A Case of the Mondays, Indeed
Heralded by critics as “super heady,” “dank,” “bodacious,” even “wicked,” the second year of the Sugar Mountain Adult Race League (SMARL) is currently underway and more popular than ever.
SMARLers, as we’re often not called, convene every Monday
night from the end of January to the beginning of March atop Sugar Mountain
for the second coming of the SMARL—the best thing to happen to the
local snowsport community since liquor-by-the-drink was legalized.
A total of six nights, SMARL consists of 120 racers on 18 teams that race
twice each Monday and accumulate points that go toward a team total. At
the end of the season, a winner is chosen—the new owners of the High
Country Cup.
From Olympians to straight skiers, from rainbow sweater-wearing ringers
to stretch-pant wearing business owners, from ski school instructors to
bartenders, from smart asses to mothers, SMARLers represent every facet
of our community and are helping to reignite the local ski and snowboard
world.
Their weekly trials, tribulations and count on libations are chronicled
in LIFT TICKET—the weekly ski and snowboard column in the High Country
Press.
The “beer league” has many stories. As of press time, Team Sugar
Mountain had a healthy lead, featuring a team full of ringers such as Gunther
and Kim Jochl, Erich Schmidinger and Sean “Stumpy” McKee, but
Team Ski Country Sports One was close behind, lead by Jeremiah West, Lawson
Fields and the insatiable Mark Russ. Les Broussard and Team Banner Elk Café
One is nipping at their heels though, followed by Donovan Carroll’s
Team Alpine Ski Center One.
But it’s not just the big names in the ski business that are carving
tracks atop Big Red—Team Hefner, with Andy McDaniel and Richard Rominger,
Team Bayou/Insurance Plus and Team Donny’s Rental Rats are all poised
to take over the podium.
And what about us? Glad you asked. Team High Country Press—SHOUT’s
A-team—is currently in ninth place (yeah, baby—a big difference
from last season). Our team of sensuous snow dudes includes Chris “under
a minute” Varipapa (you may know this gentleman from the Boone Saloon,
ladies), Nate “Vileo” Giles, Ken “stretch pants”
Ketchie, Peter “rainbow” Perkins, Sam “I finally beat
Ken” Calhoun, Joe “gem mine” Cumbee and Nelson “Ned”
Giles. Ya’ll best recognize.
The glory of SMARL is that it’s not only a race—it’s a
weekly party. After the races conclude, dozens of us race to the bar—not
necessarily to drink—but to share in the camaraderie that is slowly
being rebuilt in the local ski and board community. Some racers even take
the party a step further and frequent the bars in Banner Elk after last
call—a sign that this type of winter activity among locals is long
overdue.
I encourage each and every one of you—even the bad skiers, because
I used to be one of those—to get involved next year with SMARL or
any one of the number of local ski and board events in the High Country.
Sports—they’re not just for summer anymore.
Story by Sam Calhoun
Reklated links
Sam's Lift Ticket column with league results