Gavin Rowell has been taking a crash course in ski cross training the past few days at Tabor Mountain getting ready to tackle his first Nor-Am event of the season and so far, so good.
In a thrill-at-every-turn sport which pits four skiers in a wild race over jumps and around high-banked corners, Rowell has managed to stay on his feet and avoid the hazards of the trade.
Rowell is among a field of 29 male ski crossers entered in the two-day Nor-Am Cup races today and Sunday at Tabor.
The 16-year-old Prince George Alpine Ski Club member now lives in Kelowna, where he's been focusing mainly on alpine events while training with the Okanagan FIS team.
"I'm a little rusty, this is the first time I've skied ski cross this season so far," said Rowell. "It's a nice change to come back home. There's some World Cup skiers here so it will be pretty difficult, but that makes it fun, it's a good challenge."
Rowell is still registered as a Grade 11 student at Kelly Road secondary school, working mostly by correspondence, but he's taking a reduced workload the first semester so he can focus more on skiing. He plans to make up the courses he's missed over the spring semester and in summer school.
Being able to train since mid-November at Apex Mountain near Penticton with a group of FIS-rated skiers of equal or better ability has helped speed his development on the slopes.
He's been ski-racing since he was eight.
"There's just a lot better training compared to what I was getting up north," said Rowell, who competed earlier this season in regional alpine races at Panorama and Nakiska. "The conditions are better, harder snow (Apex has snowmaking capabilities).
"I finished 20-something in a U-18 slalom at Nakiska last weekend - not too bad."
Rowell and 17-year-old Tiana Gairns of the Prince George club, are the local racers involved in the Nor-Am events this weekend. Jason Oliemans of Smithers is the only other northern B.C. entrant.
The rest of the field comes from Western Canada, the western U.S. states and Maine.
Rowell says spectators hoping to get the best view of the action at Tabor will have to hike up to the midsection of the course where the biggest jumps, most challenging features and most-likely passing sections are found.
A lack of snow forced race organizers to downgrade the size of the largest jump.
"It's exciting, there's always passing and touching and bumping around, it's hectic," said Rowell. "I've had some close calls in training but haven't crashed yet, luckily enough. It's a really good spectator sport because there's lots going on and you can see who's winning."
Time qualifications begin today at 10 a.m. and only the top 16 will advance to the championship round. Elimination races start today and Sunday at 1 p.m. To advance to the next round, skiers must finish in the top-two in each race.
