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Final Post-Season Race Results

The Road to Gunstock
January 15, 2004

It is early spring just outside of Gilford New Hampshire. The year is 1895. Its warm for this time of year but high up in the mountains the snow remains frozen and deep. Three young boys are out wildcat hunting on snowshoes just below a ridge of Belknap Mountain. The mountains in these parts were rich with wildcats in them there days, rich unlike the folks that inhabited them. The oldest boy, Graham Chase, had to stop to repair a broken binding on his snowshoe. As he bent over the shoe the hair on the back of his neck began to raise, his hunting senses could feel that he was being watched. He looked up over at his younger brother, Amos and his friend Elijah. They sat nonchalantly against a large rock surveying the valley below and the surrounding mountains. Graham continued to work on his binding but something was not right. Something was definitely wrong. It was the smell that caused him to slowly raise his head and eye the deep shadowed granite ledge just above him. Gradually on the ledge the dark and sinister outline of a large female mountain lion began to form. She sensed wounded prey in the form of Graham and was ready to pounce. In a flash Graham swung around with his musket to fire but as he pulled the trigger the musket's hammer broke. Amos and Elijah were immediately on their feet and running wildly down the hill. The cat was now completely raised and twitching to jump on Graham. Graham flipped the old musket around, grabbing it by its old blue barrel and swung at the cat with all his might. The resounding thud brought Amos and Elijah to a dead stop. They turned and saw Graham holding the musket with a broken gunstock and a dead mountain lion at his feet. As the story was told over and over again through the years the mountain simply became known as Gunstock.

Gunstock Ski Resort was the site for the final race of the 2003-2004 ski-racing season. As it has for the past 40 years, Gunstock would host the Francis Piche Invitational Race. To get there however you have to qualify and to qualify and represent New York State you have place in the Greek Peak Kandahar race. At the start of the season there are almost 700 kids who participate in downhill ski racing throughout New York State at the JV, JIV, and JIII levels. Of these only 108 of the very best racers in the state make it to the Greek Peak Kandahar. Two of those 108 were from the Cazenovia Ski Club. Those two were Kaitlyn Button, the Tiny Tiger of Perryville and Barclay, Bode Miller, Talbot. Both in their last year as JV racers. It should also be mentioned that Cazenovia alumna, Courtney Button, the Picabo Street of Perryville, was also competing as a JIII in this elite racer.

The competition was the toughest our young scrappy racers had seen all year. The race was a brutal three run event down a wide-open GS course on a hard packed frozen granular surface. When the racing was over, the snow dust had settled, and the final points tallied only six racers in each division would be invited to Gunstock. Among those qualifying finalist were Barclay Talbot with an amazing third place finish in the JV boys group, and Courtney Button finishing fifth in the JIII girls. Unfortunately like the mountain lion in the Gunstock legend above it was not to be the Tiny Tiger's day. She placed eighth in highly competitive JV girls group.

The Francis Piche Invitational Race at Gunstock New Hampshire hosts almost 300 racers, ages 8-14 representing 14 eastern states. This is the crème de la crème of east coast ski racing at this age level and Cazenovia was there. The grand slalom races took place on the legendary Cannonball racecourse, not far from where Graham Chase whacked his cat. Summoning up the courage and swiftness that Graham had displayed so many years before, Barclay, Bode Miller, Talbot skied his way to a 10th place finish. Courtney Button, skiing for Greek Peak but in Cazenovia Club form ended up in 12th. This is a truly amazing accomplishment for two young skiers from a small hill in the heart of Central New York and is an outstanding finish to another wonderful season.

Barclay summed up the entire season and the emotion best, however, at the post race press conference. "Although we all put in a lot of individual time and effort over the entire season, none of us make it here alone. We are supported by loving and devoted parents and siblings, nurturing coaches who instruct us and drive us to achieve, and by the close camaraderie and friendship of our teammates. Thank you; thank you all for a season I will never forget. CAZENOVIA SKI CLUB ROCKS!!!"