Only Red Bull would look at a perfectly good ski hill and think "Hey what if we went down a Snowboard Cross run on hockey skates?!" Well that is exactly what Crashed Ice is, and it has taken over one of the runs for the past two weeks at Mont du lac. Crews have been working hard to build this really gnarly course, and from the sounds of it, they have build quite a smooth one. The unfortunately for the skaters, the sun was out in full force Wednesday which did a number on the course. There was supposed to be a hill about mid way down that they had to cut out of the run due to softness. Also, with the next few days forecast, they have needed to change up some of the scheduling. For instance, time trails were supposed to start on Thursday but were bumped up to Weds night. There is still be some trails on Thursday, but those will be early in the morning. Before the sun gets up early. Yes, 5:30am early.
Even with all the rescheduling and part of the course being cut, the skaters seemed all really pumped. Some coming as far as Alaska to try this out. The field look to have a good mix of experience. Some were clearly fast, and had sponsors. Others looked to be trying it out for the first time, and after talking to a few of them, they have the bug. Where else can you lace up skates and get some serious air. Well, maybe a few other places in the world, but not that many. To me, it seems this strange sport is really just getting started, and who knows where it will end up... Olympics maybe?
Until then get your tickets here for the finals, head out to Mont du Lac on Saturday, watch an amazing sport, and stay for an awesome concert. (Its free to watch during the day, but to stay for the finals you need to have tickets, which also get you into the Brother Ali concert.)
If you want to know more about this sport check out these sites: