the hill without that vital piece of equipment.
Complete results are available on the ussamasters.org Nationals page.
[04-Apr-2010]
- General Membership Meeting
Far West Masters will hold its annual end of the season General
Membership meeting at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area on Thursday, April 15
at 3 pm, following the Super G race. The meeting will be at the west
end of the cafeteria, followed by a racer reception and awards for the
Downhill and Super G races.
At the meeting, elections will be held for four offices. A nominating
committee headed up by Don Smith canvassed members to stand for
election, with the following candidates nominated:
President: Mark Mirviss
VP Officials: Don Smith
Secretary: Sandy Hogan
Treasurer: Mark Smallhouse
Additional nominations will be accepted from the floor. If there are
no additional candidates, a voice vote to confirm the nominees will be
held.
[25-Mar-2010]
- Squaw Bernard Cup
The 2010 Bernard Cup race weekend at Squaw Valley was a spring-fest of GS racing
on the always-challenging Exhibition race hill. With delightfully warm and sunny
spring racing conditions, competitors started the day with a firm first course
which gradually softened without getting sloppy. Our scheduling experiment with
holding 3 races in 2 days by taking 3 runs each day turned out very well,
as the Squaw race crew worked continuously through the weekend to maintain
good conditions.
A good turnout of competitors was leavened with a welcome dash of new faces
and a weekend with lots of smiles all around.
The key tactical decisions of the day were (a) sunscreen and (b) The Road.
Spectators at the mid-course crossing were treated to a wide variety of styles
on the transition onto the steep middle pitch of the course
(and thankfully no serious crashes, just a few "fly-bys" of the gate below
the breakover).
The weekend wrapped up on Sunday with awards on the deck and the presentation
of the Bernard Cup trophies to the fastest overall man and woman racer of the weekend,
using the age-handicapping formula created by founder Bob Bernard to "level" the
competition across age groups. Hometown boy Kurt Beldon once again demonstrated
speed and consistency to take the men's title in a close battle, while Deb Lewis
led the women's field. Special recognition goes to the hard-charging
Gate de Mattei, who posted phenomenal runs all weekend out of class 12 to finish
a very close third in the final standings - that's 80 years and and still smoking hot!
See the Race Results page for complete weekend results
and the updated Season Standings.
[21-Mar-2010]
- Georgene Bihlman
Georgene Bihlman passed away Sunday evening after a long struggle with Parkinson's,
only 10 days before her 85th birthday on Feb. 24.
Georgene was a lifelong ski racer and a fierce competitor.
In addition to her numerous championships and many years as
a member of the National Masters team, Georgene was inducted into the
National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
in 2002.
Georgene's career as a ski racer spanned 50 years. Her competitive career
began in 1949 in the Far West. Missing an opportunity to compete in the Olympics
due to a serious auto accident, she went on to compete in Veterans and Masters racing
in the US and internationally. In 2009, the Far West Ski Association honored
Georgene with its top award, the Hans Georg award. Georgene passed away after
a long struggle with Parkinson's at her home in Truckee. A private funeral was held
at her request.
Georgene Bihlman obituary
[16-Feb-2010]
- News Mailing List
To help get the word out when we have news and information about our Far West Masters
program and races, we have created a news mailing list that we will use
for sending out news messages and announcements. You can always come here to the
web site for the most complete and current information, as always, but now with the
news mailing list you can also receive notifications through your email.
We think the news mailing list will help to keep members and competitors
informed, especially during the course of the competition season when there
are schedule changes and weather news that we need to get out to everyone
quickly. The list will be "low traffic" - it will only be used to send
messages which have been approved by the list managers as relevant and appropriate.
Usually this will consist of a weekly news post during the season, occasional messages
from the president or other board members, and breaking news on our race calendar
during the season.
All Far West Masters competitors who have been active members in the past few season
and who have indicated on their membership application preferences that email contact
is acceptable will automatically be added to the news list. (You can remove
yourself at any time - instructions are included with your welcome message and
help is available from the list information page.) The list is open to anyone
interested - just sign up!
To subscribe to the list, browse the messages archive,
edit your subscription options, or remove yourself,
visit the news list information page:
[14-Jan-2010]
- Henry Kristaponis
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Henry Kristaponis passed away today.
We do not yet have any details, but will pass on further news when it becomes available.
Henry was a distinctive character and known to many of us for his passion for ski racing
and downhill. Always dapper, Henry was hard to miss on the hill or off!
Born in 9120, Henry was 89. He will be missed.
[06-Jan-2010]
- Web Site Remodel
The Far West Masters web site has embarked on a new phase in its life!
In preparation for the upcoming 2009-2010 season, the site has been completely rewritten
and is now being relaunched on a new technology platform which will enable us to provide
more effective content and improved services to our racers in the Far West.
The site has come a long way from its creation in the late '90's thanks
to the pioneering efforts of Archie Monica in the early years of the internet.
In the ever-changing world of the internet and modern technology, the site was
beginning to show its age, however, and its early-generation web infrastructure
was no longer able to keep up and allow us to explore the new ideas and features
that we'd like to support.
For you technical cognoscenti out there, we have moved
from a first-generation Microsoft web technology called ASP to the
modern open-source web platform Ruby on Rails.
Please be patient for the next few weeks while we work out any glitches
and finish converting a few remaining areas of the current site.
Some of the features you may be used will be temporarily unavailable - the archive
of race results and standings from previous seasons has been taken offline for now
(but they're coming back!!), while the Member Lookup and user accounts features
are closed until renovation of the membership database features are completed.
And now back to our regularly scheduled ski racing action...
Race Entry printing is now open for the December races, with our opening
race at Mammoth on Dec.5-6 only a few weeks away now!
[15-Nov-2009]
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