By Dave Sypniewski

February 3, 2000

Dear Internet Readers,

There are very few things in life that really matter in a person's life. To me, the Banked Slalom is one of those few things. I have never felt more a part of an event in my life. Gynn, Amy, Martha, the cave, and the race volunteers are special, in my life and my memories. All the competitors are also that important as well. These people who come do not come for money, they come for a painted roll of duct tape, and some don't even come for that.

It is most fitting the race is held on Super Bowl Sunday of every year, because I feel it is of equal comparison. It is the same to me as the NBA Championships, the World Series, the Final Four, or the Stanley Cup. To make the cut alone is a heavy thing, but to win, well one could only dream. A person who wins like Terje should be compared to a Michael Jordan.

I apologize for the delay in my coverage and in my coverage as well. I could never completely explain the Legendary Baker Banked Slalom to you, just as one could never explain what is to be in love or to feel the heart wretch of not living up to one's own expectations. All I can offer is some brief journal like notes and a promise: if you can ever make it to this race, it will change your life.

Friday

The General a.k.a. Joe Cummins woke us before dawn, much to Andy's displeasure. Thanks to Matt (Cummins) our boards had been waxed the night before. Waxing is probably the second most important part of a fast run, the first being a competent rider. I being the genius that I am decided to scrape before we left for the hill, Matt instantly reprimanded me. �Note to self-You scrape and buff only prior to your run. Registration was from 8:00 to 8:30 am, coarse inspection was from 9:00 to 9:30 am. Slipping only of course. The sky was clearer and bluer than at any Banked Slalom I'd ever been to; you could see all of the surrounding Cascades for miles.

The thin purple line.

At the starting gate Gynn and Martha had been yelling who was to run next and giving out hugs like crazy. They started with the Next Generations first, Men's Pro run last. Each racer was given one run, the top 25 percent advancing and the rest of the field has tomorrow to try again. The anxiety of your first run is enough to make a grown man cry. Everyone wants to do his or her best, period.

Terje had shown up, but that didn't stop Temple Cummins from having the fastest time of the day with a 1:19:60. I wonder if Matt's insane wax job contributed to his time. Billy Anderson fell in his run making me one hundred dollars richer. The favorites for Sunday seemed to be Temple, Terje, Rob Morrow, Josh Dirksen, Peter Bauer and Matt Goodwill.

We helped Cheryl (Cummins) prepared our steak and potato dinners. Cheryl is in my top five of all time greatest cooks. The Cummins/Northwest Snowboards/One Ball Jay has been involved with the Banked Slalom for over fourteen years and truly help to make the experience so much more.

Matt and Temp teched out our boards as Andy and I ran some errands. It was my turn for one, two, three, drop and I lost twenty-five, but gained a hell of a buzz.

Saturday

Again the General awakes us before dawn. As my personal tradition continues I awoke and opened a nice cold Wienhards, it was to be one of many, and felt good to my pounding head. My tradition includes sitting in the lodge as long as I can before my run. (Lots of people funnel through, always ready to buy you a mellow one.)

I had qualified the day before and was up a hundred, so I had nothing to lose, yet when I enter the start shack I was shaking violently. I followed Matt's waxing instructions to the letter and boy did it work great. I had made three huge mistakes on the course but was only eight tenths of a second slower. Billy however, had fallen in this run again. He would not make the cut, and that is a hundred times worse than loosing another hundred bucks to me. I immediately head back to the start shack to tell Gynn Billy could have one of my runs tomorrow. She said she'd see what see could do.

Terje had the fastest time, followed by Temp, and then Rob Morrow. The race was getting heated.

The bonfire was blazing and the line for the salmon was long, but man it was worth the wait. Hands down it was the best salmon I had ever tasted. Mike Ranquet was back at the hill for the bonfire with his ankle in a cast after breaking it the day before. Mike, James, and Axel had been getting good snow and doing hairball lines all morning. Mike had come off a cliff into a chute and was in the high speed run-out when he hit some ice and consequently ran into a tree. The Legendary Banked Slalom isn't always just the course.

At the bonfire Gynn had pulled Billy and I aside to inform us that Billy could use one of my runs but it would count against the field, only me. My run would count, but I'd only get one. I was happy Billy was back in, and we still had two hundred on it.

Andy was still hungry when we got down, so Temp dropped us of at Milano's promising to return in an hour. We would all go see Dave Lee and Todd Schlosser's band play. We eat and an hour past, no sign of Temp, so Andy and I grabbed twelve sport beers from Graham's and walked over to see Ranquet. After some cards, (I lost thirty) we headed down to Maple Fall's to the party. Dave and Todd rocked, and Todd even stood up for Burien and "sissy" rock to a horde of drunken "moshers".

Sunday

I did make it home by two a.m., the General informed me of this at seven this morning. It hurt. I couldn't talk. I just wanted to sleep. We drove up to the hill, it hurt. I sat in the lodge, it hurt. I went to the top of the course, it hurt.

At 11:00 a.m. it stopped hurting when the panic of the race had replaced it. You get two runs on Sunday, the first you see your time, the second is announced at the awards. Of the known times, Terje had the fastest. Billy and I elected to not know our times till the awards. I fell coming out of the second turn, since I had given my other run to Billy, I knew it was done. The fall cost me at least six seconds, and Matt's wax job could only do so much.

Much to my embarrassment Gynn called us up at the awards. Billy made it down with a solid 1:22:03, I failed with a 1:26:20. Billy and I came out even, and I'm glad my friend was happy.

I laid down for much need sleep, I was sad it was over, but smiled a little when I realized the 2001 Banked Slalom started in only 363 days.