To the others, the mountain stood majestic in the background, a pillar of white against the deep clear blue expanse of sky that lay behind. To her, it loomed as an obstacle, threatening her bodily integrity and evoking memories of the crash that nearly ended her career as a skier.
Alison Keller '02 tore a ligament in her right knee the previous year that nearly took her out of skiing permanently. It took a painful six months for her to fully recover from the crash and this past weekend at the Middlebury carnival was the first time since the crash that she had raced at the mountain.
"My team, coach and family have been an incredible support system for me this year," Keller said. "It was a difficult year given that it was my senior year and I was returning from a fairly traumatic knee injury."
In her first run in the slalom on Friday, she took a terrifying spill reminiscent of the accident the past year. She hit a hole in the snow three gates from the bottom that took her out of contention in the slalom.
"There was a huge hole three gates from the finish that took a lot of skiers including me," said Keller. "It was an unusual day that took many by surprise."
She clutched up the following day in the giant slalom by taking third and overcoming a jinx that had caused two falls and a devastating injury. She led the alpine women to a strong overall weekend. Lindsay Lockhart '04 and Emily Copeland '04 led the alpine women in the slalom by taking third and sixth, respectively. Keller was the only one to finish in the top ten in the giant slalom.
"I was really excited that I was able to return to the hill and perform the way I did," Keller said.
With the help of a few exceptional individual performances in the slalom, the alpine men had a solid weekend. The highlight was sophomore Roger Brown, who won his fourth straight slalom and proved that he is a favorite at the upcoming NCAA championships. He was followed by classmate Matt Hoisington, who raced to a personal best third place. Rounding out the top ten in the slalom were seniors Dawson Brown and Eric Reinhardt, who finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
Unfortunately, the alpine men were unable to continue their dominance into Saturday. The only one to break into the top ten in giant slalom was Roger Brown, who finished seventh.
"It was disappointing [to lose to Vermont and Middlebury]. We really had a chance after the slalom, but the GS went really poorly for us," said Hoisington.
The Nordic women continued their dominance of the carnival circuit by placing five in the top ten in the 5k, led by Anna Harrington '02 who took the victory. She was followed closely by freshman Chrissie May in fourth and Senior Kate Pearson in fifth. Sara Donahue '02 and Elizabeth Harrington '05 rounded out the top ten in seventh and 10th, respectively. They were not nearly as dominant in the 15k, where only two placed in the top ten, Anna Harrington '02 in fourth and Pearson in sixth.
"It's a really great feeling, to race hard and feel good about it, and find out afterwards that you were the top finisher for that day," Harrington '02 said. "There are so many fast women on the eastern circuit skiing really well this year, so I felt honored to have won."
The Nordic men had a disappointing weekend, as they watched UVM skiers take first and second in both the 10k and the 15k. Junior Brayton Osgood put in solid performances in both races, as he skated to fourth in the 15k and 10th in the 10k. Dartmouth skiers had four in the top ten in the 10k, led by Andy Hunter '04 in sixth. Tom Temple '03, Eben Sargent '05 and Osgood finished eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.
"I got outfoxed tactically by the UVM guys who went 1-2, but I regained a lot of confidence after that race," said Osgood.
He will need it for the NCAA championships in the upcoming weeks. Dartmouth will send 12 skiers total, three from each discipline. All have a chance at All American. Whether they can all race to their potential remains to be seen.
