Purg freestyle teams flying high

Winter may be winding down, but for the Purgatory freestyle ski and snowboard teams, things are heating up.

Earlier this month, snowboarders and skiers from the team cleaned up at the USASA Slopestyle and Rail Jam competition in Powderhorn, bringing home a total of 31 medals over the two-day event, held Feb. 27-28.

“This puts a number of athletes in really good shape to qualifying for USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain in April,” said Adam Hirshberg, head coach of the Purgatory Park team. “They have really stepped it up.”

The Purgatory Park Team, which is comprised of skiers, was led by Ian Osby, who swept all four events – slopestyle and three rail jams, including a nighttime one – for four gold medals. Max Wilson won gold in slopestyle; while Emmet Stottlemyer earned a silver.

In the rail jams, park team skier Caleb Gates took home two golds and a silver with Dragon Cruz-Yen bringing home silver in the nighttime rail jam. Wilson also scored two bronze while Stottlemyer added one bronze to the mix in the rail jams.

The Purgatory Snowboard Team also had an impressive showing, with Anthony Turco medaling in all four events, with two silvers and two bronze. Natalie DeBelina, Cody Beaver and Rowan Holiday also all brought home gold, winning their collective age groups in slopestyle. Ozzy Mills hit the trifecta, winning slopestyle while adding silver and bronze for rail jams. Rounding out the podium were Greta Stahl, three silvers; and Zander Berriman, gold in night time rail jam and bronze in slopestyle.

Meanwhile, bumpers take to Purgatory this weekend as the hometown hill hosts State Mogul Championships

The championships will bring 140 skiers aged 7-14 from Winter Park, Aspen, Telluride, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Pajarito, N.M., and Summit County to Purgatory on March 11-13. There will be two categories for the event: Rocky Qualifier Series and Development (Devo).

Skiers will be judged on turns, aerial maneuvers and speed through a course set up on Upper Bull Run, below Dante’s. “Upper Bull is a perfect course for this group,” Kirk Rawles, Purgatory Freestyle head coach, said. “It ... will showcase these incredibly talented young athletes.” 

The two local favorites heading into his weekend are Trudy Mickel and George McQuinn. 

Mickel, 15, has begun to dominate regional competitions, either winning or earning podium spots. She has also bested U.S., Australian and Canadian skiers on the NorAm International circuit, with a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in Park City. McQuinn punctuated his season by winning the final regional competition of the year held in February at Telluride. Both will be attending the USSA Junior Nationals in Sun Valley and U.S. Ski Team Nationals in Steamboat later this month.

Action starts Friday, with the RQS Championships; the Devo Championships on Saturday; and the side-by-side Dual Mogul Championships on Sunday. Competition will run from 10:45 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. daily.  For info or to volunteer, contact Rawles at moguldogs@bresnan.net.

USFS plans response to beetles

As spruce beetles continue their march across the state, forest managers in the San Juans are looking at options to deal with the growing epidemic.

According to the U.S. Forest Service’s 2015 aerial survey of the state’s 28 million acres of forest, spruce beetle infestations were found on 409,000 acres, expanding by 182,000 acres since 2014. Since 1996, spruce beetle outbreaks have caused varying degrees of tree mortality on more than 1.5 million acres across Colorado.

Southwest Colorado has been the hardest hit by the outbreak, with more than 120,000 acres of the San Juan National Forest affected. The beetles, which target Engelmann spruce, have exploded as a result of blowdowns, drought, warmer temperatures and older, dense forests.

To deal with the problem, the SJNF is proposing mitigation in each of its districts as follows:

- Pagosa Ranger District: Salvage sale of 100 acres of dead spruce near Wolf Creek Pass. Harvest focuses on dead, sellable trees and the retention of live trees. Proceeds will go to reforestation.

- Dolores Ranger District: Timber sale is being considered for 900 acres in the Taylor-Stoner mesa areas to improve resilience of forests not yet affected by the outbreak but seeing budworm activity. Thinning can improve forest health by adding diversity and encouraging regeneration. 

- Columbine Ranger District: Salvage sale for several thousand acres north of Highway 160 between the Piedra River and Vallecito is being considered. Resilience treatments, fuels reduction and prescribed burns are also being considered.

According to the Forest Service, dead spruce can remain standing for several decades and retain value as commercial timber for up to a decade or more.

To check out the 2015 aerial survey, visit: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/USFSR2ForestHealth. For info on the timber program, call Travis Bruch, 970-385-1317.

– Missy Votel