Winter Carnival at Dartmouth is one of the most exciting weekends of the year. It attracts visitors from all over the country and for 85 years has been a bright point in what is usually a cold and bleak winter.
Many people do not realize that the reason the Dartmouth Carnival takes place is the ski races. Six Carnivals are held each winter at various colleges in the Northeast; Dartmouth's is easily the most famous.
At 10:00 a.m. today the undefeated men's cross country team will compete in the 15K Classical race. Last week the team enjoyed its third victory in Stowe, Vt. when it won both Nordic races at the University of Vermont Carnival.
On Saturday, the team will compete at 11:00 a.m. in the Freestyle (skating type movement) relay competition where three members of each team ski 10 kilometers each on a course near Storrs Pond.
Look for Dartmouth captain Cory Smith '96, Colter Leys '96 and Paul Stone '98 to lead the way in both Friday's and Saturday's races.
The women's cross-country team will also be a strong contender in both of its races. The team finished second last weekend and, on its own turf, it may out-ski Vermont, last week's winner.
Captain Heather Eliassen '95, Denali Kemppel '96 and Valerie Wrenholt '97 each placed in the top 10 in last week's races and should have the upper hand in the 11:30 a.m. 10K Classical race today and the 9:30 a.m. 3x5 Freestyle relay race tomorrow.
"The team is very excited about racing here this weekend and they're very prepared for the Classical race," said women's Nordic Coach Cami Thompson.
"I'm sure they'll also do well in the relay, which is a very exciting race to compete in and watch," Thompson added.
The men's alpine team is also prepared for the competition at the Skiway this weekend after winning both the Slalom and Giant Slalom races at the Vermont Carnival.
J.P. Daigneault '97 won the Slalom event in Stowe last week and has been consistent in his high performance since he joined the Dartmouth team as a freshmen last year. Always the most reckless on the hills, he is also the most successful, rated the top skier in the East by the United States Skiing Association.
Also expected to place highly in today's Giant Slalom and tomorrow's Slalom races are Captain Andrew
Martin '96, Ben Robinson '97 and Jeremiah Thompson '96. The UVM team, improved over last year, has two strong performers who are also likely to place well; Stefan Schadinger, who won last week's Slalom race, and Brett Grabowski will certainly give the Dartmouth men a run for their money.
The Dartmouth women are looking forward to the alpine races which will begin at 9:30 a.m. both today and Saturday. Captain Jesse James '95 and freshmen Laura Turner are the strongholds of this team and hope to get an edge over UVM's Gibson Lafountaine, who has been the winner of all alpine events at the Carnivals this season. However, Lafountaine lost to James and Turner at the FIS event held on the Dartmouth Skiway on Jan. 15.
"Laura and Jesse have a good chance to win the races this weekend," said women's Alpine Coach Mark Schiffman. "When they compete on the Skiway, they seem to do very well."
The alpine events will take place at the Dartmouth Skiway and should run from 9:30 a.m. to about 3:00 p.m. both today and Saturday. The Nordic races will begin at 9:30 a.m. both days at Oak Hill and should finish at about 1:30 p.m. on Friday and 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.
