A

| B By RAY TALBOT _

And still the snows skeep coming! Up. on ‘Grouse -

‘Mountain they are chuckling happily about. their

abundant snows — 40cm. over this last weekend
brought thetotalto285cm. «=. - .

‘The slope grooming which
took place on Grouse over

the past two summers is now
really: paying -off as skiers
rave about the super con-

. ditions .of the ski, runs. At
night “a swinging scene in

the Grouse mountaintop
Chalet as the skiers coming
in off the. ‘slopes: rock to the
disco beat in the Loft, and.
talk up their: great ski ex-
periences in the Rock. The
Grouse . Mountain © ‘Super-
skyride has finally been. “put ~

_ to the: test of heavy and...
- continuous skier traffic;.and ©

passed its:50 (000th trip early |

. this month.

Whistler Mountain’‘is also.

‘singing happily ‘of ‘its: super

snows at last, and ‘all’ their

. lifts are now in full operation

including ‘those elusive.
alpine T-bars. Great skiing —
on the Whistler slopes right
now, and the snow is still

falling. All of which is sweet:
music in the ear of the .

Whistler Mountain Ski Club
whose members are hard at

. work preparing. the course

for the Molson World Cup
Downhill Race which takes
place at Whistler Mountain .
next March 9th. This is the |
finel race in. the current

: World Cup: ‘series, and -it

looks like being:a splendid
event all round*::'Whistler

Mountain is rated_a3.one of |
thé top four’ downhill”

courses on the World Cup

Circuit. With the help of the
abundant recent snowfalls

the race course committee
crew has managed to groom
the course into top shape.

And if ail this racing news
stimulates an urge to try ski
racing for yourself, well
what about the MOLSTAR?

MOLSTAR is a special ski
racing program developed
nine years ago especially for

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first season.

‘recreational skiers. _Dr.
Peter: Andrews, “yes, the
‘same’ busy person | already
mentioned |) in“ connection
with the World” ‘Cup!,

borrowed: the idea. from the

‘ American NASTAR series, a
recreational racing: program -
developed by SKI magazine
and directed by ‘the former .
U.S. Ski Team Coach, Bob.
Beattie. ‘Enlisting the aid of

members of the Canadian *

‘Ski Instructors Alliance,| Dr.
Andrews adapted: the

American program for
‘Canadian use.

4

ica McConkey, of
‘Whistler Mountain, and

Brian James: of Big White

successfully pioneered the
_program at their respective

_ ski areas. Molson’s Western.
Breweries Limited endorsed

the idea and provided a.
grant of*$2,500 to establish
the first trial series. in B.C.
The résponse to.the program

“was. enthusiastic and some

1,100 skiers took part that

oh

ae

» Participants don’t race to

win, they. Face against “par”

or “zero” score. Each
contestant attempts to score
as close to par or zero as he

orsheisable. — a

In the western region the:

-MOLSTAR standard .
established in a Pacesetter

Race held at Sunshine
Village, Alberta, at. the.
beginning of each season.
Pacesetters are selected
from the ski school staffs of

“all the ski areas participating

in MOLSTAR. They race
against cach other over a
special test course. The
winner becomes the Molstar -
Pacesetter for western
Canada, and his time
becomes the “par” time for

that season. The remaining -

racers receive a handicap

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il

according ° ‘to. their per-

centage over the.zero time.

Each participating ski area

_duplicates' the pacesetter
course as closely as possible «

and a course handicap is
established to standardize it
with other ski areas, Each

-Molstar course is pre-run by

‘the. local pacesetter . to

_establish the par time for

that particular:.area, then

’ contestants run the course to
. discover their handicap.

Molstar pins are awarded
according to the contestant’s

-ability. If they come within -
20 per cent of par time they .

receive a gold pin, within 35

per cent, a silver pin, and a

bronze pin for those within

55. per cent. Female par-

ticipants are allowed five per

-cent higher percentage in
‘each -category, so are

children. .

Each competitor: gets. a.
‘handicap, so that.a_ true
measure of progress can be .

made, even if the gontestant
participates at one* hill at one
time and a different one
another. Results. +of each
event -are sent by, the local
‘ski school to the. Molstar
office in Calgary, and
handicap sheets are sent out

to the competitors from

there.

With the world’s s top ski
tacers due. at’ Whistler
Mountain next week for the
Men’s Finals in the World
- Cup, skiers with a feeling for
racing-can take a,look at the
world’s finest in:action, and
geta few tips on how to doit.

. Then get on out there and try

‘the. much easier giant slalom
course of their local Molstar
race.

Molstar races are held

_fegularly at most major ski

areas, locally Grouse,
Whistler and. Hemlock
Valicy hold regular Molstar
events, and the local ski
schools can give you the
details.

mi ul
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BOOMING._DOWN THE COURSE, Mike Debrisay set
the par time in a recent Pacesetter race at. Sunshine
Village. His time will be the central time around which
the other skiers work.

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